Aug 17, 2023 8 min read

Can You Write Off Your Garage as a Business Expense?

Exploring the financial landscape of running a business from your home often brings you face to face with a multitude of questions, one of them might be – Can I write off my garage as a business expense? The objective of this post is to clarify this specific question, while illuminating the broader context of business expenses and their impact on your taxes. From the fundamentals of business expenses to the specifics of home office deductions, every facet of this complex subject will be unravelled for your understanding. A special focus on the particulars of claiming your garage as a business expense will also be provided.

Understanding Business Expenses

It’s imperative to grasp the concept of what characterizes a business expense, which typically include costs incurred wholly and exclusively in the course of running a business. The IRS defines a business expense as the cost of carrying on a trade or business. The IRS attaches two primary conditions on deductible expenses: they must be both ordinary and necessary. An “ordinary” expense is one that’s common and accepted in the trade or business, while a “necessary” expense is one that’s helpful and appropriate for the trade or business.

Common examples of business expenses include office rent, utilities, supplies, business equipment, and employee salaries. Such expenditures can lower your overall tax bill, as they decrease the profit you’re required to report to the government. In many cases, even part of your home can qualify as a business expense if it’s used exclusively and regularly for business purposes.

Deducting your Garage as a Business Expense

When it comes to writing off your garage as a business expense, it is surely possible under certain conditions. The IRS allows taxpayers to deduct expenses for the business use of a home, which is outlined in the home office deduction. However, it’s essential to keep in mind this space must be used regularly and exclusively for business.

Your garage would qualify if it’s your primary place of business or where you meet clients, patients, or customers. The garage needs to be the principal location where your business is conducted. If you’re merely using the garage for storage related to the business, that may also qualify for a deduction. But note that if the garage space is used for both personal and business purposes, only the business portion can be written off.

Determining Your Deductions

The amount you can deduct for your garage-turned-office comes down to the ratio of the square footage used for business activities in relation to the overall area of your home. As an instance, if your garage used as a home office is 300 square feet and your home measures 1,500 square feet, you can consider deducting 20% of your eligible housing expenses.

Two techniques offered by the IRS to compute this deduction include the standard method and the simplified option. With the standard method, you add up all of your actual housing costs, whereas the simplified choice lets you determine the deduction by multiplying a pre-determined rate by your home office’s square footage.

Keeping meticulous and precise records of your expenses is vital, as the IRS is particularly keen on scrutinizing home office deductions. In case of an audit, you’ll need evidence to support your claims. This evidence may include receipts, utility bills, mortgage statements, and documents verifying that your garage is indeed your primary business location.

Home Office Deduction Basics

Understanding the Home Office Deduction

In specific scenarios, you can count part of your home, such as your garage, as a business expense. The IRS gives taxpayers the option to claim a home office deduction if a portion of their home is used for business operations. This provision is available to both homeowners and renters and is applicable to all kinds of homes.

Necessary Conditions for Claiming the Deduction

The IRS outlines two basic requirements to qualify for the home office deduction. First, that part of your home must be used “regularly and exclusively” for conducting business. The “exclusive use test” means that you must use a specific area of your home only for your business. In other words, if you use your garage solely to conduct your business, it can qualify. However, if it’s also used for personal storage or parking your personal vehicle, then it would not meet the “exclusive use test”.

The second requirement is the “principal place of business” test. The space has to be the primary location for conducting the substantial part of your business activities. If you only use your garage occasionally for business-related tasks while the majority of your work is conducted elsewhere, such as at a separate office location, your garage may not qualify for the home office deduction.

Methods for Calculating the Deduction

There are two ways to calculate your home office deduction: the simplified method and the regular method.

The simplified method, as suggested by its name, offers a straightforward way to calculate the deduction. Instead of calculating actual expenses, you can deduct $5 per square foot of your home used for business, up to a maximum of 300 square feet. However, if your business expenses exceed this amount, you might want to use the regular method.

The regular method involves more record keeping as it requires you to determine the actual expenses of your home office. These expenses include mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs, and depreciation. You calculate the portion of these expenses that are deductible by comparing the size of your home office to the total size of your home.

Home Office Deduction: Basic Factors

There are several aspects to consider when it comes to claiming your home office deduction. This option is available to both homeowners and renters, although the nature of deductible expenses may vary based on the type of domicile. Homeowners can usually write off mortgage interest, real estate taxes, and home depreciation. Renters, conversely, can often deduct a part of their rent and utility costs.

Due to the technical aspects and the potential for an IRS audit, it is advisable to consult with a tax expert before claiming the home office deduction. This is especially vital if you dedicate a considerable portion of your home, such as your entire garage, for business purposes.

Claiming your Garage as a Business Expense

Home Office Deduction: Using Your Garage for Business

You might be wondering whether you can deduct your garage as a business expense. The answer might be encouraging if you regularly and exclusively use a part of your home for managing your business. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) outlines that to be eligible for the home office deduction, your home, or part thereof like your garage, must chiefly function as your place of business or an area to engage with clients, customers, or patients.

