Homeowner's or renter's insurance with a home office belongs on Line 30, line 30, business use of your home.
Why line 30
The policy covers your home, not your business, so it is not a line 15 premium. It is one of the indirect home expenses on Form 8829, alongside utilities, mortgage interest and real estate taxes, where only the business use percentage carries through to line 30. Under the simplified method you take a flat rate per square foot instead and the premium is not listed at all.
Log it once, with the line already on it. Type an expense in plain words in ClaryBook and it is filed with a date, vendor, amount and what it was for, so the number your preparer needs for homeowner's or renter's insurance with a home office is already written down.
Start for freeWhat homeowner's or renter's insurance with a home office is confused with
- Line 15, insurance
- A separate business policy, or a business rider priced separately on the same policy, is a line 15 premium; the household premium itself flows through Form 8829.
- Schedule A, schedule a, personal itemised deduction
- The rest of the household premium is a personal cost with no deduction, unlike mortgage interest and property taxes, which can be itemized on Schedule A.
Examples that belong on line 30
- A $1,320 homeowner's premium with a 12 percent business use percentage, giving $158 on Form 8829
- $240 a year of renter's insurance where one of five rooms is your exclusive office
- A condo policy premium allocated by square footage to a home office
- A $140 business property rider priced separately on the same policy, deducted in full on line 15
What does not belong here
- The full premium, since only the business use percentage counts
- Any premium at all if you use the simplified home office method
- A share based on a room you also use personally, which fails the exclusive use test
The limit that applies
The space must be used exclusively and regularly for business, and the home office deduction is capped by the gross income limit on Form 8829.
What to keep
Keep the policy and premium invoices plus the square footage measurements behind your business use percentage. Form 8829 asks for both the office area and the whole home.
Other expenses on line 30
| Expense | Line |
|---|---|
| a home's electricity bill with a home office | Line 30 |
| home costs for a home office | Line 30 |
| home mortgage interest where you have a home office | Line 30 |
| renting a room in your own home to your business | Line 30 |
| the simplified home office method | Line 30 |
| working from home | Line 30 |
Related lookups
Sources
- Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home
- About Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home
- Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040)
This page explains how Schedule C lines work. It is general information, not tax advice for your situation. If an expense is large or the answer turns on a fact about your business, confirm it with your tax preparer.
Looking for a different expense? The full Schedule C line lookup has every line from 8 to 27 with the expenses that belong on each, and Schedule C expense categories walks the whole form in order.
Log it once, with the line already on it. Type an expense in plain words in ClaryBook and it is filed with a date, vendor, amount and what it was for, so the number your preparer needs for homeowner's or renter's insurance with a home office is already written down.
Start for free