“ I live in a apartment seperate from my main residence. can i deduct or a portion of my rent against this 1099-misc income?”---->I guesss it depends; in general, you may deduct ordinary and necessary expenses for renting or leasing property used in a TRADE or BUSINESS. If you own your own business, you may deduct the rent or lease amount of the property used in the operation of your business. Also, in many cases, you may deduct rent paid for necessary equipment.So, as your rent(business expense) is directlyrelated to your income on 1099MISC on line 7, then you can deduct your rent on Sch C line 20 (a) or (b).
“I use the apartment for other reasons but also work out of it. can my monthly rent be used as deductions?”---->As described above, as long as your apartment is used for your business and trade, then you can deduct you rent; for example, if you are self-employed( as sol proprietor, or an IC or etc) and use part of your home for work, you may deduct rent on your tax return based on the percentage of the home used for business. According to TurboTax, in the 1990s the United States Congress made it easier for home business operators to claim the home office deduction. The home office deduction can provide valuable income tax savings for a business operated out of your home. Fortunately, the deduction is available whether you rent or own the home where you live and work.HOOWEVER, having a desk in your apt. and calling it your office doesn't qualify as a legitimate home office. You need to learn what does qualify so you can get the most out of your expenses. For tax purpose you'll need to know the total square footage of yourapartmentand measure the length and width of your office, multiply them to get the square footage of your office. ALSO, you should keep a record of this in your Year End book/ file. This file is for all the papers you'll need to take to your accountant during tax time.Please visit the IRS website here fir more info:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8829.pdf