The ATO offers two methods to claim a working-from-home deduction. The fixed-rate method gives you 70 cents per WFH hour for FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26 (up from 67c in FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24). The actual-cost method lets you claim the work-related portion of each utility plus stationery and equipment depreciation. The two are mutually exclusive — pick one method per year.

The fixed rate covers electricity, gas, phone, internet, stationery, and computer consumables — you can't claim any of those separately on top. You CAN still separately claim depreciation on equipment (computer, chair, desk), repairs/cleaning of a dedicated home office, and other office-related expenses. The actual-cost method requires you to apportion every utility bill by your work-use percentage and keep diaries / receipts. From FY 2022-23 you must keep a contemporaneous log of WFH hours — old 'representative period' or estimates aren't accepted.

For most office workers the fixed rate wins on time-spent (no apportionment work) and is competitive on dollars unless your utility bills and depreciation are unusually high. Heavy users of dedicated home offices (graphic designers with multiple monitors, traders running powerful workstations, anyone with a meaningful equipment depreciation pool) often come out ahead under actual cost. This calculator runs both side-by-side so you can see the gap before lodging.