Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Is Home Office Furniture Tax Deductible? If so, how much is deductible and what does that really mean?

Q. My home office is based out of Texas.

A. Home office furniture would be tax deductible, as long as you use it only for your business. If you bought a computer for use for the business, a desk to put the computer on, a lamp to shine light on the desk and the computer, a phone line for the computer to connect to the internet, these would all be deductible Home Office Furniture as long as you used them 100% for the business. If you did then 100% of what you paid for them is deductible as a business expense in the year you bought them. The only question is though, is your home office part of a Schedule C business? If so then you can list all the assets on Form 4562 and take section 179 depreciation on them. That will let you write them totally off in the year you bought them. If you have a home office as part of your job requirement, then you would still report the assets on Form 4562 and take section 179 depreciation, but the depreciation would flow through to Form 2106 - Employee Business Expenses, which would in turn flow to Schedule A - Itemized Deductions - Miscellaneous Deductions, and would have to exceed 2% of your AGI for the excess to be deductible.

What paint colors would be ideal for a serene home office with Scandinavian-modern furniture and aesthetics?
Q. My stepmom is in the process of converting two small guest bedrooms into one large home office that is adjacent to a nursery. The room that is connected to the nursery (by a bathroom) is currently painted a medium-hued turquoise called Blue Ground by Farrow & Ball, and will serve sort of like the sitting area of the office. She adores the color, and will most likely keep it. The other room is wallpapered, but they're going to remove the paper and paint. There is still a partial wall up, so even though the space is open, there is a separation between the two rooms. This is why I think it would be nice to have the rooms two different colors that harmonize with one another. She is considering painting three walls a cloud white and having one accent wall with color.

All of the furniture that will go in the room has a Scandinavian-modern aesthetic to it, sort of like the IKEA style but higher quality. Most pieces are either white or blonde wood, and have clean lines. There is a lot of natural light streaming in. She is wanting the space to have a serene vibe to it with colors that are calming but not boring. We're in Southern California, so she's considering incorporating some ocean-inspired decor, like a driftwood coffee table and maybe sea glass colors, but it won't be like a "beach theme."

Do you have any paint color suggestions? Unfortunately, I'm in college several hours away, so I don't have any photos to share of the space.
This is the color of the room that is already painted: http://us.farrow-ball.com/blue-ground/colours/fcp-product/100210

A. I think I'd go for a light grey, either true grey or possibly a little on the blue side. It's certainly serene. It looks businesslike. It can go with an ocean theme. Think of the colour of an ocean just after a storm.
It will go with the furniture. A sand colour might be all right too but you'd have to be sure it goes okay with the blond wood. You could accuse grey of being boring, but it makes an excellent background colour and if you put an interesting piece of art or two on a wall, that will liven it up a lot.

I like that turquoise colour a lot too but combining with other colours is a bit tough without having it look like a kid's playroom. Anything red, pink, or coral is out. Yellow might work but it better be a very subdued yellow. Green just won't go. A medium blue might be okay but if it's too pale it will look cheap beside the turquoise and too dark will overwhelm everything else.

What are essentials for a home office?
Q. I want to convert a section of our home basement into a home office? What are essentials to creating an excellent home office environment?

A. The first step in creating a home office plan that works is to evaluate what you plan to do in the space.

A home office can have different zones for various tasks, equipment, and furniture needs. A desk and computer area may be one zone, while bookshelves, storage, and filing are another.

Furnishings. Make sure that you allow for adequate desk space for your equipment, and space to store materials, records and supplies.

Outlets. Are there enough electrical outlets to safely accommodate all of your business equipment (computer, telephone, copier, fax, clock and desk lamps)

Invest in a second phone line for your office.

Choose bright colors that will reflect light and keep you in a productive mood.

you'll need some sort of bookshelf-or shelves-and file drawers that are easily accessible without you having to get up.

Bulletin and chalk boards are a great way to keep home office reminders front and center.

accessories like pencil holders and divided containers.

personal art and pictures, family portraits.

A computer, desk chair and obvious things like that also.

Plants help make it more inviting.

Warm lighting, stay away from fluorescent lighting.




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