Simplified vs. Actual Home Office Deduction: Which Saves You More?
If you work from home for your side business or LLC, you can deduct a portion of your housing costs. The IRS gives you two methods: the simplified method and the actual expense method. One is easy, the other requires more record-keeping — but the right choice depends on your specific numbers.
The simplified method
The simplified method is exactly what it sounds like: multiply the square footage of your home office by $5, up to a maximum of 300 square feet.
- Rate: $5 per square foot
- Maximum: 300 sq ft = $1,500/year deduction
- Record-keeping: Just measure your office space
- Best for: Small offices, people who don't want to track expenses
If your office is 150 sq ft, your deduction is $750. If it's 300 sq ft or larger, you cap at $1,500.
The actual expense method
The actual expense method lets you deduct the business-use percentage of your real housing costs. Your business-use percentage is your office square footage divided by your home's total square footage.
Deductible expenses include:
- Rent or mortgage interest
- Property taxes
- Homeowner's insurance
- Utilities (electricity, gas, water)
- Internet
- Phone (business-use portion)
- Repairs and maintenance
- Depreciation (if you own)
Example: Your office is 200 sq ft in a 1,000 sq ft apartment. That's 20% business use.
| Monthly expense | Amount | 20% deduction |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | $2,400 | $480 |
| Electricity | $150 | $30 |
| Internet | $80 | $16 |
| Phone | $100 | $20 |
| Renter's insurance | $30 | $6 |
| Total | $2,760 | $552/month |
Annual deduction: $6,624 — more than 4x the simplified method's $1,500 cap.
When simplified wins
The simplified method can actually beat the actual method in a few situations:
- Low housing costs: If your rent is under ~$625/month with a small office, the $5/sq ft rate may exceed your actual percentage
- Shared spaces: If your "office" is a corner of a room, the actual percentage is tiny
- Simplicity value: No receipts to track, no depreciation recapture if you sell your home
When actual wins
For most people with a dedicated home office and typical urban housing costs, the actual method wins — often by a lot:
- High rent or mortgage: The higher your housing costs, the bigger the gap
- Large office percentage: A dedicated room in a small apartment = high percentage
- Many deductible expenses: Internet, phone, utilities add up quickly
The real impact: what it saves in taxes
A $6,624 deduction doesn't save you $6,624 in taxes. It saves you that amount multiplied by your marginal tax rate. If you're in the 22% federal bracket with a 5% state rate, a $6,624 deduction saves you roughly $1,790 in actual tax.
That means your $2,400/month rent effectively costs you $2,251/month after the home office deduction — real money back in your pocket every month.
Compare both methods with your real numbers
Instead of doing this math manually, use our home office deduction calculator. Enter your office size, home size, and monthly expenses — it computes both methods side by side and shows you exactly how much each one saves, specific to your tax bracket and state.