Small business owners and employees who work from home will have an easier option to claim the home office tax deduction next year, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Home-based employees will be able to deduct $5 per square foot of home office space (used regularly and exclusively for business) on up to 300 square feet, for as much as $1,500 in annual deductions. 

While homeowners using the new option cannot depreciate the portion of their home used in a trade or business, they can claim allowable mortgage interest, real estate taxes and casualt losses on the home as itemized deductions. Business expenses unrelated to the home, such as advertising, supplies and wages paid to emplouees, will still be fully deductible.

The new option provides eligible taxpayers an easier path to claiming the home office deduction. Instead of filling out the 43-line Form 8829, which often entails complex calculations of allocated expenses, depreciation and carryovers of unused deductions, taxpayers can claim the optional deduction through a significantly simplified form.

This new simplified option will be available starting with the 2013 tax return to be filed early in 2014; the IRS will be accepting comments for improving upon this new option throughout the year.