- the headquarters location of a company; an employee may also refer to the office to which he or she reports as the home office.
- an office in a personal residence used exclusively for business on a regular and continuing basis. To be tax deductible, the home office must be the taxpayer's principal place of business (that is, where the majority of his or her work is performed) or used as a place to meet customers or clients and, if the taxpayer is not self-employed, must be used for the convenience of his or her employer.
Beginning in 1999, the "principal place of business includes a place of business used by the taxpayer for the administrative or management activities of any trade or business of the taxpayer if there is no other fixed location of such trade or business where the taxpayer conducts substantial administrative or management activities of such trade or business. For a qualifying home office, the taxpayer may claim a portion of utilities and a depreciation deduction for the office and any furniture and equipment. Upon sale of the home, however, gain attributable to the business portion cannot be deferred."
central (main) office of an insurance company whose facilities usually include actuarial, claims, investment, legal, underwriting, agency, and marketing departments.
- main office of an organization; also called headquarters.
- workstation set up in a worker's home. The use of a home office is a growing trend among white-collar workers who utilize computers in their work and among creative people such as artists and copywriters. See also work-at-home.
a portion of one's home used for business purposes. This has become commonplace with the availability of affordable equipment (computers, fax machines, copiers, scanners, and the like) and electronic communication methods.
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