The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced a simplified option for deducting the costs associated with having a home business office. The new optional approach is based on the amount of square feet being used for business purposes by the taxpayer. If it is 300 sq.-ft. or less, the taxpayer can claim a deduction of $5 per square foot (up to $1,500 per year). The existing approach is to fill out Form 8829, which may require complex calculations of allocated expenses, depreciation and carryovers of unused deductions. 

Under the new option, the taxpayer can still claim allowable mortgage interest, real estate taxes and casualty losses on the home as itemized deductions on Schedule A, but they cannot depreciate the portion of the home used for business. These deductions need not be allocated between personal and business use, as is required under the regular method. Current restrictions on the home office deduction, such as the requirement that a home office must be used regularly and exclusively for business, still apply under the new option, which is available starting with the 2013 return (filed in 2014).

For more information, visit the IRS website.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced a simplified option for deducting the costs associated with having a home business office. The new optional approach is based on the amount of square feet being used for business purposes by the taxpayer. If it is 300 sq.-ft. or less, the taxpayer can claim a deduction of $5 per square foot (up to $1,500 per year). The existing approach is to fill out Form 8829, which may require complex calculations of allocated expenses, depreciation and carryovers of unused deductions. 

Under the new option, the taxpayer can still claim allowable mortgage interest, real estate taxes and casualty losses on the home as itemized deductions on Schedule A, but they cannot depreciate the portion of the home used for business. These deductions need not be allocated between personal and business use, as is required under the regular method. Current restrictions on the home office deduction, such as the requirement that a home office must be used regularly and exclusively for business, still apply under the new option, which is available starting with the 2013 return (filed in 2014).

For more information, visit the IRS website.

A bill to ban motor-vehicle exhaust systems that increase the noise level has been reintroduced in Vermont. Under the bill, violators would not pass the state’s required inspection and would be subject to fines. The measure does not provide an opportunity for vehicle hobbyists to install and use exhaust systems that meet an objective decibel limit under a fair and predictable test and would make it difficult for hobbyists to replace factory exhaust systems with more durable, better performing options. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

A bill to ban motor-vehicle exhaust systems that increase the noise level has been reintroduced in Vermont. Under the bill, violators would not pass the state’s required inspection and would be subject to fines. The measure does not provide an opportunity for vehicle hobbyists to install and use exhaust systems that meet an objective decibel limit under a fair and predictable test and would make it difficult for hobbyists to replace factory exhaust systems with more durable, better performing options. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

A bill to ban motor-vehicle exhaust systems that increase the noise level has been reintroduced in Vermont. Under the bill, violators would not pass the state’s required inspection and would be subject to fines. The measure does not provide an opportunity for vehicle hobbyists to install and use exhaust systems that meet an objective decibel limit under a fair and predictable test and would make it difficult for hobbyists to replace factory exhaust systems with more durable, better performing options. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

A version of SEMA-model legislation has been reintroduced in the Washington State Senate to prohibit cities or towns from enforcing an ordinance, development regulation, zoning regulation or administrative practice that prevents automobile collectors from pursuing their hobby. Junked, wrecked or inoperable vehicles stored on private property would only require screening from public view. Under the bill, six or fewer vehicles that are 30 years old or older, including one parts car, would be permitted for hobby vehicle restoration as long as restoration is an ancillary use of the property. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

A version of SEMA-model legislation has been reintroduced in the Washington State Senate to prohibit cities or towns from enforcing an ordinance, development regulation, zoning regulation or administrative practice that prevents automobile collectors from pursuing their hobby. Junked, wrecked or inoperable vehicles stored on private property would only require screening from public view. Under the bill, six or fewer vehicles that are 30 years old or older, including one parts car, would be permitted for hobby vehicle restoration as long as restoration is an ancillary use of the property. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

A version of SEMA-model legislation has been reintroduced in the Washington State Senate to prohibit cities or towns from enforcing an ordinance, development regulation, zoning regulation or administrative practice that prevents automobile collectors from pursuing their hobby. Junked, wrecked or inoperable vehicles stored on private property would only require screening from public view. Under the bill, six or fewer vehicles that are 30 years old or older, including one parts car, would be permitted for hobby vehicle restoration as long as restoration is an ancillary use of the property. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

Legislation has been introduced in the Maine State Senate to remove a provision in the law that requires that the overall diameter of motor vehicle tires be within 2 in. of the sizes recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. The Maine Motor Vehicle Inspection Manual already requires a vehicle to fail inspection if a tire contacts any part of the body of the vehicle. This bill provides that a vehicle must still comply with applicable frame height requirements which vary according to gross vehicle weight rating. Because tire size will affect frame height, frame height limits can already effectively regulate against inappropriate tire size. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.

Legislation has been introduced in the Maine State Senate to remove a provision in the law that requires that the overall diameter of motor vehicle tires be within 2 in. of the sizes recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. The Maine Motor Vehicle Inspection Manual already requires a vehicle to fail inspection if a tire contacts any part of the body of the vehicle. This bill provides that a vehicle must still comply with applicable frame height requirements which vary according to gross vehicle weight rating. Because tire size will affect frame height, frame height limits can already effectively regulate against inappropriate tire size. 

For more information, visit the SEMA Action Network (SAN) website. For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.