Home office fixed rate method

If an employee or investor uses their home office for work or investment-related purposes, they can claim 67 cents per hour under the fixed rate method.  The 67 cents per hour covers energy expenses (electricity and gas), phone usage (mobile and home), internet, stationery, and computer consumables. No additional deductions are allowed for costs covered by the set rate method.

In addition, the following expenses can be claimed separately:

• The decline in value of assets used while working from home., such as computers and office furniture.
• The repairs of these assets.
• The costs of cleaning the dedicated office.

The record-keeping requirements are:

1. From 1st March 2023, taxpayers must record all the hours they worked from home for the entire year. i.e. the ATO won't accept estimates or a 4-week diary.
2. Hours worked can be recorded in a diary, timesheets, rosters or logs.
3. Records must be kept for each expense taxpayers have incurred, covered by the fixed rate per hour (i.e. taxpayers
   must keep one electricity bill and one telephone bill).