home office question

[MustardTiger]

My wife is an independent contractor (massage therapist).  I previously haven't taken the home office deduction as she does all actual massage work at a spa.  She does all scheduling online and books clients through phone/computer at a small desk in the room that I use as a home office for my side business.

Two questions:

Is the scheduling part enough to qualify for the deduction?

If so, do I need to set up a desk in a separate room from my home office or is a dedicated pc enough (also would anyone ever check this?)

Thanks in advance.

[terran]

Are you already taking a home office deduction for this room for you side business? Is the room used for anything else?

[MustardTiger]

no its just a home office.  I have large conference desk and set her a place on the end.  If it is necessary I could dedicate another part of the house to be her office.

[terran]

I don't think you can claim it twice, so if you're already claiming it for your side business you'll have to set up a separate space for her used exclusively as a home office. I believe the simplified home office deduction has a 300 sq ft limit that would apply to both of your businesses together, but I'm not sure if the regular method has any such limit (I don't think so).

[MustardTiger]

My office is like 125 sq ft so that wouldnt be an issue.

[MustardTiger]

So with a separate office set up in the house these administrative duties would qualify for the deduction?

[terran]

I don't see why not as long as that is all the space is used for. Check out the requirements: https://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Home-Office-Deduction

Also from https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Small-Business-Taxes/The-Home-Office-Deduction/INF12067.html

As long as you at least use the home office to conduct your administrative or management chores and you don’t make substantial use of any other fixed location to conduct those tasks, you can pass this test. This rule makes it much easier to claim home office deductions for individuals who conduct most of their income-earning activities somewhere else (such as outside salespersons, tradespeople, or professionals).

[MustardTiger]

Awesome thanks.  This also brings up the issue of writing off miles and "commuting miles."  Would driving between our home (home office) and her spa still be considered commuting?

[terran]

I'm thinking the answer would be "no." https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899669-can-i-deduct-commuting-expenses-like-gas-mileage-or-toll-fees gives some guidance.

I think I would count the drive to/from the home office and the spa as commuting time, but any driving she might do to/from a client's home or business during the day as deductible mileage. It would probably be a grey area for me if her last appointment of the day is at a client location and she goes home afterwards instead of going back to the spa in between. That's really all just a "gut feel" thing though, so you should do more research.

[MustardTiger]

https://www.mileiq.com/blog/mileage-deduction/

I know nothing about the source material but it seems to say the opposite.  Any clarification?

[terran]

I think the key part of that article is:

One way to avoid the harsh commuting rule is to have a home office that qualifies as your principal place of business.

I'm not sure I would feel comfortable saying the place you set appointments and do administrative tasks (the home office) is the principle place of business, when all/most of the work for which you are paid is performed at a secondary location (the spa). It seems to me that the secondary location is the principle place of business. I think I would feel much more comfortable claiming mileage if your wife did the massages at client's homes, or many different spa's.

Certainly something you could look into further though. I think what you need to find is something specific to a professional who completes their work at a secondary location and has a home office where they do not meet clients, but perform administrative tasks. An independent contractor doctor maybe?