S-Corp reimbursed home office expense

[appelman]

If an S-Corp reimburses its owner/officer for home office expenses under an accountable plan, should depreciation be included?

[ChEAr$]

If an S-Corp reimburses its owner/officer for home office expenses under an accountable plan, should depreciation be included?

Nope. That's one think I checked preparatory to setting up my own home office for my S corp.
Think I found it in Taxbook, but not sure.

[Gretel]

Agree

O agree with Harlan.

[sandigi]

Also a NO

Same "person" is land owner and tenant. No depreciation.

I seem to remember the regulations saying something like "I am you and you are me" . . . oh wait, I have that confused with a song.

[Nashville]

What If you Rent?

What if the S corp rented the office space from the owner? That might work as long as S corp stuff was all that was happening in the space.

The complexion is entirely different than Form 8829 - totally different requirements, allowed expenses, etc. The owner would instead report this on a Schedule E.

And then, he would have to mark one of the new boxes at the top as being "Self-Rental." If you take a look at the fallout from "Self-Rental" he might want to just forget it.

[ChEAr$]

What if the S corp rented the office space from the owner? That might work as long as S corp stuff was all that was happening in the space.

The complexion is entirely different than Form 8829 - totally different requirements, allowed expenses, etc. The owner would instead report this on a Schedule E.

And then, he would have to mark one of the new boxes at the top as being "Self-Rental." If you take a look at the fallout from "Self-Rental" he might want to just forget it.

Won't work, Ron. That is one possibility I considered before opting for the accountable plan reimbursement. Sorry I didn't retain notes on where I found it.
But it involved any type corporation, not just S corp.

[Nashville]

Renting of Building

ChEAr$, the dog does hunt. [I think] [maybe] [perhaps] Nothing like having confidence, right?

We advise clients at every opportunity to keep the building in their own personal name instead of putting it in the ownership of the corporation. And then rent the building to the corporation.

The only difference I see is that the "building" in this case is a portion of the owner's personal residence. That might be where the problems arise. In this regard, you may be correct...

Either way, the new box indicating "self rental" has to be checked.

[appelman]

Thanks, everybody. And followup question.

I concluded the rental would be doable, but not particularly desirable. What about reimbursement for auto expenses under an accountable plan. Would depreciation also be excluded in that case?

[ChEAr$]

ChEAr$, the dog does hunt. [I think] [maybe] [perhaps] Nothing like having confidence, right?

We advise clients at every opportunity to keep the building in their own personal name instead of putting it in the ownership of the corporation. And then rent the building to the corporation.

The only difference I see is that the "building" in this case is a portion of the owner's personal residence. That might be where the problems arise. In this regard, you may be correct...

Either way, the new box indicating "self rental" has to be checked.

My comments involved a corporation not being able to rent a portion of a home as an office. Certainly a corporation may rent a building from a shareholder/officer.

[jsamans]

I concluded the rental would be doable, but not particularly desirable. What about reimbursement for auto expenses under an accountable plan. Would depreciation also be excluded in that case?

If reimbursement is made under the standard mileage rate, depreciation is part of the included per-mile rate (TaxBook 10-5). Similarly, actual car expenses include the cost of depreciation (TaxBook 10-6).

Anything that the shareholder could deduct on his or her own taxes can instead be reimbursed by the corporation, so yes, the accountable-plan reimbursement for auto expenses may include depreciation.

[Burke]

. Certainly a corporation may rent a building from a shareholder/officer.

And this does not fall under the "self-rental" rules even though it is a (sole-shareowner) S-Corp that rents a building from an LLC where the same shareowner is also the single member of the LLC?

[taxea]

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-%26-Self-Employed/Home-Office-Deduction

read requirements and additional tests for employees

"You must not rent any part of your home to your employer and use the rented portion to perform services as an employee for that employer." You are both employer and employee .... no can do

[JON]

"Office in

the home" is not even close to the same as renting a building for the buisness from an owner!!! As long as the building is not a resident for the owner?? missing something here.