Tax Advantages for Home Business Owners

We didn't start a home based business, we bought one. For us, it is the best way to go, especially since we can't afford to rent office space yet, and the price of gas is so danged expensive nowadays.



I actually get very little tax benefits from owning a home based business. This is because our floor space is limited, and I have no area that I can devote exclusively to the business. Because the floor space is all mixed use, used for homework, personal, business, and recreational depending on who is home and what time it is, I can't even take any home business office tax deductions.



But that's okay. The other benefits that I get such as not having to commute, being able to work on the business stuff when it's a good time for me (even if it's 4 am), and not having to shell out money for a business office greatly outshadow the inability to get any tax advantages from it.



Since all of my client appointments occur at their location, I don't have to worry about not having a formal place to meet with clients. If you will be bringing clients to your home, you really need to have a place to meet with them that is kept entirely separate from the rest of the home / family living space. Otherwise, your clients are apt to think that you are not professional, or not take you as seriously as they would if you had an actual office space.



A lot of home based businesses don't take off until the office is moved out of the owner's home for this reason.



You have to look at the whole picture, not just the tax reasons for doing a home based business.



Rolaine