Calculate a fixed-rate working-from-home deduction from your hours and see your taxable income after deductions.
The ATO's fixed rate method lets employees claim a set amount for every hour they actually work from home, instead of tracking each bill. The rate is 70 cents per hour for 2024–25 and 2025–26. It covers home energy, internet, mobile and home phone, stationery and computer consumables. Depreciation of equipment and furniture (and their repairs) can still be claimed separately.
Formula: fixed-rate deduction = hours worked from home × rate. Taxable income after deductions = income − fixed-rate deduction − separate claims.
Worked example (illustrative): 1,200 hours worked from home × $0.70 = $840. Add $300 of depreciation on a work laptop. Taxable income falls from $85,000 to $83,860. At a 32% marginal rate (30% plus Medicare levy) the tax saved is about $1,140 × 32% = $365. A deduction saves tax at your marginal rate; it is not a refund of the full amount.
Records you need: a record of the actual hours you worked from home for the whole year (a timesheet, roster or diary kept as you go; estimates are not accepted) and at least one document for each type of expense covered, such as an electricity bill. If you were reimbursed, you cannot claim.
Limits: check the rate for the year you are lodging on ato.gov.au before you claim. From 2026–27 a $1,000 standard deduction for work-related expenses is law; it is reduced by itemised work claims such as this one, so working from home only adds to your deduction once your work claims exceed $1,000. Compare methods in the work-from-home guide. General information only.
Worked Examples and Checklists
Compare the ATO's 70 cents per hour fixed rate with the actual cost method using a worked example, the records each needs and what can still be claimed separately.
Deadlines, Pitfalls and Official Sources
The ATO's three golden rules, the claims most often reduced — car, clothing, phone, self-education, travel and working from home — and how to fix a claim you got wrong.
