WASHINGTON, DC – The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading advocate and resource for self-employed and micro-businesses, today applauded the introduction of legislation that addresses address the needs of the small business owner and childcare. The Working Parents Home Office Act, introduced today by U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), allows working parents to deduct incidental use for childcare provided while the taxpayer is using a home office space for their business.

“We applaud Senator McConnell’s aggressive approach to addressing a unique challenge to being a small business owner: working from home and childcare,” said Katie Vlietstra, Vice President for Government Relations and Public Affairs. “Millions of Americans are pursuing dreams of owning and operating their own small business, but the sad truth is there are numerous barriers preventing them from succeeding. Senator McConnell’s legislation introduced today is another effort targeted at relieving one of those barriers for working parents operating an at-home small business.”

Vlietstra continued, “We support all efforts that relieve the burden on sole-proprietors and help them open the doors or grow their business. That is why we were happy to welcome a new streamlined, standardized home office deduction introduced during this year’s tax filing season.”

The NASE has worked on behalf of its members, the small business community and the self-employed to advocate for a simpler home office filing option. This year was the first year small business owners could take a standardized, streamlined home-office deduction.

The new home office deduction option offers a new, simpler way for calculating the home office tax deduction, allowing small business owners and employees who work from home and who maintain a qualifying home office to deduct up to $1,500 per year. The new option allows qualified taxpayers to deduct annually $5 per square foot of home office space on up to 300 square feet, for as much as $1,500 in deductions. To take advantage of the new option, taxpayers will complete a much simpler version of the current 43-line form.

Source: NASE