Working from Home – ATO Updates
The ATO, in June, released a worksheet to address what they see as common questions relating to work from home.
- What is the fixed rate for 2025?
The rate for 2024/25 is 70 cents per hour.
- Is there a minimum number of WFH hours to qualify?
There is no minimum number of hours to qualify. However the taxpayer must be working from home to fulfil their employment duties and not just checking emails or taking calls. Also they must incur additional expenses because of working from home.
- What types of records are needed to prove hours worked?
The records need to show all hours worked from home including start and finish times for each day. This can be via a dairy, spreadsheet, roster or timesheet. The ATO will no longer accept estimates or a representative record (ie the old four week log)
- What is a practical way to record the use of a phone?
If you use the fixed rate method (70 cents per hour) then telephone usage is included in that rate. If claiming the actual cost method then a dairy or spreadsheet for a continuous four week period is the easiest way to calculate business usage as a percentage of total usage.
- Can an employee claim rent or similar if they work from home?
The ATO, states that a taxpayer can only claim occupancy expenses such as rent, insurance and interest where they are required to work from home and they have an area of their home set aside for business. The ATO caution that CGT implications may apply in this case.
