How to claim your work from home expenses correctly

Eligibility to claim

To claim working from home expenses, you must:

• Work from home to fulfill employment duties, not just minimal tasks

• Incur additional running expenses due to working from home

• Have records showing these expenses

Use one of the methods below to calculate your deduction. For expenses used for both private and work purposes, only claim the work-related portion.

Additional running expenses

You can claim deductions for additional running expenses incurred due to working from home, including:

• Energy expenses for heating, cooling, and lighting

• Internet and data expenses

• Phone expenses

• Stationery and office supplies

• Decline in value of work-related depreciating assets

• Repairs and maintenance to depreciating assets

In limited cases with a dedicated home office, you may also claim:

• Occupancy expenses (mortgage interest or rent)

• Cleaning expenses

Include any employer allowance for working from home expenses as income in your tax return.

Choosing a calculation method

From 1 July 2022, two methods are available:

1. Fixed rate method: 67 cents per work hour for additional running expenses, plus separate amounts for expenses not covered by the fixed rate.

2. Actual cost method: Claim actual expenses incurred from working from home.

Keep records to show expenses incurred. The type of records depends on your chosen method.

Expenses you can't claim

You can't claim deductions for:

• General household items (coffee, tea, milk)

• Children's education-related costs

• Employer-provided items

• Reimbursed expenses

Authorised by the Australian Government, Canberra.

Fixed rate method - 67 cents

• Available from 1 July 2022 for work-from-home expense deductions. If not using this method, use the actual costs method. To use the fixed rate method: Claim 67c per hour worked from home. This covers: You can't claim these expenses separately when using this method. You can claim separately for: For items costing $300 or less, claim the full cost if mainly work-related. For items over $300 or part of a set over $300, claim depreciation over the item's life. Use a low-value pool for assets under $1,000 to calculate depreciation. Apportion claims for items used for both work and personal purposes. In some cases, you may claim: See PCG 2023/1 for more details on home office expense deductions. Use our home office expenses calculator or follow these steps: Example: Keisha, an engineer, worked 843 hours from home in 2023-24. Her fixed rate deduction is $564 (843 × 67c). She can't claim separate phone expenses for non-home workdays under this method. Remember, choose the method that gives you the best outcome. Keep all relevant records to support your claim. Before calculating, ensure you have all required records. Step 1: Calculate total work from home hours Use timesheets, rosters, or diaries to determine total hours worked from home during the income year. Step 2: Multiply work hours by hourly rate Multiply total work from home hours by 67c per hour. Step 3: Calculate decline in value of work-related assets Determine the work-related decline in value of depreciating assets used for working from home. Use the Depreciation and capital allowances tool for assistance. Step 4: Calculate other work from home expenses Use records to determine other work-related expenses not covered by the hourly rate. Step 5: Add amounts from steps 2, 3, and 4 The total is your work from home deduction for your tax return. Yang, a software engineer, works from home 2 days a week starting 6 December 2023. He buys a $250 desk and $299 chair for home use only. Yang uses his work laptop, personal internet, mobile phone, and air conditioner when working from home. Yang records his work hours and keeps relevant bills. For the 2023–24 income year, he calculates his deduction: Yang claims $924 for working from home expenses in his 2023–24 tax return. Keep: Keep records for 5 years from tax return lodgment date. For depreciating assets, keep records showing: Keep these records for 5 years from the last decline in value claim. For 2022–23 only, if you lack actual work hour records, you must provide: If you lack receipts for depreciating assets, you may still claim if: For more details, see TR 97/24. Wanda works from home one day weekly, 8 hours per day. She uses her kitchen table, employer-provided laptop and phone, and personal internet and electricity. Wanda keeps one monthly internet bill and a quarterly electricity bill but no work-hour records from July 1, 2022, to February 28, 2023. She has evidence of: Wanda calculates her work-from-home hours: From March 1 to June 30, 2023, Wanda records her work hours, totaling 129 hours. Wanda can claim using the revised fixed rate method as she has: Wanda's deduction: (256 + 129 hours) × 67c = $257

• Eligibility to claim

Actual cost method

• Eligibility to claim To use the actual cost method, you must: You can't claim if others at home use the same space while you work. Calculate your deduction based on additional expenses incurred when working from home, including: Only claim the work-related portion of expenses used for both work and personal purposes. Keep receipts and records of work-related use percentage. For a dedicated home office: Calculate using the: Energy expenses shortcut method: Floor area method: To calculate energy costs, you need: Ben works 768 hours from home in 2023-24, using air conditioning in a separate room. His 3.5 kW unit uses 1.09 kW per hour. Electricity costs 28c per kWh. Calculation:1.09 kW/h × $0.28/kWh = $0.3052/h768 hours × $0.3052 = $234.39 Ben can use the online calculator with these inputs: Calculate work-related use over 4 weeks to determine the percentage for the year. Mark work calls on your bill to compare with total calls. Use receipts to determine costs. Only claim the work-related portion for mixed-use items. Use the ATO's home office expenses calculator for assistance. Keep records of: Use the myDeductions tool in the ATO app to track expenses year-round.
  

• Incur extra expenses from working at home

• Keep records showing:

• Your expenses

• Costs of depreciating assets used for work

• Work-related use of expenses and assets