Return Engagement for Standard Home Office Bill
Mar 23rd, 2009 | By Dawn Rivers Baker | Category: RegulationsIn another episode of Great Reruns from Congresses Past, a new bill to create a simplified standard home office deduction was introduced in the House last week. This time, the bipartisan legislation, astonishingly entitled the “Home Office Deduction Simplification Act of 2009″ (H.R. 1509), was sponsored by John McHugh (R-NY) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR). As is usually the case with this sort of legislation, the lawmakers involved issued a joint press release in which they tastefully express of each other that only slightly exceeded their admiration of themselves and of all things bipartisan.
The bill creates a standard deduction for anyone who otherwise qualifies to take the itemized version. The deduction itself is the lesser of $1,500 or the gross revenue of the business in question (because nobody on Capitol Hill can resist adding just a smidgen of complexity when the chance offers), and that $1,500 is to be indexed to inflation. The legislation has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, which is currently focused on two major items on health care reform and energy independence. So, while it seems unlikely that a markup of H.R. 1509 would be especially time consuming or controversial, it also seems unlikely that the bill will be at the top of the pending tray — unless, mysteriously, it somehow captures President Obama’s attention. Stranger things have happened but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
