WORK FROM HOME – SHORTCUT METHOD

Work from home – Shortcut method

ATO has introduced a shortcut method to simplify how you calculate your deduction for working from home. This method is temporary and only available for the period 1 March to 30 June 2020. All employees working from home in this period can use this method.

Using this method, you can claim 80 cents per hour for each hour you work from home during the period 1 March to 30 June 2020.

You can choose to use this rate if you:

• are working from home to fulfill your employment duties, not just carrying out minimal tasks such as occasionally checking emails or taking calls
• have incurred additional running expenses because of working from home.

The shortcut method covers all your work from home expenses, such as:

• phone expenses
• internet expenses
• the decline in value of equipment and furniture
• electricity and gas for heating, cooling and lighting.

If you use this method, you cannot claim any other expenses for working from home.

You do not need to have a dedicated work area to use this method. However, you must keep a record of the number of hours you have worked from home. This could be a time sheet, roster, a diary, or documents that set out the hours you worked from home.

You do not have to use the shortcut method; you can choose to use one of the existing methods to calculate your deduction. You can use the method or methods that will give you the best outcome if you meet the working criteria and record keeping requirements for each method.

If you had a work from home arrangement before 1 March 2020, you would need to use one of the existing methods to calculate your deduction for the period 1 July 2019 to 29 February 2020.

Contact Expert Tax on 0449 952 855 or 1300 869 829 for further assistance.