Why does TurboTx Review keep taking me to my Schedule C Form 8829 Line C "The lesser of the sq footage of your home office or 300"? My response is 170. I'm stuck.

[heybarb]

I've tried deleting the Form and starting over, but it does the same thing.  My home office is 170, clearly less than 300 square feet, so I'm not sure what's wrong.

[AnnetteB6]

Are you claiming more than one home office for the same Schedule C?  For example, did you move during the year and had a home office in each home?

If that is the case, then one of the home offices must use the actual expense method.  Both cannot use the simplified method for calculating the home office expense.

Please share any other aspects of your situation that is different than simply claiming one home office all year using the simplified method. 

[heybarb]

I'm claiming only one home office.  My answers to the TurboTax questions were - only one office, used all 12 months, at least 15 days per month, 100% of my work was done at home, office size 168, home square footage is 2298 = simplified deduction of $840.  Then when I try to file, TurboTax tells me I have one detail to review and it takes me to:  "Schedule C (Name of Job) - Form 8829 (Office): Ln C of Simple Methods Wks the spouse has elected the simplified home office expense method and a total greater than the maximum allowed 300 square feet is entered on Form 8829.  Limited Square Footage:  168"   ---- which is clearly less than 300...

[heybarb]

I think I figured it out...there are 2 1099s and I entered Home Office info for both.  So, now what do I do?  One position was 12 months, the 2nd position was 4 months...so they overlapped.  What numbers do I enter when it asks me to correct my information?

[PatriciaV]

You'll need to divide up the space and enter it as if you had 2 separate offices. The IRS doesn't provide explicit direction on how to do this, stating only that the method you choose be "reasonable."

The most important thing to remember is that the total amount of your home office square footage, when added together, should not exceed the total you would claim if you had just 1 business use.

In your case, you used a home office for 16 months. One would be 4/16 and the other 12/16. That's one possible allocation to use.

For example, if you have 2 businesses and 1 office measuring 100 square feet that you use equally for both businesses, you could enter 50 square feet for each home office. Or if you use your home office more for 1 business than the other, you could enter 75 square feet and 25 square feet, respectively.

Enter home office expenses for each office separately. If the expense is shared with your home (for example, property taxes), enter the total amount twice. Because you have split the home office space between two businesses, each home office will have an allocated share of the total.

[WesL2]

With two offices in your home you can not exceed 300 sq ft in total. Example office one is 100sq ft and the other is 200 sq ft