Working from home, use office/PC and electricity. How do I cut some costs?

[Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 19:34
Last edited 15/10/2017 - 19:35

HI guys,

Started working a full time job from home, every expense I think of is gone since I get to work from home, but I'm just wondering if there's any way that I can cut some costs for things like electricity, heating/cooling, etc.

I know I can, but the question lies in whether it's worth it or not and I'm not sure how difficult the process is. I used the calculator and after ages, it gave me one figure of around $800, not sure how reliable that was, but I think it was for 4 months work. So not a bad cut.

I am really just asking for experiences here, and whether anyone can vouch on a simple way to go about this? I've never had to deal with taxes in Australia until now.

BTW: I use the PC for the entire time from 9 to about 6, the PC isn't a weak one and my screens are high usage. It's required by the job. So pretty electricity hungry.

Financial

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 19:39
    +11

    Don't use the ac in the summer, or the heater in the winter?

      • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 19:47
        +28

        Why are heaters in winter hilarious? It gets down to localised zero in Melbourne in winter several nights a year. You need heaters. Especially because our houses often aren't well insulated and double glazed.

        [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 19:47 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
        • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 21:43
          +7

          @StoneSin: It's cold in Melbourne. I used to live in the UK, up north, it hit -12, we had snow storms. It's still bloody cold in Melbourne in winter.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 22:20
          +5

          @StoneSin: Yes it is.

        • tajid on 15/10/2017 - 22:28
          +40

          @StoneSin: You are asking for opinions yet you are arguing with people….

        • [Deactivated] on 16/10/2017 - 00:00
          +3

          @StoneSin:
          But hot/cold is arbitrary, thus someone's opinion is valid.

        • tajid on 16/10/2017 - 00:04
          +2

          @StoneSin: Coming from a tropical country, even during Autumn/Spring, it's cold enough for me.

        • Presence on 16/10/2017 - 08:22
          +6

          @StoneSin:

          Its literally entirely your opinion, and basically every house in Victoria disagrees with you.

        • magic8ballgag on 16/10/2017 - 09:04
          +1

          @StoneSin:

          I think I understand what you're saying, as no one really needs anything in life, but most people that live in Melbourne would prefer a heater during the colder months.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/10/2017 - 19:01
          -8

          @Drew22: Hot/cold arbitrary? So -10C isn't cold. 30C is cold?

          Is the freezer an oven and the oven a freezer? That's some arbitration!

        • [Deactivated] on 16/10/2017 - 19:41
          +2

          @StoneSin:
          Is 10C hot or cold?

          30C could be considered cold, depending on the context. As a melting point for a metal, it could be considered cold compared to say Iron which melts at 1,500C.

        • Aap Ke Papa on 16/10/2017 - 21:44
          +6

          @Drew22: If all you need is a PC to work from home, then I would honestly buy a powerful laptop that would get the job done and go to the library close to home and work there. Chew their power, their Aircon

        • [Deactivated] on 16/10/2017 - 22:25
          -2

          @Drew22: Yes. Because humans are metal.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/10/2017 - 23:37

          @StoneSin:

          So is 10C hot or cold?

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 00:10

          @Drew22: What's the context?

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 00:12

          @Baahubali: Powerful laptop is not an option.

        • Mechanist on 17/10/2017 - 08:33

          @Burnertoasty: Yeah its lack of or poor insulation. I miss double glazing :/

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 12:04
          -1

          @StoneSin:
          Apparently context is not important to you.

          So which is it?

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 14:38
          -2

          @Drew22: Nope. I never said that, try again.

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 14:45
          -1

          @StoneSin:

          Do you even know what apparently means?
          Because you don't know what an opinion is.

          Just answer the question

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 14:47
          -2

          @Drew22: Yes. I also know what an opinion means. You don't have an opinion on whether a freezer is cold.

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 14:48
          -1

          @StoneSin:

          So, in your opinion is 10C hot or cold?

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 18:55
          -3

          @Drew22: With context, as I've said already please?

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 19:25
          -1

          @StoneSin:

          Context is 42 and the price of fish.

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 19:27
          -2

          @Drew22: Invalid context, try again.

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 19:35
          -1

          @StoneSin:
          It's valid. There's no opinion in that.

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 19:58
          -4

          @Drew22: Invalid context, try again.

        • DingoBilly on 18/10/2017 - 10:30
          -1

          It is pretty funny… having lived in Melbourne and Canberra last 8 years, I've never used a heater once across 5-6 apartments.

          You can get used to the cold and just rug up if need be… but people are a bit precious about being cold.

        • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2017 - 12:47
          +2

          @StoneSin:

          01010011 01110100 01101111 01110000 00100000 01100010 01100101 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100100 01101111 01110101 01100011 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01110011 01110111 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110001 01110101 01100101 01110011 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00100000 01100011 01110101 01101110 01110100 00100000 01100110 01100001 01100011 01100101

        • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2017 - 14:04

          @PhilipJWitow: People are definitely precious about being hot and cold these days. I never use them and I don't struggle one bit… you just get used to it and hence cope much better.

      • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 20:20
        +8

        Oh right you live in Brisbane.

        Other parts of Australia do get cold, some places even get snow (the cold white stuff, not cocaine aka Colombian snow)!

        Some places even move their clocks forward and back an hour every six months, but I hear that it really confuses the cows.

        The more you know…

        [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 20:20 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
        • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 21:32
          -7

          They get cold, it gets cold where I live too. Below 0 sometimes.

