Individual Income Tax Return Tips 2019-20

Due to COVID-19 The number of individuals working from home has increased significantly this financial year. DFK BKM Manager, Angie Karanikolopoulos provides the following information to assist with completion of your 30 June 2020 income tax return:

Home Office Expenses

1. Actual cost method

You may claim actual costs incurred as a result of working from home assuming you have a dedicated work area, these may include:

  • Electricity and gas for cooling, heating and lighting
  • The decline in value of home office furniture, phones, computers, laptops or similar devices
  • Phone & internet expenses
  • Computer consumables and stationery
  • Cleaning (if you use a dedicated area for working)



To calculate the work-related portion, you must keep record of:

  • Actual hours worked from home
  • A four-week period to show your usual pattern of working from home
  • Receipts for computer consumables and stationery
  • The decline in value of depreciating assets (cost of asset x business use percentage)
  • Cleaning expenses (total receipts x floor area % of dedicated work area)
  • Heating, cooling and lighting
    • The cost per unit of power used
    • The average units used per hour
    • The total annual hours used for work-related purposes

2. Fixed Rate method

  • 52 cents per hour, this rate covers:
    • Decline in value of home office furniture and furnishings
    • Electricity and gas for heating, cooling and lighting
    • The cost of repairs to your office equipment, furniture and furnishings
  • Records must be kept of either:
    • Your actual hours spent working at home for the year
    • A diary for a four-week period to show your usual pattern of working at home
  • Must have a dedicated work area eg. a home office
  • This method does not include the following, you will need to calculate these separately if applicable:
    • Phone and internet expenses
    • Computer consumables and stationery
    • Decline in value of equipment (phones, computers etc.)

3. Shortcut method

  • 80 cents per hour, this temporary method was originally only available between 1 March to 30 June 2020 but has now been extended to 30 September 2020
  • This is available as long as you are working from home to fulfil your employment dues, not merely undertaking minimal tasks such as checking emails or making calls
  • You are eligible if you incurred additional running expenses as a result of working from home
  • Are not required to have a dedicated work area
  • Will covers all of your work from home expenses, including:
    • Phone and internet expenses
    • Computer consumables e.g. stationery and ink
    • Cleaning expenses
    • The decline in value of equipment and furniture
    • Electricity and gas for heating, cooling and lighting
  • A record of the number of hours worked from home must be kept in the form of a timesheet, roster or diary

JobKeeper/Other Payments

  • JobKeeper payments:
    • If you are an employee, JobKeeper payments will be included in your payment summary as wages
    • If you are a sole trader and are receiving the payment as an eligible business participant, this amount will need to be included as income in your tax return. This amount will not be reflected on your pre-fill report generated by the ATO
  • Tax on employee payments
    • If you take leave or are temporarily stood down due to COVID 19 and are paid by your employer, these payments will be treated the same as your usual payments from your employer and will be reflected on your payment summary
    • If you have been terminated or made redundant and then received payments from your employer, these payments and the treatment will be reflected on the payment summaries received

Early Release Superannuation

  • Early release of super
    • If you had early release of superannuation due to COVID 19 in the 2020 financial year, you will not need to pay tax on amounts released and these will not need to include in your tax return

For further information on these matters please contact your BKM representative or read more here.