Claim Your Perks

Here are seven ways to get something back from the tax man.

- Effie Zahos

 

1.COUNT THE COST OF A HOME OFFICE

If you work from home, your electricity bill is a deduction that you can legitimately claim. It falls under the category of a home office expense. To work out what deduction you may be entitled to, simply multiply the number of hours you work from home by 45 cents. That’s the fixed rate that the tax office allows you to claim. Under this method you can also include the decline in value of office equipment such as computers and faxes but not furniture.

Keep a record of the number of hours you work from home as proof. Let’s say you work a total of 10 hours a week from home – at 45¢ an hour for 10 hours over, say, 48 weeks you’re looking at a tax deduction of $216.

2.SPLIT THE BILL FOR WORK PHONE CALLS

You don’t need to document every work-related call but you do need to keep records for at least a four week period. And, of course, you can only claim your work-related calls, not your personal ones. Let’s say, for example, you pay $69 a month for your mobile phone plan. You estimate that 50% of your monthly calls are work related, so you’ll be able to claim $414 on your tax return as a deduction.

3.BUY A CAR FOR AN IMMEDIATE BENEFIT