Trying to figure out home office deduction when I work hybrid schedule

You've got a tricky situation there! Unfortunately, as a W-2 employee, you generally can't claim a home office deduction anymore, even if you work from home part-time. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended the deduction for employees from 2018 through 2025. Your best option might be to talk to your employer about reimbursement for your work-from-home expenses. Some companies have expense policies for remote workers or might consider implementing one. You could present the $1,200 you've spent as justification. That said, if you do any freelance or self-employed work from that same home office, you might be able to deduct a portion of your expenses for that specific work - but not for your W-2 employment.

After struggling with this exact issue last year, I found this amazing AI tool that analyzed my tax situation and saved me a ton of research time - https://taxr.ai really helped clarify what I could and couldn't deduct. I uploaded some photos of my home office setup and expense receipts, and it gave me personalized advice about alternatives to the home office deduction. It suggested I look into whether my state offered any credits or deductions (some states haven't aligned with federal changes) and helped me document everything properly in case my employer started offering reimbursements later.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai from the recommendation above. I was skeptical but figured I'd give it a shot since my tax situation with the home office split between W-2 and self-employment was driving me crazy. I'm honestly impressed! It helped me properly allocate my expenses between personal, W-2 (non-deductible), and self-employment (deductible). The best part was getting a detailed report I can keep with my tax records that explains exactly how the calculations were made. Feeling much more confident about taking the right deductions now and having documentation if I ever get questioned about it.

If you're dealing with tax questions about home office deductions and getting nowhere with the IRS phone line (I tried for WEEKS), I finally got through using https://claimyr.com and actually talked to a real human at the IRS who explained my options. You can see a demo of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed that while W-2 employees can't take the home office deduction, there are still some potential ways to benefit if you have any self-employment income. They also explained how to document everything properly in case the laws change before 2025.

Well I need to eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment I decided to try it myself because I was desperate to talk to someone about my home office deduction questions. It actually worked! After waiting on hold myself for 3+ hours multiple days with no luck, I used the service and got a callback when an agent was on the line. Spoke with someone who confirmed everything about the W-2 employee restrictions but gave me some alternatives to look into. The whole process took like 20 minutes of my actual time instead of hours of holding. Not gonna lie, I'm impressed.

I'm a tax preparer and just want to clarify that while the home office deduction isn't available for W-2 employees currently, if you do ANY self-employed work (even small side gigs), you might be able to allocate a portion of your home office expenses to that business. You'd need to track time spent on self-employment vs. employee work carefully. Also worth noting - some states have their own provisions for home office deductions that don't match federal rules. California, for example, still allows employee business expenses in some cases.

Has anyone tried asking their employer to set up an accountable plan for home office expenses? My company just started doing this - they reimburse my internet and some utility costs for my home office, and it's not taxable income to me but is deductible for them. Seems like a win-win.