Question. If you have an office outside your personal home—say, downtown—can you have a tax-deductible office inside your home for the same trade or business?

Answer. Yes.

Q. Who says that?

A. The IRS and lawmakers!

Q. Show me where they say that!

Have you ever been down this road with the office-in-the-home deduction? We have.

That’s what prompted this article. We have had many requests from tax professionals and business owners demanding, “Show me where it says that!”

What IRS Publications Say

Let’s start with some quotes from IRS publications that show you how the IRS views the office-in-the-home deduction when you also have an office outside the home for the same business.

Here’s the basic rule that makes this work: the office inside the home is going to qualify for the home-office deduction when you make it an administrative office for your business. ... Log in to view full article.