1099-NEC for new WFH business

First you have to decide if she qualifies for having a home office which is a space used regularly and exclusively for her business. If you watch TV in that space, for example, it doesn’t qualify. You can use either a standard method or actual expense method to deduct a home office. You would add the home expenses included utilities used in business and multiply that by the square footage of the office divided by the square footage of the home. For 2023 you would prorate that amount for 2 months since it would have been used only for that time. If you itemize and own your home the amount of expense for mortgage interest and property tax not included in the home office calculation can be itemized on Sch A. If all of this is daunting you might seek a professional tax preparer to educate you for your first return. 

You would enter the total expenses for the entire home and TurboTax will prorate that amount based on the percentage of the home that was used as home office. For example if the percentage is 10% and total utility bill is $100, TurboTax will calculate $10 for Home office utility expense. 

If you have a separate utility charges for your office(not very common) you can enter the amount next to home office only utility. 

For expenses related to your home office only, you can take %100 of these expenses. 

Utilities include:

- Gas and electric
- Water
- Sewer and septic system services
- Trash removal
- Heating oil

For communications expenses , such as phone lines, cell phones, fax lines, etc. we'll ask you for that information in the General Expenses 

For more information, check: Where do I enter the home office deduction for my business?