年终退税--Home office

夢回唐朝

又要开始退税了，原想直接找个个人税务办了拉倒，可感觉如果啥都不懂心里总不踏实，想想留学移民都能DIY，而且有tz也说了对于非business的个人税务自己e-tax一下更好用，所以下决心上网研究先，当然先好好拜读了足迹tz的退税帖子真是受益匪浅，看来对于广大朝九晚五的tz们来说也只有好好发挥Other work related expenses的作用了，不过发现大家对Home office一项没什么深入讨论，这里提出来让有专业经验的tz来分析分析。

先说个人的理解，
ATO的解释是You can claim a tax deduction for home office expenses as part of your business or employment related expenses for the year ended，就是肯定Home office不光可用于把家作为个人生意办公的，也对上班族的work related expenses适用了，请高人指点是否属实。

然后ATO给出了两种方式You may be able to use an hourly rate instead of the actual expense.

需要提供的东东：
You will need the following to use the actual expense method:
electricity, gas and other power and heating accounts, and
receipts for furniture used for work purposes–that is, desk, chair, bookcase and cabinets.

Regardless of which method you use, you will need receipts for:
home office equipment used for work purposes
repairs relating specifically to the home office or furniture and equipment used for work purposes
cleaning expenses of home office, and
any other day-to-day running expenses for the home office.

You will also need an idea of the hours of usage based on some records (for example, a diary, a pattern of usage etc). If you work from home, you may be eligible to claim occupancy expenses.
（上班族们就不能claim occupancy expenses了）

方法1：ATO提供了一个极其简单的hourly rate方法（每小时26 cents:o）
You can use a fixed rate to claim your decline in value of home office furniture and costs for heating, cooling and lighting.   
To be eligible for this easy method, the area used as a home office must not be used for other purposes at the same time (for example, by other family members to watch television). The fixed rate allows you to claim the above expenses at the rate of 26 cents for each hour that you are in your home office and are using it exclusively for work-related purposes. Alternatively, you will need to retain power bills, calculate the usage of individual appliances, and calculate the decline in value of your home office furniture.

(A)对于小时数的规定：Based on your diary or pattern of use records, how many hours during the income year did you operate the home office for income producing purposes. The number of hours entered should be the number of hours of substantial income producing use. If the office is used by others at the same time, those hours do not qualify. Also, hours when the office is only used by machines (for example a fax machine) do not qualify. 规定得那么细。

(B)其他的可同时扣减项目：A deduction can be claimed for the running expenses of a home office if part or all of the income producing activities are carried on at home. Cleaning，Depreciation - other than furniture，Leasing costs，Repairs to office furniture and equipment，Other home office running expenses.

Total home office expenses = 0.26A + B

方法2：actual expense method比较复杂，大家可以用ATO的Home office expenses calculator试试：
Home office expenses calculator

（RESOURCES FROM: http://www.ato.gov.au）

最后一些疑问请高手帮忙：
-到底是否适用于上班族
-到底如何正确的审定小时数而不给ATO找麻烦，ATO拿什么标准复核呢，是否有类似300刀以下无需证明的规定？
-在(B)其他的可同时扣减项目的定义（比如Leasing costs是指房租吗），怎么计算（按比例推算）？
-错误及疑问请大家补齐
-欢迎拍转及加分

声明：本文非专业意见仅供参考讨论，如果ATO找你麻烦请不要找我麻烦


[ 本帖最后由 jaywang714 于 2007-7-26 15:27 编辑 ]

VIP

原帖由 jaywang714 于 2007-7-26 13:49 发表
ATO的解释是You can claim a tax deduction for home office expenses as part of your business or employment related expenses for the year ended，就是肯定Home office不光可用于把家作为个人生意办公的，也对上班族的work related expenses适用了

这里说employment related expenses, 我的理解是你作为home office雇主的花费.好像和纯粹的上班族没关系吧?

黑黑

关注.

黑黑

水电煤洗地毯都可以抵税啊??? 狂笑中。。。

黑黑

房租也可以？？？  谁来确认一下。

月亮

如果是home office，好像那间房子的租金可以低税

夢回唐朝

原帖由 VIP 于 2007-7-26 14:14 发表


这里说employment related expenses, 我的理解是你作为home office雇主的花费.好像和纯粹的上班族没关系吧?

我一直也是这么认为的，所以以前一直没推过，可最近和同事聊起，别人告诉我他的税务就是帮他算的，如果是真的就亏了，他说这和可以退一部分电话和宽带的性质一样，因为你是用在工作上的时间，请高人先来确认一下

maccat

好像记得提到过今年新的规定是home office一定要是在雇主有要求员工有固定时间在家工作，而且家里一定要有专门的工作空间，这种情况下才可以把home office作为deduction。两种算法，一种是按小时，每小时26C；还有一种按百分比，就是你的专门用来工作的空间占整个房子的百分比来计算各种花销包括租金的百分比作为deduction。具体的政策还没仔细看，印象中就记得这些。。。

夢回唐朝

原帖由 maccat 于 2007-7-26 15:13 发表
好像记得提到过今年新的规定是home office一定要是在雇主有要求员工有固定时间在家工作，而且家里一定要有专门的工作空间，这种情况下才可以把home office作为deduction。两种算法，一种是按小时，每小时26C；还有 ...

