Not Deductible

FOR GROWING NUMBERS OF WORKING PEOPLE, HOME is where the job is. But to the U.S. Supreme Court, home had better be where virtually all the job is -- or no tax deduction. In a decision that will make it harder to write off the costs of a home office as a business expense, the high court ruled that home offices are not deductible if taxpayers spend significant work time away from the rooms they have set aside for office space.

The ruling was handed down in the case of Dr. Nader Soliman, a self-employed anesthesiologist who spent 10 to 15 hours a week working out of the spare bedroom of his home in McLean, Virginia. Soliman also worked a total of 30 to 35 hours each week in three hospitals. But the irs denied him a $2,500 tax deduction because it determined that his home office was not his "principal place of business." The ruling was roundly criticized by small businesses, some members of Congress and, appropriately, the National Association for the Cottage Industry.