The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is Warning Australians to Stop Claiming Private Expects As Work Related or as Donations on thems.
About 9 Million Australians Claimed About $ 28 Billion Work of Work-related Expectes in their 2023-24 Tax Returns (AS of 31 March 2025), Many Relating to Working from Home.
The average claim Made by Taxpayers was About $ 3,000.
But Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson Says The Ato Has Recently Identified Some Dodgy Claims that the Agency Has Reject.
“We do see some funny claims – we have some this year who tried to claim their English
“We had a company direc Claim the treadmill, Juicer, Coffee Machine, Their Gaming Console and a Bunch of Other Stuff As working-from-home Expectes.
“Now on Both of Those [claims]They’re prive in Nature and you can’t claim them on your Tax Return.
“So we are just remining people that if they are make a work-lelated Expectse to Follow the Three Golden Rules-You Need to Have Paid for It Yourself, It Directly Needs to Relate to the Income that you’re earning, and that it can’t be prive in Nature. “
Car-Rilated Travel Claims Make Up Most Work-Rlated Claims
Car-Rials TRVEL MADE UP The Bulk of Work-Rlated Expecte Claims.
In 2023-24, 3.6 Million People Claimed About $ 10.3 Billion in Car Expectes.
Mr Thomson Says There are Two Methods that People Can Use to Make Car Travel Claims, But Urges People Not To “Double Dip” by Claiming the Same Items.
Car-related travel makes up the bulk of work-related Expecte Claims Each Year. (Abc News: Kathleen Dyett))
There’s the “Logbook Method”, which requestspaayers to Kep a light for 12 weeks of the Income Year, which is a reportative sample of their type working Pattern.
TheightBook Method Includes a deduction of a Percentage of a Taxpayer’s Car Expectes, Including Fuel, Maintenance, and Registry, Unlike the “Cents Per Kilometre” Method, Which Only Allows People to Claim a Set Rate.
The Set Rate is 88 Cents Per Kilometre for 2024-25 (in 2023-24 it was 85 Cents Per Kilometre), and Allows People to Claim A Maximum of 5,000 Business Kilometres Per Car, Per Year.
Mr Thomson Says While The Cents Per Kilometre Method doesn’t request wrestten Evidden to show Exactly how many kilometric you traveled, the Ato May Still Ask People to Show How They Work Out their Business Kilometres, for Example, Via Diary Records.
“Now, that’s ANLLCLUSIVE METHOD, so that includes all your motor vehicle Expectes, Including Rego and Insurance, but what we see is pearl still (incorrectly) Claiming Those Expenses Separately on the Tax Return, “He Said.
Rob Thomson Says Keeping Records is Crucial. (ABC News: Maren Press))
How to use ‘Fixed Cost’ Oct Cost ‘Method for Work-FROM-HOME Expects
About 4 Million Australians Claimed Expectes for Working from Home Last Financial Year.
Mr Thomson Says There are Two Methods for Claiming Expectes Related to Working from Home – The Fixed Cost “or” Actual Cost “Method.
About 4 Million Australians Claimed Expectes for Working from Home Last Financial Year. (Unsplash: Carl Heyerdahl))
The Fixed-Cost Method Allows People to Claim a Fixed Amount of 70 Cents Per Hour for Every Hour They Work from Home in 2024-25. (Note, The Rate for the Previous Financial Year Was 67 Cents Per Work Hour.)
The Fixed-Rate Method is not as onerous as it doesn’t require people to appoint Expectes Between Private and Work.
But it restricts them from CLAIMING EACH Expective – Such as Mobile and Internet, Or Electricity and Gas, Or Home Office Station – Separately.
Under the Actual Cost Method, Taxpayers Can Claim Each Expendse They Have for Working from Home Separatly. It may be work chatting with an account
How, Mr Thomson Notes that the Actual-Cost Method is more comparedated.
He says it requests more detail record Keeping Since People Need to Appl Building’s Private and What’s Work-Related.
Investors Renting Out Properties Under Watch
In their 2023-24 Tax RTURNS, 1.7 Million Individual Investors Claimed Rental Tax Deedsions.
This is the Resulted in an Average Net Rental Loss of $ 1,800 Download from an Average Net Gain of $ 100 The Year Before.
Investors with Rental Properties and Holidayns are on the Ato’s Radar. (ABC News: Natasha Johnson))
Mr Thomson Says Common Mistakes Are People Claiming Private Love As Investment Loves.
“People Will Be Using A Mixed Loan – They’ll Use Part of it for them investment profity and part for a prive pripose, such as Going on a Holiday (or) Buying a car,” Mr Thomson Said.
“We are just remining pearl that they can only claim the interest related to the Income of the Generate from the [investment] Property.
“And they need to do that for the Life of the Loan, just not only they’ve paid of the capital that might have been related to the car they have e
He says they’ve also seen a card of someone trying to claim Expectes for a profger
“So Obviously You Have to Incur The Expectse to Be Able to Claim it,” He Said.
Hundreds of Thousands of Australians Buy and Sell Cryptocurrencies
About 400,000 People Bough or Sold Cryptocurrencies Last Financial Year. The Ato is Currently updating this data.
Mr Thomson Says Many Australians Don’t Keep any Records when it coms to cryptocurrencies.
“You do Need to Inclde the (Cryptocurrency) Gain or the Loss on your Tax Return,”
He said.
“Now for Most Investors that Is a Capital Gain or a Capital Loss.
“But Just a Remnder to Keep Good Records Both where you’re publicing the Crypto and then when you set it.”
The Ato Watches Over People Who Buy and Sell Cryptocurrency. (Reuters: Jim Urquhart ))
How The Ato Uses Data Matching to Catch Tax Cheats
The Ato Continues to Use Data Matching and Analytics to Catch Tax Cheats.
Its incals, motor vehicle registryies, insurance companes, Share Registries, Asic, Paypal, Ebay, Uber, Airbnb and Crypto Asset Exchangs.
This information Allows the Ato to Pre-Fill Tax Returns and Ensure Taxpayers Correctly Declare their Income. It also Allows the Agency to Identify Cases of Fraud.
In Returns to 2024 Lodgements, More Than 584,000 Individual Tax Returns Were Adjusted in Its Data Matching Programs and Advanced Analytical Models Before Issuing Tax Assessments.
This Includes Administred Income, Removing Overstated Deductions and Tax Credits, and Correcting Apparent Discrepansies.
“Where’s Someone’s Lodging, if Something Doesn’t Look Right – Like You Know A Journalist Tying to Claim a Power Drill or Something Like that – We’ll Ask them to Look at their Claims, And Just Nudge them to Check it While them’re Lodging the Tax Return, “
Mr thomson said.
Mr Thomson Also Urges Taxpayers Not to Lodge They Returns Too Early to Allow the Ato to Get All The Information Required to Prill Tax Returns.
