TaxPlanCalcTax year 2026

Home Office Deduction Calculator

2026 rules

Compare the two ways to deduct a home office and see which gives you more.

Your numbers

Result

Larger deduction$3,000

  1. Business-use share of the home10%
  2. Simplified: $5 × up to 300 sq ft$1,000
  3. Regular method (Form 8829)$3,000
  4. Deduction$3,000
  5. MethodRegular

W-2 employees cannot deduct a home office. Depreciation claimed on a home is recaptured when you sell.

How it works

The simplified method is $5 per square foot of office, up to 300 square feet, so at most $1,500. The regular method takes the office's share of your home's square footage and applies it to rent or mortgage interest, utilities, insurance, repairs and depreciation.

Either way the space must be used regularly and only for business. The deduction can't be more than your business profit; under the regular method the excess carries forward.

2026 figures: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments); IRS Notice 2025-67 (2026 retirement plan limits); SSA 2026 COLA fact sheet; IRS Notice 2026-10 and Announcement 2026-11 (mileage).

Questions

Can employees deduct a home office?

Not on a federal return. The deduction is for self-employed people and some statutory employees.

What happens when I sell the house?

Depreciation taken under the regular method is taxed at up to 25% when you sell, even if the rest of the gain is excluded.

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