Self-employed home-based business owners may have an additional tax option beginning next year as bi-partisan legislation aims to streamline home office deduction filing.
The Home Office Tax Deduction Simplification Act would provide business owners with the option of a $1,500 standard deduction but would not prevent qualifying taxpayers from continuing to itemize their expenses if they wish to do so, a release said.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Kurt Schrader, Oregon 5th District Democrat, and Rep. Devin Nunes, a California Republican, with Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, and Rep. Ron Kind, a Wisconsin Democrat, as co-sponsors.
“This bill will streamline the tax process that often puts an undue burden on entrepreneurship allowing small businesses to put these savings back into the economy,” Schrader said in a release. “That means hiring more workers, expanding their businesses and helping rebuild our economy.”
If the bill becomes law, it will reduce the amount of paperwork and time home-based entrepreneurs spend on tax preparation. It also will require that the standard deduction is indexed for inflation.