With technology making it easier than ever for people to operate a business out of their house, many taxpayers, entrepreneurs, and small-business people may be able to take a home-office deduction when filing their federal tax return

Here are five things the Internal Revenue Service says it wants you to know about claiming the home-office deduction.

•Generally, in order to claim a business deduction for your home, you must use part of your home exclusively and regularly as your principal place of business or as a place to meet or deal with patients, clients, or customers in the normal course of your business. In the case of a separate structure not attached to your home, it must be used in connection with your trade or business.

•Generally, the amount you can deduct depends on the percentage of your home that you used for business. Your deduction for certain expenses will be limited if your gross income from your business is less than your total business expenses.

•There are special rules for qualified day-care providers and for persons storing business inventory or product samples.

•If you are self-employed, use Form 8829, titled Expenses for Business Use of Your Home, to figure your home-office deduction. Report the deduction on line 30 of Schedule C, Form 1040.

•Different rules apply to claiming the home-office deduction if you are an employee. For example, the regular and exclusive business use must be for the convenience of your employer.