Can I take Primary Home Depreciation Deduction on my 2025 taxes?
I bought my first home back in 2022 and I'm wondering if I can use home depreciation to deduct some of the cost on my taxes. For example, my home purchase was around $675,000 with the land value being approximately $135,000. Could I use the remaining $540,000 and deduct the straight value for however many years I'm living in this home? I've heard something about 27.5 years being the standard for useful life of a home. That would be like 3.63% every year. So could I deduct $540,000 x 3.63% = $19,602 from my income on my tax return? And what form would I use for this? If I'm using TurboTax, where exactly would I input this amount? Also my wife runs her own 1-person business from a home office. If I write off the entire $19,602 from my tax reporting, she can't deduct a portion on her business deduction, right? That would be double-dipping I think. Thanks for any help!
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Logan Chiang
Unfortunately, you can't depreciate your primary residence just for living in it. Depreciation is only allowed for property used for business or income-producing purposes. However, since your wife works from her home office for her business, she may be able to take a home office deduction including depreciation, but only for the specific portion of the home used exclusively and regularly for business. For example, if her office is 10% of your home's square footage, she could potentially depreciate 10% of the structure's value ($540,000 × 10% = $54,000) over 27.5 years. The home office deduction would be claimed on your wife's Schedule C (Profit or Loss From Business) if she's a sole proprietor. In TurboTax, this would be entered in the business expenses section when it asks about home office expenses.
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Abigail Spencer
•Thanks for the clarification! So I can't depreciate my primary residence just for living in it - that makes sense but I wasn't sure. For my wife's home office, it takes up about 12% of our house. So would that mean she could depreciate 12% of the $540,000 (which would be $64,800) over 27.5 years? That would be about $2,352 per year as a deduction on her Schedule C?
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Logan Chiang
•That's correct! If her office takes up 12% of the house and is used exclusively for business, she could depreciate 12% of the structure value ($64,800) over 27.5 years, resulting in roughly $2,352 per year as a deduction on her Schedule C. Just make sure the space is used exclusively and regularly for business purposes. The IRS is particular about this requirement - the space can't be used for other purposes like a guest bedroom or family activities.
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Isla Fischer
After struggling with almost this exact situation last year, I found an incredible tool that helped me figure out all the depreciation calculations for my home office - taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). It actually scanned my documents and gave me the exact amounts I could claim based on my specific situation. The best part was it guided me through determining the correct percentage of my house that qualified for the home office deduction - which was tricky since I have an unusual floorplan. It even calculated the depreciation amount automatically and showed me exactly where to enter it in TurboTax.
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Miles Hammonds
•Did it help figure out what counts as "exclusive use" for a home office? My dining room table is where I work, but obviously we also eat there. Does that disqualify me completely?
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Ruby Blake
•I'm always suspicious of these online tools that claim to do everything. How much did it cost and did it actually save you more than you paid for it? Seems like something I could just figure out with a calculator.
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Isla Fischer
•For the exclusive use question, the tool actually flagged that as a potential issue right away. It explained that a dining room table wouldn't qualify since it's not exclusively for business use. It suggested carving out a dedicated space that's only for work - even if it's just a desk in the corner of a room that's never used for anything else. The tool definitely saved me more than what I invested in it. It caught several deductions I would have missed entirely, especially around splitting utilities and other home expenses properly. I'm not great with tax calculations, so having something verify my numbers and explain exactly where they go in TurboTax was incredibly helpful.
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Miles Hammonds
I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was seriously a game-changer for my home office situation! I was totally confused about how to calculate the depreciation for my home office (which is about 15% of my house). The tool guided me through measuring my space correctly and helped me understand that I couldn't claim my guest bedroom/office because I occasionally use the bed for visitors. I ended up rearranging to create a dedicated office space that qualifies. It calculated my depreciation automatically and even found additional deductions for utilities, internet, and maintenance that I was eligible for. Saved me at least $1,700 on my taxes compared to what I would have filed on my own!
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Micah Franklin
If you're still confused about any of this home office depreciation stuff, you might want to talk directly to an IRS agent who can give you official guidance. I had trouble getting through to them for weeks until I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was skeptical at first but they actually got me connected to a real IRS person in about 15 minutes when I had been trying for days. The agent walked me through exactly how to calculate my home office depreciation and what documentation I needed to keep in case of an audit.
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Ella Harper
•Wait, does this actually work? I've spent HOURS on hold with the IRS and eventually just give up. How does Claimyr get you through faster than calling yourself?
