Australia's fixed-rate work-from-home method still lives or dies on records

The hook

“The fixed rate is simpler than apportioning every bill, but it is not a free pass on evidence.”

The ATO says taxpayers using the fixed-rate method need a record of the total actual hours worked from home for the entire income year and evidence of the running expenses covered by the rate. The guidance is explicit that estimates of hours are not acceptable. So the shortcut is in the calculation, not in the record keeping.

The takeaway

When an Australian work-from-home claim fails, it is often the diary, not the deduction theory, that collapses first.

Official sources

Fixed rate method

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