New working from home shortcut

The ATO has announced a new arrangement to make it easier to claim deductions for working from home.

• Taxpayers can now claim 80 cents per hour working from home.
• This can apply to more than one person in a household. So 80 cents per hour of each person in the household.
• The requirement to have a dedicated area of work has been removed.
• So please keep a record or diary of the hours of working from home for the upcoming tax season.
• All you need to do is keep a record of the number of hours worked from home as evidence of your claim.
• This new way will take effect from 1/3/2020. The old rules apply prior to this date.
• The ATO will review the length of time this new measure continues. It may only operate for the 2020 tax return financial year depending on the time the COVID19 crisis continues.

More information is available on the ATO website