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PrinceJoe
•This sounds way too good to be true. The IRS is notoriously impossible to reach. I've tried calling at 7am when they open and still waited 2+ hours. I'm not buying that some service can magically get you through.
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Micah Franklin
•It actually uses a system that continuously redials the IRS for you and navigates the phone tree, then calls you once it gets a human on the line. That's why it works better than calling yourself - the system keeps trying different paths through the phone system until it finds an opening. The reason it's faster is that you're not the one sitting there listening to hold music for hours. The system does all the waiting and only connects you when there's an actual IRS agent ready to talk. I was super skeptical too, but when I got a call back with an actual IRS person on the line, I was pretty impressed.
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PrinceJoe
Ok I need to update my skeptical comment about Claimyr from yesterday. I decided to try it this morning for a different tax issue (not home office related) and I'm shocked to say it actually worked exactly as advertised. After trying to reach the IRS for literally weeks with no success, I used Claimyr and got a call back in about 20 minutes with an actual IRS agent on the line. She answered all my questions about my situation and even helped me resolve an issue with a missing form that had been stressing me out. I hate admitting when I'm wrong but in this case I definitely was. If you need to actually talk to someone at the IRS, this service actually does what it claims.
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Brooklyn Knight
One thing to remember about home office depreciation - if you sell your house, you'll have to recapture that depreciation (pay taxes on it) even if you didn't actually claim it on your taxes! So keep good records of what you're depreciating. Also, for a simpler approach, your wife might want to consider the simplified home office deduction of $5 per square foot (up to 300 sq ft). Less paperwork and no depreciation recapture issues to worry about when you sell.
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Abigail Spencer
•Wait, you have to pay taxes on the depreciation even if you DIDN'T claim it? That seems really unfair. Could you explain more about this recapture thing? And is the simplified method generally better for most people?
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Brooklyn Knight
•Yes, it's called "depreciation recapture" and it applies to depreciation that was "allowed or allowable" - meaning if you could have taken it, the IRS treats it as if you did, even if you didn't actually claim it. When you sell the house, that depreciation gets taxed at a rate up to 25% (not as regular capital gains). The simplified method is often better for smaller home offices or if you don't want to deal with the complexity. At $5 per square foot, a 150 square foot office would give you a $750 deduction with minimal paperwork. The regular method might give you a larger deduction but requires more record-keeping and calculations. Plus, with the simplified method, you don't have to worry about depreciation recapture when you sell your home.
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Owen Devar
Has anyone tried claiming the home office deduction using freetaxusa instead of turbotax? Turbotax is charging me an extra $120 just to add a schedule C but I heard freetaxusa lets you do it for free.
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Daniel Rivera
•I switched to FreeTaxUSA last year after using TurboTax for years. They definitely let you file Schedule C without charging extra! The federal return is free and state is like $15. Way better deal than TurboTax charging $120+ for self-employment stuff.
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Owen Devar
•Thanks so much! I'm definitely going to try FreeTaxUSA this year then. $120 just to add a schedule C seems excessive, especially when I'm only claiming about $3k in deductions total. Appreciate the recommendation!
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Sophia Russo
Just wanted to add another perspective on this whole home office depreciation thing. I've been running a small business from my home for about 5 years now, and I've used both the actual expense method (with depreciation) and the simplified method at different times. The simplified method ($5 per square foot) is honestly a lifesaver if you're just starting out or don't want to deal with the complexity. It's clean, simple, and you don't have to worry about depreciation recapture when you sell your house. But if you have a larger home office space and significant home expenses, the actual expense method can definitely save you more money. Just make sure you're keeping meticulous records of everything - utilities, repairs, insurance, property taxes, etc. The IRS can be pretty strict about home office deductions, so documentation is key. One tip: take photos of your home office setup and keep them with your tax records. It helps establish that the space is used exclusively for business if you ever get audited.
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Ryan Young
•This is really helpful advice! I'm just starting to think about setting up a home office for some freelance work I'm doing on the side. The photo documentation tip is brilliant - I never would have thought of that but it makes total sense for proving exclusive business use. Quick question: when you say "meticulous records," what exactly should I be tracking? Is it just receipts for utilities and repairs, or do I need to calculate the business percentage of every single expense? And do you recommend any specific apps or tools for keeping track of everything? I'm leaning toward starting with the simplified method since I'm new to this, but I want to make sure I'm not leaving money on the table if the actual expense method would be significantly better for my situation.
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