The domestic production activities deduction has been repealed with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act beginning in tax year 2018.
Your allowable Domestic Production Activities Deduction (DPAD) generally cannot be more than 50% of the Form W-2 wages that you paid to your employees. Therefore, if you did not pay wages to employees and issue W-2s for those wages, you generally cannot claim the DPAD.
When figuring your DPAD, you must know exactly how much you paid in wages to employees that were working in association to your domestic production activity. To determine if your business qualifies as a "domestic production activity", click here.