Before you know it, it will be tax time again. If your clients have been working from home this financial year, they'll probably have some work-related expenses they can claim.
There are 2 ways to calculate a work from home deduction:
Using the fixed rate method, they can claim a rate of 67 cents per hour worked at home.
This amount covers additional running expenses, including electricity and gas, phone and internet usage, stationery, and computer consumables. A deduction for these costs cannot be claimed elsewhere in their tax return.
They can, however, separately claim any depreciating assets, like office furniture or technology. To help with this, try our depreciation and capital allowances tool.
The most important thing is that they have the right records.
For the fixed rate method, this includes a record of:
- the total number of hours worked from home (for the entire year)
- the additional running expenses covered by the rate per hour that they incurred (for example, phone bill, electricity bill)
- any depreciating assets (and how much of their use of that asset was work-related).
For the actual cost method, they’ll need a record of:
- their hours worked from home (whether that be the total hours, or a continuous four-week period representing the usual pattern of work, if their hours are consistent throughout the year)
- their additional running expenses (for example, phone bills, electricity bills)
- how the deduction was calculated.
For more information, visit www.ato.gov.au/home