那也就是说以前可以的？还是亏了

夢回唐朝

...
HOME OFFICE
William Buck's assistant manager of tax services, Jennifer Rees, said deductions were available for people who worked from home or took work home with them.
"You can claim amounts for home office expenses such as heating, cooling, telephone, and depreciation of computers, software and office furniture for the work-related proportion of those items," she said.
...
(REFERENCES: ANTHONY KEANE SMART MONEY EDITOR, July 14, 2007, http://www.news.com.au/adelaiden ... 070741-2682,00.html)

[ 本帖最后由 jaywang714 于 2007-7-26 15:51 编辑 ]

夢回唐朝

没有专业人士能确认以下吗？

休

When you use your home office for work as an employee, note that time in your diary. Diary records are acceptable evidence of a connection between the use of a home office and your work. Keep diary records for a representative four-week period.

There is a home office expenses calculator you can use to work out your claim amount.
http://calculators.ato.gov.au/sc ... ffice.XR4&go=ok

夢回唐朝

对于上班族是不是可以这样理解：
如果把工作带回家做可以报，比如工程师回家画图纸，设计师回家找设计资料，程序员回家编程，会计回家算账。。。
ATO怎么确认evidence的真实性呢？

VIP

休大师不是在你楼上回答了么?
另外请问大师,这个"Keep diary records for a representative four-week period"是怎么个概念呢?是说记载之后保留4周,还是被要求时出具之前4周?好像都不太对劲.

休

原帖由 VIP 于 2007-7-27 11:24 发表
休大师不是在你楼上回答了么?
另外请问大师,这个"Keep diary records for a representative four-week period"是怎么个概念呢?是说记载之后保留4周,还是被要求时出具之前4周?好像都不太对劲.

只需做4周完整日记,其它时间假设与这四周相同,日记保留5年.

VIP

哦,明白了.谢谢大师!

夢回唐朝

原帖由 VIP 于 2007-7-27 11:24 发表
休大师不是在你楼上回答了么?
另外请问大师,这个"Keep diary records for a representative four-week period"是怎么个概念呢?是说记载之后保留4周,还是被要求时出具之前4周?好像都不太对劲.

我的意思是怎么确保这个diary records 的真实性，都是靠本人自己纪录还是要公司认证的，请大师指点迷津

休

原帖由 jaywang714 于 2007-7-27 11:53 发表


我的意思是怎么确保这个diary records 的真实性，都是靠本人自己纪录还是要公司认证的，请大师指点迷津

自己记录,税局查税时,若认为有可疑,他们会求证.若果发现做假,罪加一等.若果在他们质疑时坦白交待,"从轻"处理.

夢回唐朝

原帖由 休 于 2007-7-27 12:07 发表

自己记录,税局查税时,若认为有可疑,他们会求证.若果发现做假,罪加一等.若果在他们质疑时坦白交待,"从轻"处理.

了解，谢谢大师

anny_shi

个人觉得HOME OFFICE只适用于那些将公司注册到自己家地址的公司而已。 而且不是百分之百CLAIM的。 最多只有1/3可以被CLAIM回来（象电费，清洁费，房租等。 但是GAS不行）。 如果是租的房子，当然可以无忧CLAIM。 如果是自主房就要注意了。当你卖房子的时候，你以前CLAIM过的那部分钱是需要上税的。

zuozuo

按照LZ提供的信息,想问一下我LG是否可以claim一些homeoffice的费用，他平均一周有一次的on-call，有时是整个晚上，有时是周六或周日的全天和晚上。因为他们公司需要7×24小时处理客户的技术问题。这就需要员工在家里处理客户的non-business hour的电话，他的电脑直接连到公司的server上，其实完全是在家办公，而且的确专门有一个房间用于他做on-call。他有详细的on-call时间记录。

biskit

回ls, 可以!

zuozuo

谢谢ls，心里有底了。

kermit

Thanks for sharing!
Good luck!

flyspirit

这个贴子有用的

yans

收藏。。

WTFAUS

又到退税时，再把这个帖子翻出来。觉得很有用。
http://calculators.ato.gov.au/scripts/axos/AXOS.asp
这个计算器很有帮助。但是Running expenses 确实也难算。cleaning一般都是自己做。
deprecation的也就是电脑计算机一类的。电脑已经salary sacrifice了。也就只能退在家工作的时间乘以0.26系数的水电煤开销。这样算下来500小时在家工作也只不过能claim 130
       
Cleaning
       
Depreciation - other than furniture
       
Leasing
       
Repairs to office furniture & equipment subject to apportionment
       
Other home office running expenses