As the situation around COVID-19 continues to develop, the ATO understands many employees are now working from home.
To make it easier when claiming a deduction for additional running costs you incur as a result of working from home, special arrangements have been announced.
A simplified method has been introduced that allows you to claim a rate of 80 cents per hour for all your running expenses, rather than having to calculate the additional amount you incurred for specific running expenses.
This simplified method will be available to use from 1 March 2020 until 30 June 2020. You may still use one of the existing methods to calculate your running expenses if you would prefer to.
You can claim a deduction of 80 cents for each hour you work from home due to COVID-19 as long as you are:
- Working from home to fulfil your employment duties and not just carrying out minimal tasks such as occasionally checking emails or taking calls; and
- Incurring additional deductible running expenses as a result of working from home.
You do not have to have a separate or dedicated area of your home set aside for working, such as a private study.
The shortcut method rate covers all deductible running expenses, including:
- electricity for lighting, cooling or heating and running electronic items used for work (for example your computer), and gas heating expenses
- the decline in value and repair of capital items, such as home office furniture and furnishings
- cleaning expenses
- your phone costs, including the decline in value of the handset
- your internet costs
- computer consumables, such as printer ink
- stationery
- the decline in value of a computer, laptop or similar device.
If you use the shortcut method to claim a deduction for your additional running expenses, you cannot claim a further deduction for any of the expenses listed above.
Remember to keep records of the number of hours you have worked from home as a result of COVID-19. Examples are timesheets, diary notes or rosters.
If you use the shortcut method to claim a deduction and you lodge your 2019–20 tax return through myGov or a tax agent, you must include the note ‘COVID-hourly rate’ in your tax return.
Find out more about claiming work from home expenses here.
Please contact our office on (08) 9392 7600 if you would like to speak to one of our specialised tax agents about claiming work from home deductions.
Recent Posts
Archives
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- February 2019
Recent Comments