Expanding Your Office at Home? There Could Be Tax Breaks
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
briefing for Monday, August 10th. I'm J.R. Whalen for The Wall Street Journal. Many people have been spending more time at home than usual in the pandemic, in some cases in close quarters with family. If the house is starting to feel a little crowded, it might be worth tapping into record low interest rates to remodel, add on, or even buy.
If you make significant improvements to your home, you can put that into the cost basis. You can raise the price so that when you sell the house, there's less tax to pay.
Our tax reporter Laura Saunders will fill us in on some tax tips for homeowners after the break.
The current real estate market, thanks to the pandemic, is like something many of us have never seen before. Interest rates below 3% for the first time ever. But whether you want to tap into those rates to buy, refinance, or maybe just make your home office a bit less like your closet, there are lots of tax advantages to be mindful of. Wall Street Journal tax reporter Laura Saunders joins us to discuss. So Laura, you know, ever since March, people's homes are their office.
Can employees claim a home office deduction for pandemic remote work?
Can they take a home office deduction when they do their taxes next year?
It's a great question. And the answer is yes and no. If you're an employee, you can't take a home office deduction because Congress got rid of that deduction for employees in the 2017 overhaul. So you can't do that. But there is a bit of a silver lining to this cloud, which is that your employer could reimburse you for all kinds of expenses during this pandemic emergency. And the expenses would be deductible by the employer and not taxable to you. So maybe your employer wants to give you a better chair or pay for your ink if you need it or maybe better internet in some cases.
When can an employer reimburse home-office expenses tax-free?
The employer could take a deduction for that and it wouldn't be taxable to you, but you couldn't deduct it yourself. Now, it's different if you own a business. If you own a business and you work in the business either full-time or part-time, like you might have a regular job and this could be your consulting business on the side, you can still take a deduction for a home office. The rule there is that it must be used regularly and exclusively for your business. So no putting a couch and a TV in there and watching sports on the weekends.
Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. A lot of people are probably using a corner of the bedroom or the kitchen as their office. But, you know, let's say they want to remodel, maybe add some real office space. Are there tax breaks for that?
Who still qualifies for a home office deduction as a business owner?
Say if you're a photographer and you want to put a studio into your house and maybe even extra expenses, like if you want to improve the landscaping so people like to come to your office. Those are good questions for a tax professional. If you are an employee, then it's going to be harder, although you can do home improvements and deduct the interest on a home equity loan. Also, if you make significant improvements to your home, you can put that into the cost basis. You can raise the price so that when you sell the house, there's less tax to pay.
You know, you mentioned home equity loans. If people do remodel, that's one way to raise cash. Can they still deduct the interest?
In many cases, yes. Now, what you can't do anymore is have a cash-out refinancing.
Are remodeling costs for a new home office tax-deductible or added to basis?
Say your mortgage is $400,000 and you want $50,000 to pay college tuition and you refinance for $450,000. In that case, the $50,000 for the tuition, the interest on that is not deductible. But if the $50,000 is to improve your home, make significant improvements to your home, then you probably can deduct the interest on it.
And yeah, refinancing is another way to free up cash. And the coronavirus has upended the real estate market. Mortgage rates at record lows below 3%. How much mortgage interest can be deducted?
If your mortgage was in place before December 15th, 2017, you get deduction of interest on up to $1 million of mortgage debt on up to two houses. That's not $1 million houses. That's mortgage debt of a total of $1 million for up to two houses.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:05–1:12
2
Can employees claim a home office deduction for pandemic remote work?
1:12–2:05
3
When can an employer reimburse home-office expenses tax-free?
2:05–2:56
4
Who still qualifies for a home office deduction as a business owner?
2:56–3:40
5
Are remodeling costs for a new home office tax-deductible or added to basis?
3:40–5:13
6
How does refinancing or home-equity borrowing affect mortgage interest deductibility?
5:13–6:06
7
What are the mortgage interest deduction limits before and after 2017?
6:06–7:39
8
Can an RV or boat be treated as a home for mortgage-interest tax purposes?
7:39–7:44
Speakers
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