Home Office Form

Hi all — I’m getting mixed answers online about how to properly calculate a home office deduction using IRS Form 8829 in a shared housing situation.

Hoping the answer to a hypothetical might help me understand:

• 300 sq ft — office (exclusive business use)
• 300 sq ft — bedroom (my exclusive personal use)
• 900 sq ft — shared common areas (kitchen, living room, etc.)
• 600 sq ft — space exclusively used by others

Total home: 2,100 sq ft
Total rent I pay: $4,000/month

1. Is there a correct way the IRS expects you to calculate this.
2. Is there ever a reason to split the payment in half (e.g., “bedroom” vs. “office”)
3. Would a cleaner approach be to just treat this as a Schedule C direct expense and ask my LL (Its currently an informal arrangement and he is a family member) to have a license agreement specifically related to the office space with a contracted $2,000 rent amount.

Hi all — I’m getting mixed answers online about how to properly calculate a home office deduction using IRS Form 8829 in a shared housing situation.

Hoping the answer to a hypothetical might help me understand:

• 300 sq ft — office (exclusive business use)
• 300 sq ft — bedroom (my exclusive personal use)
• 900 sq ft — shared common areas (kitchen, living room, etc.)
• 600 sq ft — space exclusively used by others

Total home: 2,100 sq ft
Total rent I pay: $4,000/month

1. Is there a correct way the IRS expects you to calculate this.

2. Is there ever a reason to split the payment in half (e.g., “bedroom” vs. “office”)

3. Would a cleaner approach be to just treat this as a Schedule C direct expense and ask my LL (Its currently an informal arrangement and he is a family member) to have a license agreement specifically related to the office space with a contracted $2,000 rent amount.