The Australian Taxation Office has extended the shortcut method of 80 cents per hour of working from home office expense till 30 June 2022. The measure is in response to the uncertainty of COVID-19 and the trend we observed during the COVID-19 pandemic that people prefer to work from home, and it does not lower productivity.
However, it is essential to remember that you need to adhere to the following to use the 80 cents per hour correctly.
Firstly, the shortcut method does not require you to have a dedicated location to work. However, you need to keep evidence to show how long you work during the financial year, either in a diary or a format acceptable to the ATO.
The Australian Taxation Office is working on modernizing the other 52 cents per hour of the fixed-rate method.
The fixed-rate method is more complicated to use than the shortcut method of 80 cents per hour, as the 80 cents per hour means people can work anywhere in the house, for example, Kitchen, Bed, a massage chair, or even a swimming pool.
However, if you use the 80 cents per hour of the shortcut method, you can not claim the following.
The shortcut method covers all your working-from-home fixed expenses, such as:
- phone expenses
- internet expenses
- the decline in the value of equipment and furniture
- electricity and gas for heating, cooling, and lighting.
As the leading professional CPA accounting firm in Adelaide and Inner West Sydney, we will help you to maximize your tax refund position and help you with your working from home office expense at the time of doing the FY2021 tax return; come and talk to us, and apply online at https://www.endurego.com/online-booking/
