Working from home temporary shortcut tax method

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is reminding the community that the temporary shortcut method is available to those claiming working from home deductions this year.

The temporary shortcut method was created at the height of the pandemic last year to respond to the sudden influx of makeshift home workspaces.

Assistant Commissioner Tim Loh said that “even with people shifting back to the office, we know many Australians have opted to continue working from home at least one day a week.”

The working from home shortcut method allows claims at the all-inclusive rate of 80 cents per hour, rather than needing to do complex calculations for specific items.

“The shortcut method is straight forward; just multiply the hours worked at home by 80 cents,” Mr Loh said. “The only proof you need is a record of the number of hours you’ve worked from home, such as a timesheet.” The temporary shortcut method can be claimed by multiple people living under the same roof and, unlike existing methods, does not require a dedicated work area.

The shortcut is all-inclusive. You can’t claim the shortcut and then claim for individual expenses such as telephone and internet costs and the decline in value of new office furniture or a laptop.

Remember, to claim any work-related expense, you must have spent the money yourself and not been reimbursed, the expense must be directly related to earning income (not a private expense), and you must have kept any necessary records (a receipt is best).