uber driver, home office

Did you ask the client what he does in his home office?

And is it used regularly and exclusively for this business? Lots of people fail this.

Is it a dedicated space, or does any part of it or equipment overlap with personal use?

Example: A corner desk, file cabinet, printer stand, office supplies cabinet, and computer, which is not used for personal, and the footprint doesn't include setting up the iron board in that space.

The rules about "home to first work place" don't apply to self-employed drivers.  They apply to people who don't need to use their vehicle once they get to work.  If a passenger is five miles away and wants to pay for temporary use of your car with a driver, you have to get the car to him.  That's deductible.  Enough of this "home office" nonsense.  

IRS admits this when it says, "If you operate a car pool for a profit, you must include payments from passengers in your income. You can then deduct your car expenses."

Of course, if you want to play that game, the first question is whether the taxpayer has a "regular or main job," in which case his travel to and from a temporary work location is deductible regardless of whether it requires a home office.  

Has anyone here considered a cost/benefit analysis of claiming a home office? If you use even 10% of the house, what are the deductions and tax savings?

A $300,000 house (after subtracting land) depreciated over 39 years at 10% business use equals $769;

RE taxes of $8,000 claiming 10% equals $800;

Mortgage interest of $12,000 claiming 10% equals $1,200.

That is a total of $2,769 annual deductions. At a federal income tax rate of 12% that equals $332 annual federal tax savings.

Add in utilities, and whatever else. And remember, most ride-share drivers don't own million dollar homes.

ps You will also save S/E tax of $415, so the total savings are $747. Don't forget the time spent gathering the data. Add up all those utility bills!

And don't forget the recapture of depreciation taken, plus the 10% of the rest of the gain upon sale of the house because you claimed 10% of the house as a business property. The Sec. 121 exclusion doesn't apply to the office.

Is it really worth it? My house cost $87,000, and I sold it for $360,000.