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Increase your tax refund by deducting everything you can for your home office. Monkey Business Images Ltd/Valueline/Getty Images
If you are one of the millions of people who work from home, whether you have your own business or if your place of employment allows you to work from home on occasion, you can take some extra deductions when filing your taxes. If you do want to take some deductions on your taxes, it is a good idea to check updates every tax year to see any changes to the tax laws.
Home Office
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Deduct portions of your mortgage payment and your utility bills if you have a home office. Be sure to follow all the laws concerning a home office to prevent an audit. Use the space that you call a home office only for work and nothing else. Do not include your home office as a deduction if you normally work in the living room or if you have a library where your kids read and do their own homework. Figure out the percentage of your mortgage and utility bills that you can take by figuring out the percentage of space that your home office takes up. Measure the square feet of your office and figure out what percentage that is of the total square feet of your home. Take a 10 percent deduction if it is 10 percent of your home.
Supplies
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Count any supplies that you buy throughout the year as tax deductions. Create an envelope at the beginning of each year and add your receipts to it as you buy things. Keep the receipts from paper, envelopes, pens, highlighters and electronic equipment, such as computers and printers. Deduct any software that you buy because you have to have it to perform your job properly. Do not include the newest and coolest software just because you wanted it; it must be relevant to your work.
Gas Mileage
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Keep track of the miles you drive if some of your working at home requires you to travel from time to time. Jot down the miles when you drive to meet a prospective client or interview someone for an article you are writing. Add up your total miles at the end of the year and deduct the standard mileage rate of 50 cents per mile; however, double check for the current tax year's rate. Keep careful records when recording your miles. Write down the date, where you are going and why as well as how many miles the drive was.
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