Home office deduction calculator for therapists
See what the room you see clients from could be worth at tax time, worked out both ways the IRS allows. Then check nine more deductions therapists often miss.
Free for SimplePractice members, who also get 25% off an annual Heard plan.
For general education only, not tax advice. Talk with a tax professional about your own situation.
Your home office deduction
Change any number and your deduction updates as you type. This is a preliminary estimate only, and rough figures are fine.
Yearly home costs
Estimate only, not tax advice. Homeowners use mortgage interest, not the full payment. The standard method needs records to back it up.
Two ways the IRS lets you figure it
You can pick whichever method gives you more, and you can switch from one year to the next. Here's how each one works, using the numbers you entered above.
Simplified method
Bigger for you- How it works: a flat $5 for each square foot of your office, up to 300 square feet, so $1,500 at most.
- What you need: just your office's measurements. No home bills to keep.
- Good fit if: your office is small, your home costs are low, or you'd rather skip the paperwork.
Standard method
Bigger for you- How it works: your office's share of the home, applied to what you actually spend: rent or mortgage interest, utilities, internet, insurance, property tax and repairs.
- What you need: receipts and statements for those costs, kept through the year.
- Good fit if: you rent or own in a higher cost area, or your office is a bigger share of your home. Homeowners can also include depreciation, which may be taxed back when you sell.
The IRS calls the standard method the "regular method." This is general education only. A tax professional can tell you which fits your situation.
Want help maximizing your deductions?
Heard tracks your rent, utilities and internet as they come in all year, so your home office deduction is calculated accurately from real records. That way every dollar you've earned is claimed on your return, along with the rest of your business expenses.
That's from Heard's 2026 survey of 1,950 therapists. Plenty of them never claim the room they do it from.
You don't need to own your home. Renters use their rent; homeowners use mortgage interest and property tax, not the full mortgage payment.
The bigger number only holds up if your rent, utilities and internet are tracked all year. That's the part most people skip.
Nine more deductions therapists miss
Tap the ones you already claim. Anything left unchecked is worth a look before you file.