The ATO have introduced a new schedule for personal income tax returns for the 2019 income year. This new schedule is in response to the ATO’s view that many taxpayers are overstating their allowable deductions and that the cost to Treasury is measured in billions of dollars. The new schedule requires details on an item by item basis of the following deduction claims.
Car Expenses
You can claim at this item your work-related expenses for using a car that you owned, leased or hired. There are 2 different methods for claims;
- Logbook method (any amount of kms)
- Cents per km method @ 68 cents per km (capped at 5,000kms)
Travel Expenses
Includes, short-term car hire, public transport fares, bridge and road tolls, parking fees, taxi fares, meal, accommodation and related expenses while away overnight for work.
Clothing
Includes protective clothing, uniforms, occupation-specific clothing, Laundering and dry-cleaning of clothing listed.
Work-Related Education
To claim a deduction for self-education expenses, you must have met one of the following conditions:
– the course maintained or improved a skill required for your then current work activities
– you could show that the course was leading to, or was likely to lead to, increased income from your then current work activities
You cannot claim a deduction for self-education for a course that relates only in a broad way to your current occupation or career, or will enable you to get new employment.
Other Work-Related Expenses
Most other general work-related costs are claimed in this label such as a direct cost (Union Fee for building industry 100% deductible) and apportioned costs such as mobile phone use (20% work use and 80% private calculation)
Home Office Expenses
To claim home office expenses you can:
– keep a diary of the details of your actual costs and your work-related use of the office, or
– use a fixed rate of 52 cents per hour for heating, cooling, lighting and the decline in value of furniture in your home office
Please contact our office if you have any questions about claiming work-related expenses.
Contributed by Alison Murphy.
