9. Home office running costs

An increasing number of individuals are working from home now.  If you are working from home only due to COVID-19, you:

• cannot claim occupancy expenses such as mortgage interest, rent and rates

• cannot claim the cost of coffee, tea, milk and other general household items your employer may otherwise have provided you with at work.

The ATO has introduced a new ‘shortcut method’ for claiming additional expenses incurred whilst working from home.  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,

• incurring additional deductible running expenses as a result of working from home.

You can continue to claim the fixed rate method and claim:

• a rate of 52 cents per work hour for heating, cooling, lighting, cleaning and the decline in value of office furniture,

• the work-related portion of your actual costs of phone and internet expenses, computer consumables, stationery, and

• the work-related portion of the decline in value of a computer, laptop or similar device.