Home and assets

Home-based business running expenses

Additional home-business running costs calculated with the 70-cents-per-hour fixed-rate method or the actual-cost method.

Who can claim

This deduction is available to individuals.

  • You carry on a business from home and incur additional running costs because of that business use.
  • For the fixed-rate method, you record the actual hours worked from home and incur at least one of the costs covered by the rate.

What you cannot claim

  • Normal private living costs are excluded.
  • Do not separately claim energy, phone, internet, stationery or consumables already covered by the fixed-rate calculation.
  • Occupancy costs have additional place-of-business conditions.

How the amount is worked out

For 2025-26 and 2026-27, multiply actual business hours worked from home by 70 cents, or use the substantiated actual-cost method. Eligible decline in value, asset repairs and cleaning can be claimed separately because the fixed rate does not cover them.

Records the ATO expects

  • Complete record of actual business hours worked from home
  • Evidence of covered energy, phone, internet, stationery or consumable costs
  • Actual-cost bills and business-use calculation where that method is chosen
  • Asset, repair and cleaning records claimed separately

Where this rule comes from

Primary source: ATO home-based business expenses (Updated 30 June 2025). Reviewed 30 July 2026. Covers the 2025-26 and 2026-27 income years.

Supporting sources:

Next steps