Enter the days or hours you work from home to see your deduction under the ATO's fixed rate and the actual cost method, add equipment like a laptop or desk, and see the tax it saves for 2025-26 or 2026-27.
How to use the work from home calculator
- Choose the financial year and enter your days a week at home, or the total hours from your records.
- For the actual cost method, open the costs section and enter the year's bills and the share used for work.
- Add anything you bought for work this year, like a laptop, monitor, desk or chair, and repairs or cleaning.
- Enter your salary to see the tax you save; in 2026-27 the calculator compares the claim with the $1,000 standard deduction.
Worked example
Working from home two days a week, 7.6 hours a day, for 48 weeks is 729.6 hours. At 70c an hour that's a fixed rate claim of $510.72 for 2025-26. With a $2,000 electricity and gas bill (15% for work), $960 of phone bills (40%), $900 of internet (50%) and $60 of stationery, the actual cost method gives $1,194, so it's worth keeping those records. A $2,000 laptop bought on 1 January 2026 and used 80% for work adds $793.42 under either method: 181 days of a two-year life is $991.78, and 80% of that is claimed.
On a $90,000 salary, the $510.72 fixed rate claim saves $163.52 in 2025-26 (30% tax plus the 2% Medicare levy). In 2026-27 the same claim adds nothing, because the $1,000 standard deduction is bigger; working from home full time (1,824 hours, $1,276.80) adds $276.80 above it and saves $88.64.
The rules
- Fixed rate: hours worked from home × 70c (2024-25 and 2025-26); 67c for 2022-23 and 2023-24
- Actual cost: the work share of energy, phone, internet, stationery and consumables
- Both: equipment and furniture ($300 or less and mainly for work in full, otherwise over its effective life), repairs, cleaning a dedicated home office
- Diminishing value: cost × days held ÷ 365 × 200% ÷ effective life; prime cost uses 100%
- From 2026-27: a $1,000 standard deduction, reduced by the work expenses you claim
Sources: Australian Taxation Office (working from home expenses, fixed rate method, PCG 2023/1, standard deduction for work-related expenses), Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Division 40. Everything runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fixed rate for working from home?
70 cents for every hour you work from home in 2024-25 and 2025-26, up from 67 cents in 2022-23 and 2023-24. It covers electricity and gas, your home and mobile phone, internet, stationery and computer consumables, so you can't claim any of those separately as well. The ATO hadn't published a 2026-27 rate when this page was checked.
Should I use the fixed rate or the actual cost method?
The fixed rate is simpler: hours × 70c, with a record of your hours and one bill for each kind of expense. The actual cost method can give more if your bills are high and work takes a large share of them, but you need records showing each cost and how you worked out the work share, such as a 4-week diary of work calls. The calculator works out both so you can see the difference.
What records do I need?
For the fixed rate, a record of every hour you work from home for the whole year (timesheets, rosters, a diary or a log from work systems; estimates aren't accepted) and a bill for each kind of running cost, such as one electricity bill and one phone bill. For the actual cost method, records of every expense and how you split work from private use.
Can I claim my laptop, desk or chair?
Yes, with either method. Something that cost $300 or less and is used more than half for work is claimed in full in the year you buy it (the work share only). More expensive items are claimed over their effective life, starting from the day you bought them: two years for a laptop or tablet and four for a desktop computer; for furniture, use the ATO's Effective Life Lookup Tool.
What changes in 2026-27?
From 1 July 2026 everyone with work income gets a standard deduction of up to $1,000 for work expenses, with no receipts needed. Work expenses you claim, working from home included, reduce it dollar for dollar, so keeping records only pays off if your claims add up to more than $1,000. Union fees, donations and tax agent fees are still claimed on top.
Can I claim rent, mortgage interest or the whole power bill?
Usually not. Rent, mortgage interest, rates and home insurance (occupancy expenses) are generally only claimable when your home is a place of business, which isn't the case for most employees who simply work from home. Only the work share of running costs counts, never the whole household bill. A registered tax agent can tell you if your situation is an exception.
