The business part of your home must be exclusively and regularly used for your business. The business part of your home must be your principal place of business; a place where you meet or deal with patients, clients, or customers in the normal course of your business; or a separate structure (not attached to your home) that you use in connection with your business.

To qualify under the exclusive use test, you must use a specific area of your home only for your trade or business. The area used for business can be a room or other separately identifiable space. The space does not need to be marked off by a permanent partition. You do not meet the requirements of the exclusive use test if you use the area in your home both for business and for personal purposes. There are separate IRS rules if you use part of your home for the storage of inventory or product samples or as a daycare facility.

To qualify under the regular use test, you must use a specific area of your home business on a continuing basis, not an occasional or incidental use, even if you do not use that area for any other purpose.

See IRS Publication 587.

Jo Ann Joy is the CEO and owner of Indigo Business Solutions, a legal and business consulting firm that differs from other business consulting firms, because it offers comprehensive legal and business counseling. Jo Ann has a law degree, an MBA, and a degree in Economics, but she is not a traditional attorney. Rather, she is a strategic business attorney who works closely with clients to create and implement strategies that will greatly improve their performance and success.

Jo Ann uses her talents, expertise, and education to inspire enterprising and imaginative people to make their goals a reality and enjoy professional and personal growth. Her background includes commercial and real estate law, accounting, financial planning, mortgages, marketing, product development, and business strategies. She ran a successful business for 10 years, and she has written and given presentations on many different legal and business subjects.

Jo Ann Joy, CEO www.IndigoBusinessSolutions.net, Phone (602) 663-7007, Fax (602) 324-7582. For more information about these and other important business topics and for legal consultation, please visit our website at http://www.IndigoBusinessSolutions.net/ Copyright 2006. Indigo Business Solutions is a registered trade name. The future of your business starts here.