Can I deduct my home office desk for my WFH job on my taxes?

Wait so if I do some side gig work in addition to my regular job, could I then deduct my desk if I use it for both my W-2 job and my side hustle?

If you have a legitimate side business, you could potentially deduct a portion of your desk based on the percentage of use for your self-employed work. The key is that you'd need to track and document how much you use the desk for your side business versus your W-2 employment. For example, if you use your desk 20% of the time for your side gig and 80% for your W-2 job, you might be able to deduct 20% of the cost. You'd report this on Schedule C along with your other self-employment income and expenses. Just be sure your side business is genuinely profit-motivated and not just a hobby, as the IRS looks closely at this distinction.

Does it work with all tax situations? I'm both a W-2 employee and have a side business selling crafts online. Would this help me figure out what percentage of my home office stuff I can deduct?

I'm a little skeptical about uploading my tax docs to some AI site. How secure is it? And does it just give generic advice or actually specific recommendations?

It definitely works with mixed income situations! It's designed to handle W-2 income alongside self-employment, which sounds perfect for your crafting business. It helps calculate appropriate percentages for shared expenses like home office furniture based on your specific usage patterns. Regarding security, I was concerned about that too initially. They use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after analysis. The recommendations are completely personalized based on your specific documents and situation - not generic advice. It pointed out specific line items on my forms and showed exactly where I could optimize based on my actual numbers.

How does this actually work? Does the IRS know about this service? Seems too good to be true that you can just skip the line somehow.

This sounds like a scam. There's no way to "cut the line" with a government agency. And even if you could talk to someone, IRS phone reps often give incorrect information. I wouldn't trust or pay for this.

It uses a legitimate callback feature that the IRS offers but most people don't know about. Claimyr essentially automates this process using technology that can navigate the IRS phone system more efficiently than we can manually. The IRS is aware of the service - it's not hacking or doing anything illicit. I was skeptical too, but after spending literal hours on hold previously, I was desperate. The IRS rep I spoke with was actually really knowledgeable and took time to go through my specific situation. She even directed me to specific IRS publications that addressed my questions. It's not about getting different information than waiting yourself - it's just about saving hours of hold time.

Thanks for this suggestion! I just emailed HR to ask if we have an accountable plan or any reimbursement program for home office equipment. I had no idea this was even an option. If they say no, should I try to convince them to start one? Is it complicated for employers to set up?

Definitely worth suggesting if they don't have one already! It's not particularly complicated for employers to set up - they just need to establish a formal policy for what expenses qualify and require reasonable documentation from employees (receipts, etc.). Many companies don't realize this is a win-win. You get your expenses covered tax-free, and they get a business expense deduction while providing a valuable benefit that helps with retention. With so many companies now permanently remote, more HR departments are implementing these programs. Just frame it as a competitive advantage for them in the current job market.

This is extremely risky advice. The IRS systems specifically flag home office deductions that don't align with self-employment income. Taking deductions you're not legally entitled to is tax fraud, regardless of whether you've been caught yet.