Increased scrutiny of home office claims

Last year, 6.7 million taxpayers claimed a record $7.9 billion in deductions for ‘other work-related expenses’, which includes home office expenses.

Reportedly, due to a high number of mistakes, errors and questionable claims for home office expenses, the ATO has recently advised that it will be increasing attention, scrutiny and education on these claims this tax time.

In particular, the ATO has flagged their concerns relating to taxpayers who are claiming:

• Expenses they never paid for.
• Expenses that their employer has reimbursed them for.
• Private expenses.
• Expenses with no supporting records.

The ATO has indicated that one of the biggest issues they face is people claiming the entire amount of expenses (e.g., their internet or mobile phone), rather than just the extra portion relating to work.

Provided the taxpayer is able to demonstrate that they have incurred additional costs of running expenses (e.g. electricity for heating, cooling and lighting), then these are generally deductible.

In contrast, employees are generally not able to claim any portion of occupancy-related expenses (e.g. rent, mortgage repayments, property insurance, land taxes and rates).

Advancement in technology has allowed the ATO to deploy sophisticated systems and analytics to spot claims that do not ‘add up’ and claims that are out of the ordinary compared to others in similar occupations, earning similar income.

The ATO has reminded taxpayers of the ‘three golden rules’ to follow when claiming work-from-home deductions:

• The taxpayer must have spent the money themselves and have not been reimbursed.
• It must be directly related to earning the taxpayer’s income, not a personal expense.
• The taxpayer must have a record to prove the expense.

Source: Practice Update, National Tax & Accountants’ Association