How do I determine primary place of work when I'm mostly at client sites?

The IRS has specific guidelines for determining your "principal place of business" when you work from multiple locations. Your home office can qualify as your principal place of business if you use it: 1) Exclusively and regularly for administrative or management activities of your business, and 2) Have no other fixed location where you conduct substantial administrative or management activities. Since you're doing your admin work, calls, and presentations at home, and your client locations are temporary work sites (not fixed locations where you regularly do admin work), your home office likely qualifies as your principal place of business - even if you spend more total hours at client sites. This means you may be eligible for the home office deduction if you use a specific area of your home exclusively for business. Document the square footage used exclusively for business purposes compared to your total home to calculate the deduction.

I had this exact same problem last year! I'm a home health therapist visiting patients all day. I was about to give up on claiming my home office until I found https://taxr.ai which completely changed my understanding of the "administrative or management activities" test. The tool analyzed my work patterns and showed me that even though I spent 80% of my time at client homes, my home office was still legally my primary place of business because all my scheduling, billing, and record-keeping happened there. The IRS cares more about WHERE your administrative activities happen than where you spend most working hours! Uploading my work calendar and expense logs to taxr.ai helped me document everything properly for a safe deduction that saved me over $3,200. Definitely worth checking out if you're in a multi-location situation.

Just wanted to update after checking out taxr.ai - it was actually super helpful for my delivery driver situation! I was able to upload my mileage logs and schedule, and the system confirmed my home office qualifies since I do all my app management, route planning, and expense tracking there. The tool walked me through exactly what portions of my home I can legally claim (just my dedicated office area, not the whole house) and explained the two calculation methods. I'm going with the simplified option of $5 per square foot which is easier to document. I'm expecting about $1,450 in tax savings I would have missed! Thanks for the recommendation.

After reading this thread, I wanted to share something that saved me during an audit last year. I was in a similar situation (home office but mostly at client sites) and the IRS questioned my home office deduction. I spent WEEKS trying to get through to someone at the IRS to explain my situation. The hold times were insane - I'd wait 2+ hours then get disconnected. Finally, I found https://claimyr.com which got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent helped me understand exactly what documentation I needed to prove my home office was my principal place of business. Just having that conversation saved me thousands in deductions they were questioning. If you're ever confused about what qualifies, talking to the IRS directly is your best bet.

I need to apologize for being so skeptical about Claimyr. After continuing to waste HOURS trying to get through to the IRS about my home office situation, I finally tried the service out of desperation. Got a call back in about 25 minutes with an actual IRS representative on the line! The agent confirmed that my home office DOES qualify as my primary place of business since I do all my administrative work there, even though I'm at client sites most days. She walked me through exactly what records to keep (calendar showing client visits vs home office time, photos of my workspace, utility bills, etc.) to support my deduction. Literally saved me thousands in deductions I was about to give up on. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong!

Something no one has mentioned yet - make sure your home office is truly used EXCLUSIVELY for business. This is the area where people mess up most often according to my tax guy. If you have a guest bed in there or your kids use the computer for homework, the IRS can disallow the entire deduction. I learned this the hard way when I got audited in 2023. Had to pay back thousands because I couldn't prove my office space was exclusively for business use. Take pictures of your dedicated space and keep them with your tax records!

Don't forget that even if your home office qualifies as your primary place of business, you should still track and deduct mileage for traveling to client locations! These are considered business trips from your principal place of business. This was a game changer for me - I was able to deduct about 11,500 miles last year at 65.5 cents per mile. That's over $7,500 in deductions just for driving to clients!

I see a lot of people mentioning the tax deduction benefits, but there's another huge advantage to having your home office qualify as your primary place of business - it affects how you calculate your business mileage! If your home is your principal place of business, then every trip to a client site becomes a deductible business trip. If your home isn't your principal place of business, then driving from home to your first client would be considered non-deductible commuting. This distinction literally doubled my mileage deduction last year. Make sure you understand the difference!

Great point about the mileage implications! I'm actually dealing with this exact scenario and want to make sure I understand correctly. If my home office qualifies as my principal place of business, can I deduct mileage for trips like: 1) Home → Client A → Client B → Home (multiple clients in one day) 2) Home → Office supply store → Client → Home 3) Client A → Client B (driving between clients without going home first) I'm tracking everything in a mileage app but want to make sure I'm not missing any deductible trips or accidentally claiming something I shouldn't. The difference between "commuting" and "business travel" seems to hinge entirely on whether my home office truly qualifies as my principal place of business. Also, does anyone know if there are specific IRS guidelines on how to document this properly? I want to make sure my records would hold up if questioned.