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Is your home a tax write-off? |
(NC)—"If your home doubles as your office, you may qualify to deduct the maintenance costs, provided you meet one of two tests set by the government," says Chartered Accountant John Wonfor, national tax partner, BDO Dunwoody LLP, National Office in Toronto.
"Your home office must be your principal place of business, or it must be used exclusively for business purposes on a regular and continuous basis for meeting clients, customers or patients.
"As long as you work primarily out of your home office (defined as more than 50 per cent of the time), you don't have to use your home office exclusively for business purposes to qualify for home office expense deductions. The office can be combined with personal living space. When doing this, you would pro-rate the expenses related to your home office according to how much it's used for business and how much for personal," explains Wonfor.
"A business loss cannot be created by claiming home office expenses. The undeducted amount of expenses can be carried forward indefinitely and can be subtracted from future income that is made from that same business."
For further information about taxes, contact a Chartered Accountant.
Credit: www.newscanada.com |
