How working from home can make you richer: The household expenses you can claim back on tax – including electricity, heating and even your laptop
- Australians are now being told to work from home amid quarantine lockdown
- Those setting up or using a work space in their house can claim items on tax
- Computers, stationary, electricity, phone, and internet can possibly be claimed
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Australian workers are being told to work from home as offices around the country close their doors in a precaution measure to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Working from home has its own unique challenges with thousands of people now adjusting to working remotely.
But there may be one added advantage to operating your own mini-office – you may be able to claim many items on tax and pocket the extra cash.
According to the Australian Taxation Office you can claim the bill for any items you need to buy to set up your home office up to a value of $300.
Australians working from home may be able to claim office items on their tax return (stock image)
This could include items such as computers, printers, telephones, furniture and furnishings.
You can claim the full cost for items $300 and under and the decline in value for items that cost more than $300.
So while you can’t claim the total cost for that fancy new laptop you can claim how much value you laptop lost during the time you were using it for work, known as its depreciation.
If you need to crank up the heating or cooling to keep your home office at a comfortable working temperature, you can claim that electricity cost – the same goes for lighting.
Though you can only claim the portion of the bill that was used for work, with power prices sky high this could be a pretty big saving.
Internet and phone bills can also follow this formula – you can claim up to $50 or more if you ensure you accurately only claim the work-related proportion of the bill.
When working out these proportions you can either keep accurate records, for example a list of your phone calls, in case you are audited, or use the ATO’s standard running cost rate.
That rate is 52 cents for every hour you work from home, so if you work an eight hour day that is $4.16 per day.
You can also claim expenses associated with keeping your work space running smoothly.
This could include cleaning costs, whether that is hiring a cleaner or buying cleaning products, along with furniture and electrical repairs.
Lastly consumable items – think printer ink, printer paper, pens and other stationary – can also be claimed.
The ATO reccommends keeping a work diary logging the hours you worked as well as keeping any receipts and bills involved with your work.
While working from your house may present other challenges you could claim items on your tax return and pocket the extra cash