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If it's work-related, deduct it Most people know that you can claim deductions for up to $300 in work-related expenses without having the receipts to prove it, but there are many other deductions available. CPA Australia suggests looking at the following possible deductions: up to $150 in eligible laundry claims can be deducted without a receipt, even if you're over the $300 no-receipt threshold home workers may be able to claim a deduction for heating, cooling, lighting and depreciating your office equipment or professional library, but you need to keep a diary of the hours worked at home for at least four weeks to substantiate the claim education expenses for study directly related to your field can be claimed as deductions, but not if the study is to help you obtain new qualifications in a different field Depreciate your tools If an item or piece of equipment helped you earn assessable income other than business income over the past year, chances are you can claim some form of deduction for it. Eligible items include tools, calculators, briefcases, computer equipment and technical books – the amount that different items can be depreciated for varies, so check CPA Australia or the Australian Tax Office website for the details. Make your car a lean, mean, tax deduction machine There are three different methods of claiming tax deductions for work-related motor vehicle travel – CPA Australia says tax savings can be had by choosing the method that works best for you. If you are planning to claim a deduction for less than 5000 kilometres of work-related travel, you can claim a deduction for your car expenses on a cents-per-kilometere basis (check the work related car expenses calculator). If you have kept a log book, odometer readings and receipts, you can claim a deduction for total running expenses. If you plan to claim for business travel in excess of 5000 kilometres, it may be possible to claim one-third of actual car expenses or 12% of the original value of the vehicle without a logbook. This edited article by James Thomson and Mike Preston is reprinted with permission from SmartCompany (www.smartcompany.com.au). |
