July 10, 2013 The Honorable Tom Udall U.S.

Senate 110 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senators Udall and Boozman: On behalf of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nations leading small business advocacy organization, I am writing in support of your bill, S. 1260, which provides much-needed permanency and predictability for small business regarding this deduction. NFIB has long advocated for legislation to create a simplified, standard home office deduction because current law, which requires the calculation of the amount of the home and expenses actually used in the business, is too complicated and time-consuming for small business owners. According to NFIBs Research Foundations Small Business Poll Business Activity in the Home, approximately one in four (22 percent) employing businesses is principally located in the home, and 15 percent of all employing home-based businesses have used their residence as their primary business location for more than 30 years. The study also concluded that fewer than half (46 percent) of eligible small business owners take the home office deduction due to its complexity. Recently, the Internal Revenue Service took the welcome step of allowing for a simplified, standard home office deduction. This standard $1500 deduction eliminates the need to calculate the proportion of a home dedicated to business use. However, because this change was accomplished through regulatory guidance, small businesses still face unnecessary uncertainty about its permanency. S. 1260 eliminates this concern by incorporating this change permanently into the Internal Revenue Code as well as indexing the deduction for inflation. Thank you again for offering this important legislation for small business that simplifies the use of the home office deduction. I look forward to working with you on this issue in the 113th Congress. Sincerely, The Honorable John Boozman U.S. Senate 320 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510

Susan Eckerly Senior Vice President Public Policy

National Federation of Independent Business

1201 F Street NW * Suite 200 * Washington, DC 20004 * 202-554-9000 * Fax 202-554-0496 * www.NFIB.com