Working From Home This Year? Here Is What You Need to Have on Record

If you work from home, even part of the time, you have probably wondered what you can do with those costs at tax time.

The honest answer is it depends on your situation, and your registered tax agent is the right person to walk you through what applies to you. What we can tell you is what records to keep so that when that conversation happens, you have something to support it.

Start with your hours

Whatever approach applies to you, a record of the hours you worked from home is the foundation.

What counts as a record

• A diary or calendar with work-from-home days noted

• Timesheets or a simple log in a spreadsheet

• Roster or schedule records that show days worked at home versus in the office

The record does not need to be elaborate. It just needs to exist and be consistent. Reconstructing months of hours from memory at the end of June is not a reliable approach.

Partial days count too

If you work from home in the morning and head into the office in the afternoon, note the hours, not just the days. The more specific your record, the more useful it is.

Keep your receipts for home-related expenses

Running costs

Hold onto bills and statements for:

• Electricity and gas

• Internet

• Phone (if used for work)

If you have a dedicated home office space, note its size relative to the rest of your home. This detail can be relevant depending on how your expenses are calculated.

Equipment and furniture

If you have purchased a desk, chair, monitor, or other equipment for your home office this year, keep the receipt and note what it is used for.

For items used for both work and personal purposes, a rough note of the work-use proportion is helpful to have on hand.

Software and subscriptions

Any software, cloud tools, or subscriptions you use specifically for work fall into this category too. Keep the invoices or confirmation emails somewhere accessible.

What tends to get missed

A few things come up regularly that are easy to overlook:

• Phone bills where only part of the usage is work-related. Keep the bill and make a note of your estimated work-use percentage.

• Equipment bought mid-year. The date of purchase matters, so make sure it is recorded.

• Costs paid from a personal account that were genuinely for work. These are easy to lose track of. Flag them so they can be recorded properly.

A simple habit that makes this easier

Rather than scrambling at year end, the easiest approach is to set a consistent routine throughout the year.

Log your work-from-home hours weekly. Save receipts as you go, whether that is a folder on your desktop, a folder in your email, or a physical folder if that works better for you. A few minutes each week saves a lot of time in June.

If you would like help getting a simple system in place, or if you want us to look over what you have before year end, we are happy to help.

The information in this article is general in nature and does not constitute financial or tax advice. Please speak with your registered tax agent or accountant for advice specific to your circumstances.