A sole trader or a partnership business can claim some running expenses if your home is your main place of business. This can include the cost of electricity, cleaning and depreciation of business assets.
Below are a few methods to calculate the expenses:
- actual cost method
- 52 cents per work hour fixed rate, which covers heating, cooling, lighting, cleaning and depreciation of furniture and furnishings
- 80 cents per work hour temporary shortcut method, available from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2021 and covers all expenses.
Occupancy expenses may also be claimed if you have a specific area of your house with the character of a ‘place of business set aside. This would not include, for example, your dining room table.
In the case of a trust or a company, you should have a market-rate rental contract. This will determine what expenses you may be able to claim as a deduction.
You can only claim deductions for the portion of your expenses related to running your business.
