Deducting Telephone Expenses for Your Home Office
If you want to deduct your telephone expenses for your home office, here is what you need to know:
- If you have One Telephone Line in Your Home
If you have only one telephone line in your home, you cannot deduct the use of the phone line for local calls, since that is not "exclusive" use of the line, under IRS regulations. But you can deduct any long-distance business calls you make on the line. Be sure to save your phone receipts so you can show the detail on the specific calls made, if you are audited.
- If you have separate business and personal phone lines
If you have set up a separate business line in your home, you can can deduct the use of this line for both local and long distance calls. Be sure you do not use this line for personal calls. Remember the "exclusive" provision.
- If you use a cell phone for business
You can deduct expenses for a cell phone used exclusively for business in the same way as a wired phone. If you have only one cell phone and you use it for both business and personal calls, check with your tax adviser on deductibility.
