Can I claim a Home Office Tax Deduction as a full-time remote employee?

I've been working remotely full-time for a tech company in the marketing department. I recently moved into a 3 bedroom apartment in Chicago, and I'm using one of the bedrooms exclusively as my home office and storage space. I pay about $3700 in rent monthly. This dedicated room has my work computer setup, recording equipment, and I store company marketing materials there that I ship out to new employees when they get hired. Since I'm exclusively using about a third of my apartment for work purposes, I'm wondering if I can deduct any portion of my rent on my taxes? My company doesn't reimburse me for my home office space, and I'm technically required to have a dedicated workspace for my job. Can employees claim home office deductions or is that only for self-employed folks? Any guidance would be super helpful!

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18 comments

StarStrider

•8M

Unfortunately, if you're a W-2 employee working from home, you generally cannot take the home office deduction under current tax law. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended the deduction for employees from 2025 through 2025. Only self-employed individuals, independent contractors, or those with gig work can currently claim a home office deduction. If you were self-employed, you could deduct a portion of your rent based on the percentage of your home used exclusively for business. But as a regular employee, even if your company requires you to work from home, the IRS doesn't allow this deduction. You might want to check if your employer offers any stipend or reimbursement for home office expenses. Many companies have implemented these benefits for remote workers. These reimbursements would be tax-free to you as long as they're reasonable business expenses.

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StarStrider

•8M

If you have a legitimate side business that you operate from the same home office, you potentially could claim a deduction for the portion of that space used exclusively and regularly for that business. However, there are some important caveats. You would need to accurately calculate what percentage of time and space is dedicated to your side business versus your employment work. You can only deduct expenses proportional to the business use of that space. Also, the IRS tends to scrutinize home office deductions, especially if the business shows little income or consistent losses, so you'd need to have a genuine profit motive and regular business activity.

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Nia Thompson

•8M

I was in almost the exact same situation last year! After getting nowhere with traditional tax deductions, I found this AI tax helper at https://taxr.ai that analyzes your specific situation and finds deductions you might have missed. I uploaded details about my remote work setup and it found several other ways I could save money even though the home office deduction wasn't available to me as an employee. The tool showed me that while I couldn't deduct rent, there were unreimbursed business expenses I could track for future tax law changes and potential state-level deductions. It also suggested talking to my employer about expense reimbursement programs that would be tax-free.

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Nia Thompson

•8M

It primarily offers personalized tax advice and document analysis based on your specific situation - it doesn't file your taxes for you. It's more about identifying potential tax savings you might have missed and explaining complex tax situations in simple terms. The service has different pricing tiers depending on what features you need. I found the value was definitely there compared to what I was paying for traditional tax advice. What impressed me was that it was honest about what deductions I couldn't take (like the home office as an employee) instead of making unrealistic promises, and then provided alternatives I hadn't considered.

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Aisha Abdullah

•8M

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai - it actually exceeded my expectations! I was super skeptical as mentioned in my earlier comment, but decided to give it a shot. While it confirmed I couldn't take the home office deduction as an employee, it found that my employer's reimbursement policy actually covered home internet and cell phone expenses that I wasn't claiming. It generated a perfect email template I could send to HR about this policy I didn't even know existed. Already got approved for about $1800 in annual reimbursements that are tax-free! Definitely worth checking out if you're in a similar WFH situation.

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Ethan Wilson

•8M

Since you can't claim the home office deduction as an employee, you might want to consider asking your employer to cover some of your home office costs. If they won't, and you really want to pursue tax benefits, you could look into becoming an independent contractor. I had a NIGHTMARE trying to call the IRS to ask about this exact situation - was on hold for 3+ hours before getting disconnected. Finally found https://claimyr.com which got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed what others have said - no home office deduction for employees currently, but there are some state-level exceptions. Also learned that keeping good records now could help if the tax laws change back after 2025.

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Ethan Wilson

•8M

It uses a system that continuously redials and navigates the IRS phone tree until it gets through, then calls you once it has an agent on the line. It's basically doing the waiting for you so you don't have to sit on hold for hours. I was definitely skeptical too, but it's a legitimate service. It doesn't collect any tax info from you - you just provide your phone number so they can call you once they've reached an agent. Once connected, you're talking directly with the IRS, not through any third party.

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Yuki Tanaka

•8M

I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it because I was desperate to ask about a tax notice I received. I was absolutely SHOCKED when I got a call back in about 35 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line! The agent was able to explain exactly why employees can't take the home office deduction right now and confirmed it's scheduled to potentially return after 2025. They also suggested I check my state tax rules since some states still allow deductions that the federal return doesn't. Saved me hours of frustration and got me clear answers I couldn't find online.

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Carmen Diaz

•8M

You're absolutely right to bring that up. Converting from employee to contractor isn't just a choice for tax benefits - it has to reflect a genuine change in your working relationship with the company. The IRS looks at factors like control (how, when and where you work), financial aspects (who provides equipment, how you're paid), and relationship factors (benefits, permanency). If nothing changes except your tax classification, that would indeed raise red flags with the IRS. My situation involved a legitimate restructuring of my role and responsibilities with much more independence in how I complete projects.

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Emily Jackson

•8M

I switched to a dedicated home office in 2025 and looked into this extensively. Here's what I learned: 1) W-2 employees: No federal home office deduction until at least 2026 when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions expire 2) Self-employed/contractors: Can deduct using either simplified method ($5 per square foot up to 300 sq ft) or regular method (actual expenses proportional to office space) 3) Some states still allow home office deductions even for employees 4) Some companies offer home office stipends ($50-250/month typically) My company started offering a $150 monthly home office stipend after enough of us asked about it. Worth bringing up to your HR department!

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