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Home office expenses

Expenses you can claim

If you’re an employee who regularly works from home, you may be able to claim a deduction for expenses relating to that work.

These are generally home office running expenses, and phone and internet expenses. In limited circumstances you may also be able to claim occupancy expenses. One such circumstance is if your home is your principal place of business. If that is the case, you should refer to running your business from home. The other situations where you may be entitled to claim occupancy expenses are addressed below. The table below outlines the ways you can work at home and the expenses you can claim, when:
  • home is your principal place of work (that is, no other work location is provided to you by your employer or your home is a place of business) and you have a dedicated work area that is unlikely to be suitable for domestic use
  • home is not your principal place of work but you work there as a matter of convenience and you have a dedicated work area – for example a study
  • you work at home as a matter of convenience but you don’t have a dedicated work area – for example you use a room with a dual purpose such as a lounge room.
Expenses Home is principal workplace with dedicated work area Home not principal workplace but has dedicated work area You work at home but no dedicated work area
Running expenses Yes Yes No (see note 1)
Work-related phone & internet expenses Yes Yes Yes
Decline in value of a computer (work related portion) Yes Yes Yes
Decline in value of office equipment Yes Yes Yes
Occupancy expenses Yes No No
Note 1: Generally, an employee who works at home and who does not have a dedicated work area will not be entitled to claim running expenses or their claim for running expenses will be minimal. This is due to the fact that they can only claim the additional running expenses incurred as a result of working from home

Running expenses

If you work from home, you can claim the work-related proportion of your running expenses. These include:
  • home office equipment including computers, printers, telephones and furniture and furnishings. You can claim the
    • full cost for items up to $300
    • decline in value for items over $300
  • heating, cooling and lighting
  • the costs of repairs to your home office equipment, furniture and furnishings
  • cleaning costs
  • other running expenses including computer consumables (for example, printer paper and ink) and stationery.
Only the additional running expenses incurred as a result of working from home are deductible. For a summary of this content in poster format, see Employees working from home: the other kind of housework (PDF 251KB) This link will download a file.
Related reading
Home office expense claims
Source ATO
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Justin Flavel

Managing Director

Justin’s experience spans across 20 years in accounting, financial analysis and general business practice.

Although born and bred on the land, Justin’s interest was more in spreadsheets, ledgers, and finance which led him to attend university. In 1992, Justin graduated with a Bachelor of Business majoring in Accounting and Finance. As well as qualifying as a CPA member and becoming a Fellow of the Taxation Institute of Australia, he began gaining practical experience in small and mid-tier accounting practices.

During the late 90s, Justin decided to expand his horizons and travel through Europe. It was during this time that he seized the opportunity to expand his knowledge on the workings of large organisations by taking on roles in multinational corporations.

Today, Justin’s passion is in facilitating businesses to grow and evolve. His focus is on acting in the role of business mentor to help clients develop the full potential of their businesses. He joins clients on their unique journey, and provides the tools and knowledge they need along the way to make the right decisions.

Justin’s aim for his clients parallels his own philosophy and personal journey—focusing on his own career growth and business success while maintaining balance in his life with his wife and three daughters.

Omnis Group Managing Director - Justin Flavel