Should I deduct a home office computer for Schedule C or depreciate it?

[GregoryNR]

I’m trying to figure out if I can deduct the cost of a home office computer I bought this year, but I use it for both freelance work and personal things. I keep a log of work hours, but I’m not sure how to properly allocate the expense for my Schedule C or if I need to depreciate it instead.

[Nicholas.A]

I bought a laptop for home and freelance stuff last year. I pegged business use at about 60 percent and treated the cost as a business asset. I either depreciated it over five years or used a Section 179 election to expense the business part in year one, depending on what my return looked like. I filed Form 4562 with it.

[GregoryOC]

The log helps but allocating is nerve wracking. I claimed the business portion on Schedule C as a depreciable asset, and the rest was personal. The deduction was modest, and I’m not 100 percent sure I did it perfectly.

[Gary.L]

Would it be simpler to buy a separate device for business? I’m curious how you’re thinking about it.

[EleanorT]

I tried keeping a hours log and using a straight percentage, but it felt fiddly. In the end I used a rough business-use percentage and claimed that share of the cost, and the effect on my taxes was not huge but I felt okay about it.