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q1024 · Jan 7, 2008, 07:58 AM

I did my tax return using professional service in the past.
last year we amortized the house as part of home office deduction.
this year I am doing the tax return myself.
I assume we need to know
a) remaining value
b) method of depreciation (eg. Straight line)

** Am I missing anything from above?
** Any special form in addition to inclusion on 1040?
** Any tricks/traps to watch out for?

thanks

AtlantaTaxExpert · Jan 7, 2008, 08:07 AM

There are no real traps involved her. You MUST use straight-line depreciation on the remaining value. The tax software will do the calculations for you if you enter the original starting date (which you can find on the file copy of one of the old returns).

ScottGem · Jan 7, 2008, 08:10 AM

I'm curious, how much of a deduction did you get from the home office? Do you understand that, if you were to sell the house, that the home office portion would now need to be listed as a sale of commercial property? Do you also understand that taking the home office deduction increass the chances for an audit? Is the home office portion of your house used EXCLUSIVELY for the home business?

By the way, amortization is the process of calculating the prinicpal and interest portions of a loan over the period of the loan. What you need to calculate is the depreciation of the home.

AtlantaTaxExpert · Jan 7, 2008, 11:51 AM

Scott:

Details, details!