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Interesting tax tip timing

March 15, 2007

An interesting message from the IRS showed up in my e-mail box this morning, a tip on taking the home office deduction.

The e-mail itself wasn’t so unusual. I get tons of cyber communication every day — newsletters I’ve signed up for, newsletters I don’t remember signing up for, blog alerts, FYIs from friends and colleagues about tax and financial topics. Heck, even the occasional "V!agggra" message still slips through the filtering system.

And this particular one from the IRS didn’t offer anything shocking or new. It was simply the standard tax-time reminder to home-based workers about what to do and not to do when it comes to taking this deduction:

  • Allowable expenses, such as a portion of your real estate taxes, mortgage interest or rent, utilities, insurance, depreciation and repairs.   
  • Forms to file, including  Schedule C to report your business income or loss and Form 8829 to figure your home office write-off. 
  • Requirements to meet, like making sure that the part of your home you claim is used regularly and exclusively for your professional purposes.

But I did find the timing intriguing.

The IRS advice comes just a few days after the indictment of one of its own for allegedly running a fake business from his home to evade taxes.

And the icing on the coincidental e-mail cake: One of the suggested additional reading items was Publication 4035, a brochure "to help taxpayers recognize home-based business tax avoidance schemes."

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The More Tax Posts tab at the top of this page will take you to, well, more tax posts. You also can search below for a tax topic. 

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TAX-SAVVY WAYS 
TO WRAP UP 2026

It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill. 

You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.

Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings. 

Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year. 

So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

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