It is not that risky.

Just do it right.

Don't start telling me,

well, Mark, you're too aggressive because I've never in 25 years had a client audited for the home office.

It's not just the nine to five.

You're in the office.

It's the stuff you're doing a home, too.

And now you get it under this administrative exception.

Home office also unlocks the auto deduction.

Welcome everyone to the Main Street Business Podcast. This is Matt Sorensen, joined by the great and powerful, my best friend, Mark J. Kohler. Oh, thank you for that. I appreciate. Best friends. We're doing the best friends. Best friends. Yeah. You know, you're always nervous when you throw out the, you're my best friend. They're like, are they going to return that?

I'm just going to lob that out there and hope it comes back, you know, or the I love you. I love you, man. I love you, man. I wasn't ready for that. You're going to throw that down. This is our second date. Okay. Anyway, well, I just want to spoiler alert tell you, we're not going to get into the weeds on how to take the home office deduction.

We're going to talk about what the home office deduction represents.

It's not the dollar amount. It represents at the heart of small business, what a small business owner feels entitled to. They're working out of their home. They started their business in the home. They're working nights in their home. They're working weekends in their home. And they deserve the freaking home office deduction. And when they hear an accountant across the table say, well, it's too risky, you can't do that. Or there's just the rules. You can't do that. Oh my gosh. It's like pop in a balloon with a pen. The business owner's like, I thought you were my advocate. I deserve the home office deduction. That's the core of what being a small business owners are all about. It's family. It's home. It's business. And damn it, I deserve that right off and I want it. And when you help a taxpayer take that right off, man, it's liberated. And it's, they could care less if it's $100. Yeah. They just want to know they did it. Yeah. And all of you business owners, I hope you feel that because you know that, right? You know that there's this business that's being conducted in your home. You're using this space in your home. And if you were out in corporate America, your big corporation, right? That office that the CEO's sitting in, that's getting expense. That's getting written off. But here's one of the things that's interesting about the home office deduction.

It doesn't actually show up in your business bank account as an expense. It's one of those areas you've got to think of and go find. A lot of accountants are missing it because they're not asking the question. They're just looking at the crappy accountants, I should say. They're just looking at, oh, let me see your bank statements and let me see your P&L. I don't see a rental payment on this or an expense because it's in your home.

But just because you didn't write a check out of your business account to go pay a rent or lease doesn't mean you don't get the home office deduction. So we will talk about how you take it here. We're going to get into some of the options and the methods, of course. We want to make sure you understand how to use this, any of you business owners. And I know, Mark, for the Main Street Tax Pros, this is definitely something any Main Street Tax Pro is on their list to make sure that the client's taking it and to know also the different ways you can get it. Because there are a couple of nuances to this, the administrative exception. There are a couple layers that need to be peeled back. Yes. And before we get into those details, I want to tell any accountants listening, tax lawyers, which we are, and I've read every case on the

home office, I teach continuing education on the home office, and I want to tell everybody,

it is not that risky. Just do it right. It's not that risky. And yes, there's a different

strategy when you're doing an S-Corp, Home Office reimbursement versus a Schedule C versus a Schedule E versus a Schedule F. Been there, done that. Don't start telling me, oh, Mark, you're too aggressive because I've never in 25 years had a client audited for the Home Office because I'm not taking it over the top. What I'm doing is I'm building a relationship with my

client. I want to be on the same side of the table with my client. I want to tell them I feel

their pain. It's hard to make ends meet right now. It's hard to pay the bills. And you're working

your arse off to try to bring your small business to fruition. And then your accountant says,

you can't take the home office right off. Come on. Be brave. I won't say anymore about that and something lewd and crude. So I think this is a chance for so many of you are tax professionals to build a relationship with your client. Talk about the home office deduction. Relate with them on the power of just the concept that,

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