Can I deduct monthly garage parking costs as a home-based consultant?

From my experience as someone who's handled this situation before, you need to differentiate between business travel expenses and home office deductions. For your car usage, you can deduct business mileage when you drive to client meetings (using either the standard mileage rate or actual expenses method). This is separate from your home office deduction. For the garage specifically, if the parking spot is part of your residence, it typically falls under your home office calculation. So if you're deducting 15% of your home for business use, you could potentially deduct 15% of your garage parking costs as well, but only if that garage is considered part of your residence. However, if you're paying separately for this parking spot and it's not included in your rent/mortgage, you might be able to argue for a business percentage based on how often you use the car for business purposes. Document your business vs. personal usage carefully.

I actually struggled with this exact problem and found a solution using https://taxr.ai which analyzed my situation and clearly showed how to properly deduct parking expenses. In my case, I was a freelance photographer working from home with a separate garage payment. The site analyzed my lease agreement and expense patterns, then provided specific guidelines on how to allocate the garage expenses between business and personal use. It also helped me understand how to document everything properly to avoid audit concerns. The most helpful feature was seeing actual examples of how other self-employed people in similar situations handled these deductions correctly. It saved me from potentially over-claiming and getting in trouble.

Just wanted to update after checking out taxr.ai from the recommendation above. It was actually super helpful for my home office situation! I uploaded my lease agreement and some expense records, and it gave me specific guidance about deducting my garage (which I was also paying separately from rent). The analysis showed I could deduct the percentage based on business use of my vehicle rather than the home office percentage, which is better in my case. It also cleared up my confusion about cell phone and internet deductions with really specific documentation requirements I hadn't heard before. Totally worth checking out if you're self-employed with home office questions.

If you're having trouble getting clear answers about this deduction, you might want to talk directly to an IRS agent. I know that sounds scary, but I used https://claimyr.com and actually got through to a real person at the IRS in about 15 minutes instead of waiting for hours or days. I had a similar question about deducting parking expenses for my consulting business, and the agent provided really specific guidance based on my situation. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Honestly never thought I'd recommend talking directly to the IRS, but it was way more helpful than googling conflicting advice or waiting weeks for an email response from my accountant.

I need to eat my words from my skeptical comment earlier. I tried the Claimyr service out of curiosity and was honestly shocked that it worked exactly as described. Got through to an IRS tax law specialist in about 20 minutes who actually knew the answer to my question about parking deductions. He confirmed that since I pay separately for my parking, I can deduct the business percentage based on how often I use my car for business purposes. He even emailed me the relevant tax code section afterward. Definitely saved me hours of waiting on hold and probably saved me from making a mistake on my return. Never thought I'd be recommending calling the IRS, but with this service it was surprisingly painless.

Another option you might consider is the actual expense method instead of the standard mileage rate. If you go this route, you can include a portion of your parking costs as part of your actual vehicle expenses. You'd need to calculate the percentage of business use versus personal use of your vehicle, then apply that percentage to ALL vehicle expenses including gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation, AND parking. This might work out better if your parking costs are high. Just be prepared for more record-keeping as you'll need to track all vehicle expenses instead of just mileage.

Just my two cents, but I've been audited before and parking deductions were one of the things flagged. My advice is to be super conservative with this. If you're claiming the home office deduction already, trying to also claim the garage separately might raise red flags.

As someone who's dealt with similar home office deduction questions, I'd recommend being very methodical about this. The key is proper documentation and understanding which method gives you the better deduction. Since you're already claiming 15% of your home for business use, you have a few options for the parking: 1. Include it as part of your home office calculation (15% of the $285/month) 2. Use it as part of the actual expense method for your vehicle if you switch from standard mileage 3. Treat it separately based on documented business use percentage The safest approach is probably option 1 - just include it in your existing home office percentage. This keeps everything consistent and is less likely to raise audit flags. Whatever you choose, make sure you keep detailed records of your business trips vs. personal use. A simple spreadsheet tracking dates, destinations, and purposes of trips will go a long way if you ever need to justify the deduction. Also consider consulting with a new tax professional before making any major changes to your deduction strategy, especially given the audit concerns mentioned by others here.