Tips on home office

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. 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.

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) totaling 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.

**The above material has been sourced from the Australian Taxation Office. For further information please visit their website