Australia’s leading tax accountants, H&R Block, have partnered with Officeworks to help working parents take the stress out of and identify opportunities to maximise their tax refund.

Tax Checklist

Mark Chapman, H&R Block Director of Tax Communications, has provided a claim checklist to makes things simple for those submitting individual tax returns:

Home office

If you work from home, either occasionally or all the time, you are entitled to deductions for costs related to running a home office. In order to claim you will need to keep a diary to work out how much of your running expenses relate to your home office usage. The expenses that you can claim include:

  • Office supplies and stationery (notepads, pens, chairs, whiteboards etc.)
  • Heating, cooling and lighting
  • Cleaning costs
  • Decline in value (depreciation) of home office furniture and fittings, office equipment and computers (for items over $300)
  • Computer consumables, telephone and internet costs
  • Items of capital equipment (such as furniture, computers and associated hardware and software) which cost less than $300 can be written off in full immediately

Car expenses

You can claim motor vehicle expenses related to your work. Claiming methods include:

  • Cents per kilometre – you claim a flat rate of 66c for every kilometre travelled on work purposes. You can only use this method if you travelled 5000 business kms per vehicle or less
  • Log-book – you must use this method if you travelled more than 5000 business kms per vehicle. This allows you to claim each individual expense (such as fuel, insurance, servicing, and depreciation) but you must keep detailed substantiation (receipts, invoices, etc.) and keep a log book.

Self-education

If you undertook a course of training or study during the year which was related to your current job and which you paid for yourself, you can claim the costs related to that course. The expenses that you can claim include:

  • Airfares
  • Accommodation and meals (if you travelled interstate)
  • Motor vehicle expenses (if you drove to the place where the course was held)
  • Home office costs if you studied at home
  • Computer, laptop or tablet if used for your studies

Mobile Phone

If you used your personal mobile phone for work purposes, you can claim a deduction for the business related use.

Other deductions

If applicable, make sure you claim (and can provide documentation to support your claim):

  • Donations of more than $2 to a registered charity
  • The cost of getting last year’s tax return prepared by an agent
  • Union fees and professional subscriptions

Whether you need to stock up on technology, furniture or stationery supplies for your home office, Officeworks has a wide range of products that could be tax deductible, available in store and online.

For further tips and advice on personal tax, visit Officeworks’ dedicated ‘Happy Tax Place’ page: www.officeworks.com.au/campaigns/tax-time