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Night Owl CD-ROM (NOPV9) (Night Owl Publisher) (1993).ISO
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2-9-93 (DTR) TAXATION, BUDGET, AND ACCOUNTING TEXT (No. 25)
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE ADVANCE NOTICE 93-12, DEALING WITH EFFECT
OF SUPREME COURT DECISION IN COMMISSIONER v. SOLIMAN (No. 91-998),
AND IRS INFORMATION RELEASE (IR 93-12), ON HOME OFFICE DEDUCTION,
ISSUED FEB. 8, 1993
(TEXT)
Notice 93-12
PURPOSE
After the 1992 edition of Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home,
went to print, the Supreme Court, in Commissioner v. Soliman, 113 S. Ct.
701 (Jan. 12, 1993), clarified what factors should be used to determine
whether your home office is your principal place of business for purposes
of the office-in-the home deduction. In light of the Soliman decision,
Publication 587 will be modified as discussed below. (However, it should
be noted that the Soliman decision does not affect deductions, such as
interest and real estate taxes, allowed with respect to your home without
regard to the business use of an office in your home.)
BACKGROUND
To deduct expenses for the business use of your
home under section 280A of the Internal Revenue
Code, you must use part of your home exclusively
and regularly:
(A) As the principal place of business for your trade or
business;
(B) As a place to meet or deal with patients, clients, or
customers in the normal course of your trade or business;
or
(C) In connection with your trade or business, if you are
using a separate structure not attached to your home.
For purposes of the principal place of business requirement in (A)
above, the Court in Soliman relied on a comparative analysis of a
taxpayer's activities at various business locations. The Court
identified two primary factors in determining whether a home office
is a taxpayer's principal place of business:
(1) The relative importance of the activities performed
at each business location; and
(2) The amount of time spent at each location.
A comparison of the relative importance of the activities
performed at each business location depends on the characteristics
of each business. If the nature of your business requires that you
meet or confer with clients or patients, or that you deliver goods
or services to a customer, the place where that contact occurs must
be given great weight in determining where the most important
activities are performed. Performance of necessary or essential
activities in your home office (such as planning for services or
the delivery of goods, or the accounting or billing for those
activities or goods) is not controlling.
In addition to comparing the relative importance of the activities
performed at each business location, you should also compare the
amount of time spent on business at your home office with the
amount of time spent on business at other locations. The time
consideration is particularly significant when a comparison of the
importance of the activities performed at each business location
yields no clear answer to the location of your principal place of
business. This may happen when you perform income-generating
activities at both your home office and some other location.
MODIFICATION OF PUBLICATION 587
In light of the Soliman decision, the Principal Place of Business
discussion on page 2 of Publication 587 will be modified as
follows: (1) the two factors listed above will replace the three
factors listed in that discussion; and (2) the three examples set
forth below will replace the example at the end of that discussion.
Example 1. Jane Williams is an anesthesiologist. Her only office
is a room in her home used regularly and exclusively to contact
patients, surgeons, and hospitals by telephone; to maintain billing
records and patent logs; to prepare for treatments and
presentations; to satisfy continuing medical education
requirements; and to read medical journals and books.
Jane spends approximately 10 to 15 hours a week doing work in her
home office. She spends 30 to 35 hours per week administering
anesthesia and postoperative care in three hospitals, none of which
provided her with an office.
The essence of Jane's business as an anesthesiologist requires her
to treat patients in hospitals. The home office activities are less
important to Jane's business than the services she performs in the
hospitals. In addition, a comparison of the 10 to 15 hours per week
spent in the home office to the 30 to 35 hours per week spent at
the hospitals further supports the conclusion that Jane's home
office is not her principal place of business. Therefore, she
cannot deduct expenses for the business use of her home.
Example 2. Joe Smith is a salesperson. His only office is a room in
his house used regularly and exclusively to set up appointments,
store product samples, and write up orders and other reports for
the companies whose products he sells.
Joe's business is selling products to customers at various
locations within the metropolitan area where he lives. To make
these sales, he regularly visits is the customers to explain the
available products and to take orders. Joe makes only a few sales
from his home office. Joe spends an average of 30 hours a week
visiting customers and 12 hours a week working at his home office.
The essence of Joe's business as a salesperson requires him to
meet with customers primarily at the customer's place of business.
The home office activities are less important to Joe's business
than the sales activities he performs when visiting customers. In
addition, a comparison of the 12 hours per week spent in the home
office to the 30 hours per week spent visiting customers further
supports the conclusion that Joe's home office is not the principal
place of business. Therefore, he cannot deduct expenses for the
business use of his home.
Example 3. Fred Jones, a salesperson, performs the same activities
in his home office as Joe Smith in Example 2, except that Fred
makes most of his sales to customers by telephone or mail from his
home office. Fred spends an average of 30 hours a week working at
his home office and 12 hours a week visiting prospective customers
to deliver produces and occasionally take orders.
The essence of Fred's business as a salesperson requires him to
make telephone or mail contact with customers primarily from his
office, which is in his home. Actually visiting customers is less
important to Fred's business than the sales activities he performs
from his home office. In addition, a comparison of the 30 hours per
week spent selling to customers from the home office with the 12
hours per week spent visiting customers further supports the
conclusion that Fred's home office is his principal place of
business. Therefore, he can deduct expenses for the business use of
his home.