18 Feb Can I deduct my new snow blower?

Q. I work from home and the truth is, I don’t really need to leave the house and I don’t see clients here. Any chance I can deduct my new snow blower?
— Needing deductions

A. You’re smart to ask before taking a deduction that might be questionable. You don’t want to raise any red flags with your tax returns.

We’re going to assume that you satisfy the strict rules that govern the home office deduction.

If you do, certain expenses are allowable, said Gail Rosen, a Martinsville-based certified public accountant.

First, there are the “direct expenses” of the home office, such as the costs of painting or repairing the home office, depreciation deductions for furniture and fixtures used the home.

“Obviously, the snow blower does not qualify as a direct expense,” Rosen said.

Then there are the “indirect expenses” of maintaining the home office, such as the properly allocable share of utility costs, depreciation, insurance, rent, homeowners insurance and more.

“The expense for a snow blower is similar to that of lawn care which the IRS has specifically rules on,” Rosen said. “They ruled that lawn care expenses are expenses that benefit only the part of home, that is not used for business and aren’t generally deductible as home office expenses.”

So that makes your snow blower similar to lawn care, which means it’s not a deductible home office expense.

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This story was first posted in February 2016.