Home Office Deduction Calculator 2026
The simplified method against the regular method on Form 8829 — and the qualification test that decides whether either one applies to you.
All three must be true. The deduction is lost at the qualification step far more often than in the arithmetic.
Your result
Where these figures come from
- Simplified rate
- $5 per sq ft · Rev. Proc. 2013-13
- Area cap
- 300 sq ft — $1,500 maximum
- Base publication
- IRS Publication 587 (2025)
- Form
- 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home
- Income limit
- IRC §280A(c)(5)
- Depreciation
- 39-year straight line · recaptured at up to 25% (§1250)
- Employee rule
- IRC §67(g) · made permanent by the OBBBA
- Verified
- 2 October 2026
Publication 587 in force is the 2025 edition. The IRS has not yet published a 2026 edition, and the publication runs ahead of the return year — so the 2025 edition governs 2026 returns until it is replaced.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim this if I am a W-2 employee working from home?
Not federally. Unreimbursed employee business expenses were suspended by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the suspension was made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The home office deduction now belongs to self-employed filers on Schedule C, partners, and statutory employees. A small number of states still allow their own version — worth checking on the state return even when the federal one is barred.
What is the simplified method?
$5 per square foot of qualified business use, up to 300 square feet, for a maximum of $1,500. No Form 8829, no receipts, no depreciation. It is genuinely simpler — but three things are given up: you cannot depreciate the home, you cannot carry forward an amount the income limit disallows, and mortgage interest plus property tax stay entirely on Schedule A rather than moving partly into the business deduction.
What does “exclusive use” actually mean?
The area is used only for business. A guest bed in the office fails it — the IRS states the test without a tolerance, so occasional personal use in the same space defeats it for the whole year. A clearly identifiable part of a room can qualify if that part is business-only. Two statutory exceptions relax the rule: storing inventory or product samples for a retail or wholesale business, and a licensed daycare, which is measured by time and space rather than by exclusivity.
Why can the deduction not create a loss?
IRC §280A(c)(5) caps the deduction at the gross income from the business that uses the home, reduced by the business's other deductions. So it can zero out income from that business but cannot produce a loss. The difference that matters: under the regular method the disallowed amount carries forward to a later year, while under the simplified method it is simply lost.
Is the bigger regular-method deduction always better?
Not always. The regular method depreciates the business portion of the home over 39 years — but §1250 recaptures that depreciation at up to 25% when you sell. The simplified method takes no depreciation, so there is nothing to recapture. If you expect to sell at a gain, a larger deduction today can be partly given back later. That comparison is not in the arithmetic above, and it is the reason a calculator showing only this year is not the whole answer.