Citation: Popov v. Commissioner

               246 F.3d 1190 (9th Cir. 2001)

 

The issue in this case is if a professional musician is entitled to deduct the expenses from the portion of her home used exclusively for musical practice. 

 

Background:

Katie Popov is a professional violinist with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Long Beach Symphony.  Katie Popov also works with numerous recording studios in different locations.  Katie and her husband live in a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles, California with their four-year-old daughter Irina.  The living room of their one-bedroom apartment is used only for practicing the violin, recording music, storing sheet music and recording equipment.  Katie and her husband believe they should be able to claim a home office deduction for their living room.  In this deduction they include forty percent of their annual rent and twenty percent of their annual electricity bill. 

 

The Tax Court finds that while Katie practices many hours in her home it is not her “principal place of business,” and therefore cannot be included under the home office deduction. 

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Solomon Tests

The Court then looks at the Soliman tests in Commissioner v. Soliman and finds the relative importance of daily practice to be significant for Katie with regard to her claim. 

 

The second test looks at the amount of time spent in the home versus the amount of time spent at the other places where Katie’s business occurs. 

     The second test is in Katie’s favor as it finds she spends significantly more time        

     practicing the violin at home than performing or recording elsewhere. 

 

Therefore the Tax Court’s decision is reversed and Katie is entitled to the home office deduction for her practice space.  The Court finds she uses her living room as her principal place of business based on the Soliman tests.