Home Office Tips

Home Office Tips by BB Lee (C)2006 mailto:smallbizbits@yahoo.com You've decided to start a home based business. Now your next important step is to decide where to place your home office. You decide to place the home office in a corner of your bedroom. Or in the corner of a dinning room. Maybe even the family room surrounded by the kid's huge toy collection. Heh, you reason, it's better than no office at all. Besides it takes up a small space and cost almost zero to set up. Wrong...Wrong...Wrong! If you operate your home office out of a room primarily used for another purpose you are making an enormous mistake. A friend admits her first home office was a little nook in the corner of her den facing a noisy street. After constant interruptions and street noise she relocated her home office to an unused secluded spare bedroom. A very smart move on her part! It is highly recommended by many experienced home business owners to place your home office in a separate area. Why? This will entitle you to a nice little tax benefit. If your home office meets "Tax Qualifications" you might easily deduct everything from rent to office supplies. Once again: You must remember to qualify for these deductions your home office must be a separate room used only to operate your home based business. It should not be a room used for extra storage, or for the kids to gather after school or a guest bedroom. Here's a few more deductions you might qualify for under current tax regulations. -Your office supplies -Supplies used to clean your office -Equipment depreciation -Lease payments on equipment -Rental fees on equipment -Equipment repairs -Business telephone line -Business manuals -Business training/courses -Home mortgage or rental deductions Note: for up to date tax regulations visit the IRS web-site online. And there's a few other very good reason why your home office should be a separate space. If your business involves personal contact with customers you certainly should never ever greet them in a messy bedroom/office. Think of the first impression you will make on your clients! Makes you think...huh? Not a very professional image! And it's also a good idea to separate your personal and business life to boost your productivity. Thereby discouraging friends and/or family members from dropping by to chat during work hours. -------------------------------------------------------- Article by BB Lee at SmallBizBits News Visit http://www.smallbizbitsnews.com for more articles, over 100 home business ideas, free eBooks, eReports, and more! Subscribe at:mailto46401-subscribe@zinnester.com