U.S. · Tax forms
Schedule C line 30, business use of your home.
Form 8829 or the simplified method, and the one place these costs may be reported.
Line 30 is the only place for home-office costs on Schedule C. Either enter line 36 of Form 8829, or use the simplified method: generally the area used regularly and exclusively for business (up to 300 square feet) multiplied by $5, with the square footage written in the line 30 spaces.
Look up a home-office situation
Result
Line 30 methods and rules (2025 instructions)
| Item | Meaning | What the IRS says |
|---|---|---|
| Actual expenses | Attach Form 8829 | Enter the amount from line 36 of Form 8829 on line 30; leave the square-footage spaces blank |
| Simplified method | $5 × square feet | In most cases multiply the area used regularly and exclusively for business, regularly for daycare, or regularly for storage of inventory or product samples by $5; the area cannot exceed 300 square feet |
| Election | Made each year | You choose each tax year; the election is made by using the method on a timely filed, original return and, once made for a year, is irrevocable |
| Switching years | Not an accounting-method change | Changing between simplified and actual expenses in a later year does not require the Commissioner’s consent |
| Rental use | Not allowed | You cannot use the simplified method to figure a deduction for rental use of your home |
| More than one home | One simplified, rest on 8829 | You may elect the simplified method for only one home; use Form 8829 for any additional home and enter the combined total on line 30 |
| Part II heading | Home costs only here | Enter expenses for business use of your home only on line 30; do not report them elsewhere |
Simplified method details
The Simplified Method Worksheet in the instructions starts from a gross income limitation (built from Schedule C line 29, plus any gain from the business use of the home, minus certain losses). It caps the allowable amount at the area times $5 and also at that limitation. Because you use the simplified method, you cannot deduct the prior-year carryovers on worksheet lines 6a and 6b this year; if you file Form 8829 in a later year you can include them again.
If you itemize
With the simplified method the instructions say you may deduct mortgage interest, real estate taxes and casualty losses on Schedule A as if you did not use your home for business, and you cannot deduct any excess mortgage interest, excess real estate taxes or excess casualty losses on Schedule C for that home.
What stays out of line 30
Use Part II of Schedule C for business expenses unrelated to the qualified business use of the home, for example advertising, wages, supplies or depreciation of equipment or furniture.
Worked example
Priya uses a 150-square-foot spare room regularly and exclusively for her consulting business. With the simplified method that is 150 × $5 = $750 on line 30, and she writes 150 in the square-footage space, subject to the gross income limitation in the worksheet. A 400-square-foot space would still be counted as only 300 square feet ($1,500 maximum). Names and figures are made up.
More line pages in this set
Related lines: Form 8829 Line 8, Form 8829 Line 22, Schedule C Line 29.
Sources
- Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040) (2025): the line-by-line instructions on this page. Page last reviewed or updated April 30, 2026. Read November 2, 2026.
- Schedule C (Form 1040): the printed line wording and arithmetic on the form. Read November 2, 2026.
- Instructions for Form 8829 (2025): Form 8829 line 8 and line 36 references. Page last reviewed or updated April 30, 2026. Read November 2, 2026.
Tax year 2025 instructions (page last reviewed or updated April 30, 2026). The line labels were read from the Schedule C (Form 1040) PDF the IRS had posted on the date read, which is marked 2026; line numbers can shift between years, so check them against the form for your tax year. Names in worked examples are made up.
Frequently asked questions
What goes on Schedule C line 30?
Your expenses for business use of your home: the amount from line 36 of Form 8829, or the result of the Simplified Method Worksheet.
How much is the simplified method?
In most cases $5 per square foot of the area used regularly and exclusively for business, regularly for daycare, or regularly for storage of inventory or product samples, up to 300 square feet.
Can I change methods next year?
Yes. You choose each year, and a change between simplified and actual expenses is not a change in method of accounting.
Do I fill in the square-footage spaces if I use Form 8829?
No. The instructions say not to complete them; include the amount from line 36 of Form 8829 on line 30.
Can I use the simplified method for rental use?
No. The instructions say you cannot use it to figure a deduction for rental use of your home.
Not tax advice
This page summarizes IRS instructions, mostly written for the people who prepare the form, and is not tax, legal or financial advice. A CPA or an enrolled agent can confirm what a line means for your return. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.