IRS makes it easier to file Tax Deductions if you Own a Home-Based Business.

I'm excited to announce that soon it will be a whole lot easier to claim a federal tax deduction if you own a home-based business. The IRS has created a new "significantly simplified" form to figure out what to claim for business use of your home office that you can use starting next year. 

This will replace the 43-line form that's now used to fill out the so-called "home office deduction."

The change applies to 2013 incomes taxes to be filed next year. The new option will reduce record-keeping and paperwork by a whopping 1.6 million hours a year and will be capped at $1,500 per year says the IRS. 

Also I should mention the following:

• The deduction is based on $5-per-square-foot for up to 300 square feet of home office space.
• Existing rules, such as requirement that a home office must be used exclusively for business, still apply under the new option.

I think these new changes will ease tax preparation headaches for millions. 

New Form (example; not IRS document)

Not sure if any of you filled out the previous form , but just to show you how simpler the new form is compared to the old form, look below to see what was included in the old form:

• One page long, with 43 lines;
• The words “see instructions” appears 17 times;
• There are four pages of instructions;
• Part III must be completed before Part II can be completed.

*The NASE estimates that nearly half of the 9 million home-based businesses do not elect to complete the IRS Form 8829 (Standard Deduction for Expenses for Business Use of Your Home) due to the complex nature of the instructions.

Sources: Personal Finance: Ask the Experts,  NASE

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/personal-finance-ask-the-experts/2013/01/home-based-businesses-irs-forms-to-file-for-tax-deduction.html#storylink=cpy