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You may be entitled to claim deductions for home expenses including a computer, phone or other electronic devices you are required to use for work purposes, as well as a deduction for running costs.

As an employee, generally you can’t claim a deduction for occupancy expenses, including rent, mortgage interest, council rates and house insurance premiums.

iCompass Accounting

Running costs

If you perform some of your work from a home office, you may be entitled to a deduction for the costs you incur in running it, including:

  • for home office equipment, such as computers, printers and telephones, the cost (for items costing up to $300) or decline in value (for items costing $300 or more)
  • work-related phone calls (including mobiles) and phone rental (a portion reflecting the share of work-related use of the line) if you can show you
    • are on call, or
    • have to phone your employer or clients regularly while you are away from your workplace
  • heating, cooling and lighting
  • the costs of repairs to your home office furniture and fittings
  • cleaning expenses.
iCompass

Records you must keep

You must keep records of home expenses, such as:

  • receipts or other written evidence of your expenses, including receipts for depreciating assets you have purchased
  • diary entries you make to record your small expenses ($10 or less) totalling no more than $200, or expenses you cannot get any kind of evidence for, regardless of the amount
  • itemised phone accounts from which you can identify work-related calls, or other records, such as diary entries (if you do not get an itemised account from your phone company)
  • a diary you have created to work out how much you used your equipment, home office and phone for business purposes over a representative four-week period.

https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/income-and-deductions/deductions-you-can-claim/home-office-expenses/

Article adapted from URL: https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/income-and-deductions/deductions-you-can-claim/home-office-expenses/
Sighted: 10 December 2016

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is general in nature without taking into account any particular person’s situation.  You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your situation and it should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific professional advice.