We live in an information age, you no longer have to lease a space to do business... in fact, it saves a lot of businesses money, it helps with the environment (no commuting). I have worked out of my home office for 6 years now and thought I would share with you all valuable information if you work from home or have an online business.

First, figure out the square footage of your home:What is a Square Foot? A "square foot" is a unit of area measurement equal to a square measuring one foot on each side. To measure get a measuring tape and measure the length of the room and the width of the room (L x W = Square Footage). You can also go to: http://www.squarefootage.org/square-footage-calculator.php to plug in your results for a more accurate reading. It is also very important to know the square footage of your entire home. You then simply divide your square footage of your office from the square footage of your entire home. To get the percentage of what you can deduct as home office expenses.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is very important that you use your work space only for work space! Think of working in a cubicle, if you wouldn't have it in your cubicle at work you shouldn't have it in your own office. (Pool Table, Wii, Baby Crib, Winter Clothes in Closet, Ect...) You will want to make sure it is an area in your home strictly for business use. 

Once you know the percentage of office space that is occupying your home you can deduct that percentage of all interior home expenses. 

For Example:
Rent or Mortgage
Property Taxes
Utilities
Renter's or Home Owner's Insurance
House Cleaning Services
Maintenance Costs Telephone (Must be separate from personal use)
Office Machines: Computers, Printers, Copiers, Calculators (Used Only For Business)
Office Furniture: Desk, Chair, Filing Cabinet, Lamps
Office Supplies: Pens, Paper, File Folders, Printer Ink, Glue, Tape, Calendars, Bulletin Boards, White Boards

What about new businesses that spent money on start up costs but didn't make any profit? Well, if you have another job you can write off these expenses in Schedule C and it will be deducted from your current income. If you don't have another job, then you can carry over this expense up to 30 years. 

I hope all this information was helpful and if you have any tax questions please feel free to comment below.