{
  "slug": "home-office-deduction-estimate",
  "title": "Home Office Deduction Estimator",
  "heading": "Home Office Deduction Estimator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/home-office-deduction-estimate",
  "summary": "Simplified and actual-expense home office deductions, side by side.",
  "description": "The IRS allows a simplified $5-per-square-foot method or an actual-expense method based on the share of your home used for work. This compares both. Educational only — not tax advice.",
  "formula": "Simplified = min(sqft, 300) × $5. Actual = home expenses × office share.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=home-office-deduction-estimate",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "sqft",
      "label": "Office square feet",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 150,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 10,
      "max": 600
    },
    {
      "id": "homeSqft",
      "label": "Total home square feet",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1800,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 100,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "expenses",
      "label": "Annual home expenses",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 28000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": null,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "bracket",
      "label": "Marginal tax rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 24,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 50
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "best",
      "label": "Larger deduction",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "simplified",
      "label": "Simplified method",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "actual",
      "label": "Actual expense method",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "saved",
      "label": "Estimated tax saved",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Office square feet: 150",
      "Total home square feet: 1800",
      "Annual home expenses: 28000 $",
      "Marginal tax rate: 24 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Larger deduction: $2,333",
      "Simplified method: $750",
      "Actual expense method: $2,333",
      "Estimated tax saved: $560"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter office square feet.",
      "Enter total home square feet.",
      "Enter annual home expenses ($).",
      "Enter marginal tax rate (%).",
      "Read your larger deduction on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "sqft": 90,
        "homeSqft": 1100,
        "expenses": 17000,
        "bracket": 14
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "sqft": 150,
        "homeSqft": 1800,
        "expenses": 28000,
        "bracket": 24
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "sqft": 240,
        "homeSqft": 2900,
        "expenses": 45000,
        "bracket": 38
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the home office deduction estimator work?",
      "a": "The IRS allows a simplified $5-per-square-foot method or an actual-expense method based on the share of your home used for work. This compares both. Educational only — not tax advice. The underlying maths is: Simplified = min(sqft, 300) × $5. Actual = home expenses × office share."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "4 values: office square feet, total home square feet, annual home expenses, and marginal tax rate. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the larger deduction result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/remote-work-savings",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/coworking-vs-home-office"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Home Office Deduction Estimator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/home-office-deduction-estimate)"
}