How to Determine Deductible Expenses

Once you have established that you utilize your garage space specifically and regularly for your business, you will need to calculate the percentage of your home being used for business to determine your deductible expenses. The IRS allows two methods for this calculation: the “Simplified Method” and the “Regular Method.”

Under the Simplified Method, you can multiply a prescribed rate by the square footage of your home office space, up to a maximum of 300 square feet, to determine your deduction.

The Regular Method requires you to determine the actual expenses of your home office. These expenses may include mortgage interest, insurance, utilities, repairs, and depreciation. However, only the business-portion of these expenses is deductible. For instance, if you use 20% of your home, including your garage, for business, you could deduct 20% of these costs as business expenses.

Potential Pitfalls and Restrictions

While it may seem straightforward to write off your garage as a business expense, there are some potential barriers and restrictions you should be aware of. The IRS has strict rules on what constitutes a home office. For one, the space must be used regularly and exclusively for business.

Additionally, the home office deduction is available only to those who either own their home or are renters. It is not available to those who use their home for occasional business use or for day-to-day activities such as reading emails or making phone calls, the space must be utilized solely for business activities.

Also, note that the business use of the home deduction, whether taken on Schedule C or Schedule E, is generally limited to the income generated by the business. This might limit the benefit of the deduction for some taxpayers.

Record keeping for business expenses

Deciphering Business Expenses and Your Home Office

The IRS permits taxpayers to claim specific sections of their residential space as a business expenditure if they are predominantly and systematically used for business operations. This is recognized as the home office deduction, which could potentially include your garage, provided it satisfies the established criteria.

Criteria for Qualifying Your Garage as a Business Expense

The IRS has two key qualifications you need to meet to declare any part of your home, including your garage, as a business expense:

Regular and exclusive use: You must use a portion of your home regularly and exclusively for conducting business. For instance, if you use your garage as both a warehouse for your online store and for personal storage, it may not qualify.
Principal place of your business: Your home must be the principal location of your business. This means it’s the place where you perform all of your major business operations or meet with clients or customers. If you carry out business elsewhere but use your garage solely for storage of inventory or product samples, you may still be eligible to claim it.

How to Calculate the Deduction

If your garage qualifies as a home office, you can calculate your home office deduction by keeping track of all expenses related to your garage, including utilities, repairs, insurance, and mortgage interest or rent. You can also opt for the simplified method which allows a deduction of $5 per square foot of the home used for business up to 300 square feet.

Record Keeping for Business Expenses

Keeping meticulous records is critical when claiming a home office deduction. These should include receipts, bills, cancelled checks, or any other documentary evidence that supports the deductions you are claiming. In addition to these, it’s necessary to keep a record of the percentage of the home that was used for business.

Documenting the business use of your garage is also crucial. You may need to provide evidence that your garage was used regularly and exclusively for business. Photos, logs, or calendars supporting this use could prove useful in the event of an IRS audit.

Duration for Maintaining Records

The IRS recommends retaining records for as long as they may be needed to administer any provision of the Internal Revenue Code, which generally means you should keep tax records for at least 3 years from the date you filed your original return or 2 years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.

Potential Audit Risks

Understanding Home Office Deduction Including Garage Space

When referring to claiming your garage space as a business expense, it falls into the category of Home Office Deduction according to the IRS. However, certain specific circumstances are required for this along with meticulous documentation since not all home-based businesses qualify. To be eligible for such deductions, the specified space must be regularly and solely used for business. The garage, in this case, needs to be your primary working location or a space where you interact with clients or customers during regular business activities, or it must be a separate architecture not connected to your residential structure.

Measuring Your Business Use Space

Actual expenses or the simplified method can be used to figure your home office deduction. The simplified method simplifies the calculation and recordkeeping requirements of the allowable deduction. For the traditional method of calculating the deduction, measure the square footage of the section of your garage being exclusively used for your business and determine what percentage that is of your home’s overall square footage. That percentage relates to the portion of your home’s expenses you can deduct.

Potential Audit Risks

Claiming home office deductions raise the chance for an IRS audit. They may interpret the rules differently than you, specifically ones regarding if the space is used exclusively and regularly for business. Frequent audits are seen as a warning to taxpayers because it’s one of the biggest areas where the IRS believes taxpayers are cheating.

Preventing Audits

To prevent audits, providing accurate, clear, and thorough documentation of your expenses is crucial. Keep a detailed record of your square footage calculations, receipts and bills from home expenses, and any other related documentation. Remember to only claim the space that’s used exclusively for business.

Dealing with an IRS Audit

If audited by the IRS, respond timely and completely to all correspondence, consult with a tax accountant or a tax attorney if needed, and be prepared to substantiate the deductions you’ve claimed with documentary proof. Be sure you can provide supporting evidence that your garage is used regularly and exclusively for business. Floating walls or partitions can be tangible proof that you have created a distinctive space for your business activity.

Consequences of Failed Audit

If it’s determined that your deductions were unsubstantiated or excessive, you may be required to pay back taxes, interest, and potentially penalties. The key is that you acted in ‘good faith’ when you claimed the deductions, meaning you truly believed that you were entitled to the home office deductions and could provide the documents supporting that belief.