The Shortcut method for Home Office Expenses enables you to simply calculate your deductions from working from home. This method allows you to claim up to 80 cents per hour, of every hour you have worked from home.
It is important to note that this is temporarily available and only valid for the hours worked from home between:
1 March to 30 June 2020 in the 2019–20 income year
and now extended for 1 July and 31 December 2020 in the 2020–21 income year.
All employees who work from home during these dates can use this method if you:
Are working from home to fulfil your employment duties, not just carrying out minimal tasks such as occasionally checking emails or taking calls
Have incurred additional running expenses as a result of working from home.
The shortcut method covers all your working 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.
By using this method your unable to claim any other expenses for working from home.
No dedicated work area is mandatory to use this method. However, a record of hours worked (timesheet. roster, diary etc.) is required.
If you already had a work from home arrangement in place before 1 March 2020, that method will be enforced to calculate your deduction for the period 1 July 2019 to 29 February 2020.
The shortcut method includes decline in value of all items. Therefore. if you choose to use this method, there’s no requirements to separately calculate the decline in value of equipment or depreciating assets. With that said, you still may combine methods or use a different method in later years, so it is important to keep the:
Receipts for depreciating assets or equipment you use when working from home
Records of how you calculated your work-related use of the asset
Your decline in value calculations
For more information or assistance please contact Infinite Accounting Solutions on 02 9899 4730 or via the contact page at www.ias-ca.com.au