Home office expenses calculator
Use our home office expenses calculators to work out your claim for work-related expenses you incur as a result of work you do from home as an employee.
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Before you use the calculator
Your results are based on the information you provide and the rates available at the time of calculation. Use these results as an estimate and for guidance purposes only.
Expenses you can't claim
Employees generally can't claim occupancy expenses such as rent, mortgage interest, house insurance premiums, council and water rates and land taxes.
Employees who work at home can't claim costs:
- for coffee, tea, milk and other general household items your employer may otherwise have provided you with at work
- related to children and their education – this includes setting them up for online learning, teaching them at home or buying equipment such as iPads and desks
- that you're reimbursed for, paid directly by your employer or the decline in value of items provided by your employer – for example, a laptop or a phone.
Choosing a calculation method
If you're an employee who works from home, you may be able to claim a deduction for expenses you incur relating to that work. These can be additional running expenses such as electricity, the decline in value of equipment or furniture and phone and internet expenses.
If your home is your principal place of business, you should refer to running your business from home.
There are three methods to calculate home office expenses depending on your circumstances:
You can use the method or methods that will give you the best outcome. But make sure you meet the criteria and record-keeping requirements for each method.
For the 2019–20 income year, if you worked from home before 1 March 2020, you may need to use more than one of the three methods to work out your total deduction for the year.
Access the Home office expenses temporary shortcut method calculator
The shortcut method is temporary, you can only use it to work out your deduction for work from home expenses:
- between 1 March to 30 June 2020 in the 2019-20 income year
- for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 income years.
The shortcut method ends on 30 June 2022. To continue to claim deductions for working from home expenses after 30 June 2022 you will need to use either the fixed rate method or actual cost method.
The shortcut method (80 cents per work hour) covers all your work from home expenses, such as:
- phone expenses
- internet expenses
- the decline in value of equipment and furniture
- electricity and gas for heating, cooling and lighting.
The shortcut method includes decline in value of all items. If you choose to use this method, there is no requirement to separately calculate the decline in value of equipment or depreciating assets or any other working from home expense.
You must have a record of the hours you worked from home, for example, a timesheet, roster or diary.
Once you calculate your deduction, enter the amount at other work-related expenses in your tax return. Include the description ‘COVID-hourly rate’.
Our Home office shortcut method calculator will take between 1 and 5 minutes to use.
Access the Home office expenses calculator
For the income years 2013–14 to 2021–22, you can use either the fixed rate method or actual cost method to work out your deduction.
Depending on the method you choose, you may need to work out your claim for some expenses separately. For example, work-related phone and internet costs are not included in the fixed rate method.
Our Home office calculator will take between 5 and 20 minutes to use.
Home office calculator Use our home office expenses calculators to work out your claim for work-related expenses you incur as a result of work you do from home as an employee.
Last modified: 01 Jul 2022QC 17079