8829

Expenses for Business Use of Your Home

Agency
IRS
Revision
2025
Fillable fields
58
Pages
1
Official source
IRS form page
Checked
October 21, 2026
Fill 8829 online
Page 1 of form 8829

Form 8829: Expenses for Business Use of Your Home

Form 8829 figures the allowable expenses for business use of a home on Schedule C (Form 1040) and any carryover to 2026 of amounts not deductible in 2025. The form says to file it only with Schedule C (Form 1040) and to use a separate Form 8829 for each home used for business during the year.

The form has four parts: the part of the home used for business, the allowable deduction, depreciation of the home, and the carryover of unallowed expenses to 2026. The result on line 36 is entered on Schedule C, line 30.

The instructions say specific requirements apply to deducting expenses for business use of a home, and that even when they are met the deductible expenses may be limited. They point to Pub. 587 for details. This page covers the 2025 form. You can fill out Form 8829 free in your browser on this page and download it without an account.

Top of page 1 of Form 8829: Expenses for Business Use of Your Home, as printed by IRS

What's on Form 8829

Part I: lines 1 to 7

The business area and total area of the home, the business percentage, and for daycare space not used exclusively for business, the hours used for daycare.

Part II: lines 8 to 15

The income limit on line 8, then casualty losses, deductible mortgage interest and real estate taxes in column (a) direct and column (b) indirect expenses.

Part II: lines 16 to 27

Excess mortgage interest, excess real estate taxes, insurance, rent, repairs and maintenance, utilities, other expenses and the prior year operating expense carryover.

Part II: lines 28 to 36

Excess casualty losses, depreciation from line 42, prior year carryover, the casualty loss portion for Form 4684, and the allowable expenses on line 36.

Part III: depreciation of your home

The smaller of the home's adjusted basis or fair market value, land value, basis of the building, business basis, depreciation percentage and depreciation allowable.

Part IV: carryover to 2026

Operating expenses on line 43 and excess casualty losses and depreciation on line 44 that were not allowed this year.

How to fill out Form 8829

  1. 1

    Lines 1 to 3

    Enter the area used for business and the total area of the home. The instructions allow square feet or any other reasonable method that accurately figures the business percentage. Divide line 1 by line 2.

  2. 2

    Lines 4 to 7

    For daycare space not used exclusively for business, enter hours used on line 4 and 8,760 on line 5, or 24 times the days available if daycare started or stopped during the year. All others enter line 3 on line 7.

  3. 3

    Line 8

    Enter Schedule C, line 29, plus any gain from business use of the home, minus losses not derived from it. The instructions explain how to allocate income when some of it comes from another business location.

  4. 4

    Columns (a) and (b)

    Direct expenses benefit only the business part of the home and go in column (a) at 100%. Indirect expenses keep up the whole home and generally go in column (b) at 100%. Supplies and advertising belong elsewhere on Schedule C.

  5. 5

    Mortgage interest and taxes

    The instructions say a taxpayer claiming the standard deduction leaves lines 10 and 11 blank and enters the business portion of mortgage interest and real estate taxes on lines 16 and 17. Itemizers follow the steps and worksheet in the instructions.

  6. 6

    Part III

    Enter the smaller of basis or fair market value, subtract land, multiply by line 7 and apply the line 41 percentage. The instructions list 2.564% for a home first used for business after May 12, 1993, and before 2025, with noted exceptions.

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Where it goes, related forms and carryovers

Where it goes

Form 8829 is filed with Schedule C (Form 1040) as part of the income tax return. The form says to use a separate Form 8829 for each home used for business during the year.

Line 36 to Schedule C

Line 36 is entered on Schedule C, line 30. If the home was used in more than one business, the instructions say to allocate it using any method that is reasonable under the circumstances.

Casualty losses

The instructions say to enter line 35 on Form 4684, line 27, and write "See Form 8829" above line 27.

Form 4562

The instructions say to complete and attach Form 4562 only if the home was first used for business in 2025 or additions and improvements were placed in service in 2025.

Carryover to 2026

Lines 43 and 44 carry unallowed amounts to 2026. The instructions say the carryover is subject to the deduction limit for that year, whether or not the same home is used.

After the simplified method

If the simplified method was used for 2024 but not for 2025, the instructions say unallowed expenses from a prior year Form 8829 may carry over on lines 25 and 31.

Related forms

Who uses Form 8829?

  • Schedule C filers

    The form says to file it only with Schedule C (Form 1040). Line 8 starts from Schedule C, line 29, and line 36 is entered on Schedule C, line 30.

  • Home offices

    The instructions say expenses generally apply to a part of the home used exclusively on a regular basis as a principal place of business, a place to meet patients, clients or customers, or a separate structure used in the business.

  • Daycare providers

    Space used regularly in a daycare business can qualify even when also used for nonbusiness purposes, if the state licensing condition in the instructions is met. Lines 4 to 6 adjust for hours of use.

  • Storage of inventory or samples

    The instructions cover space used regularly to store inventory or product samples of a retail or wholesale business when the home is the only fixed location of that business.

  • When Form 8829 is not used

    The instructions say not to use it for actual expenses claimed as a partner or on Schedule F, for expenses as an employee, for expenses allocable to inventory costs, or for a home under the simplified method.

The form is an attachment to Schedule C (Form 1040), so it is completed by the person who files that schedule and goes to the IRS with the return. The instructions also list cases where Form 8829 is not used.

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Questions about Form 8829

Who files Form 8829?

The form says to file it only with Schedule C (Form 1040), using a separate Form 8829 for each home used for business during the year.

Can an employee use Form 8829 for a home office?

No. The instructions list expenses for business use of a home as an employee among the cases where Form 8829 is not used, and say these expenses can't be deducted on a personal return.

Do partners or Schedule F filers use Form 8829?

The instructions say not to use it for actual expenses claimed as a partner or on Schedule F (Form 1040), and point to the worksheet in Pub. 587 instead.

What is the difference between direct and indirect expenses?

The instructions say direct expenses benefit only the business part of the home, such as painting or repairs to the rooms used for business. Indirect expenses are for keeping up and running the entire home.

What happens to expenses over the limit?

Part IV carries unallowed operating expenses and excess casualty losses and depreciation to 2026, where they are subject to that year's limit.

What depreciation percentage applies for a home first used for business in 2025?

The line 41 table in the instructions gives a percentage by month, from 2.461% for January to 0.107% for December.