If people are really “Trading parking passes and briefcases for bunny slippers and laptops” I’ll wager that in most instances it’s not a willing trade. The “subprime lending crisis” aka “We made hay while the sun shined and now we hope the taxpayers will bail us out crisis” is sending lots of bank workers out into the labor pool too while their bosses are bailed out. That might raise the number of such deductions even higher.
And there are the usual warnings about triggering an audit – exclusive and regular use for business purposes and used for the convenience of the employer, not the employee. But the good news is your guard dog may be deductible. CNN would mention that, of course, since Ted Turner is worried about “Global Warming” causing cannibalism and he’s into guard dogs these day.
From CNN: Slowdown May Boost Home Office Deductions
The slowing U.S. economy may be contributing to increased numbers of home-based workers who trade their company parking passes and briefcases for bunny slippers and laptops.
“This economic slump has gotten a lot of people in the mood to do whatever it takes to make a buck,” says Peter Francese, a demographic trends analyst with Ogilvy & Mather.“The nature of an information-based economy is that it allows people in a lousy economy to still stay afloat,” he said from his home office in New Hampshire.
The number of U.S. taxpayers claiming home office deductions has grown from more than 1.5 million in 1991 to nearly 3.2 million in 2005, the most recent tax year for which figures are available, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
The dollar amount Americans claim each year is also climbing — from nearly $3 billion in 1991 to close to $9 billion in 2005, the IRS said.
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