          I don't feel the heat or cold I guess. I don't think they are necessary in any part of Australia. Except perhaps the outback.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 21:44
          +9

          @StoneSin: You are nuts man.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 21:55
          +4

          @StoneSin:
          Lay off the meth bro

        • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 22:02
          -2

          @Drew22: Meth makes you immune to nature?

        • Godric on 16/10/2017 - 16:20
          +1

          @StoneSin:
          Cooooked

      • Rumbaar on 18/10/2017 - 08:54
        +3

        Ha, bad opinions there. Cold, put a jumper, beanie and fingerless gloves. Costs nothing for that.

        • [Deactivated] on 18/10/2017 - 14:07

          Yep.

  • MrHyde on 15/10/2017 - 19:43
    +5

    Do you have a home office setup? Basically, an area of the house that is used only for office purposes - ie it cannot be dual purpose. Then, you can basically claim a percentage of your expenses based on the percentage of space taken up by the home office.

    IANAA (I am not an accountant); so don't really on what I've said and get professional advice.

    • macca9123 on 16/10/2017 - 14:18
      +8

      This is fine if you are renting, but if you own your own home then that space that you claim in deductions will also require you to pay CGT on it when you sell the home. So be careful claiming this as the CGT can end up costing you more later on than the deductions you are claiming now.

      IANAA either, but my accountant did warn me on this issue.

      • wozz on 17/10/2017 - 09:51

        Yeah I think this applies if you use it for your principal place of business. I work from home 1 day a week and claim expenses, but won't be required to pay CGT

  • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 19:48
    +7

    OP get solar. It will pay itself off in a few years. Also your home office costs are tax deductible.

    • spackbace on 15/10/2017 - 19:59

      Good point, especially as he's using the juice during the day :)

    • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 21:33

      Renting :(

      • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 21:39
        +6

        Then buy a house. They are cheap in Brisbane. Buy 3.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 21:40
          -8

          "ok".

        • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 21:42
          +5

          @StoneSin: Have you considered creating a biomass generator? Sewage, wood, dead cats, they can all power your home for nix.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 22:01

          @Burnertoasty: The government wouldn't let me.

        • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 22:20
          +20

          @StoneSin: Yeah man, I work for the govt, I asked my boss, he said it's fine.

        • [Deactivated] on 16/10/2017 - 19:05
          -3

          @Burnertoasty: I'm his boss and my boss said it's not.

  • Donaldhump on 15/10/2017 - 20:27
    +3

    Just claim 45c per hour as per ato

    Don't use heater or air con, depends what you value more, being comfortable or as cheap as possible .

  • AdosHouse on 15/10/2017 - 20:37
    +5

    For your computer, why don't you just put a wall socket smart meter to measure power usage?

    • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2017 - 21:33
      +4

      Good idea actually.

      • poboy on 15/10/2017 - 22:41
        +6

        My screen and PC use 120W. So over 8 hours it costs me approx 25c

        • theguru1 on 16/10/2017 - 07:07
          +29

          You only have to earn more than 25c for the day and your ahead.

        • Malarkey on 16/10/2017 - 16:47
          +5

          @theguru1:

          Not to mention the ~$8 you saved by not taking public transport to work.

  • Yttrium on 15/10/2017 - 21:06
    +4

    make soylent for food

  • altomic on 15/10/2017 - 21:32

    I work from home 2 days a week. I claim 20% of my electricity, internet and phone as a work expense.

    • John Kimble on 16/10/2017 - 06:52
      +1

      How do you come to 20%?

      • original15 on 16/10/2017 - 09:17

        Agree. Must be a figure of speech

        • techboy on 16/10/2017 - 12:02

          You can only claim a % of running costs if your business is run from home, not if you are working there.
          The % is % of floor space that you use.

  • armdrags on 15/10/2017 - 23:10
    +15

    Take the full time job to the library and use their electricity and wifi for free instead of your own home.

    • JIMB0 on 16/10/2017 - 10:11
      +3

      Don't forget the air-conditioning, water and toilet paper.

    • AustriaBargain on 16/10/2017 - 11:29

      I'd alternate between libraries and coffee shops and a bit of home. If you're taking work related calls during the day then the librarian might notice something funny about you setting up your laptop and file folder 9-5 every day.

      • poboy on 16/10/2017 - 14:00
        +5

        Not to mention your receptionist talking in hushed tones - and your sales team taking up the rest of the car park on Friday mornings.

      • niknah on 17/10/2017 - 00:41

        I've seen students sit in the library all day, they're used to it. But don't talk out loud, hang up when you receive a call and sms a reply.

        If you can visit the CBD, there're some pretty good WiFi connections in the eating areas.
        Here's a video with some tests of various places…
        https://youtu.be/GtYjWFdtlSM

  • AlienC on 16/10/2017 - 09:12

    Nothing much you can really do but maybe use smaller devices for heating and cooling or more efficient appliances in that they suit your specific use case and environment.

    Example during winter I used a large probably 2kw oil heater to try and keep warm during the coldest of winter. But near the end I switched to a smaller more focused fan electric heater and found I didn't need to use it as much to stay alive.

    Next winter I probably will not need to use any at all as I am slowly adapting to the sea change so that should eliminate some geneticists.

    As for cooling do you have a cool breeze lol? Or can you relocate your rig to a cooler area.. that is really your only options besides somehow asking your landlord for solar somehow lol and negotiating some kind of rebate or reduction in rent.

  • dimitryp on 16/10/2017 - 09:23
    +4

    PC's dont suck much energy, unless its a gaming PC that's doing hard work. Its the heaters & aircon that take up most of the energy.
    I measured most appliances in my house with a kw meter plug recently.
    pc+screen was sucking around 115w doing spreadsheets, etc (around 2.5c per hour)
    Laptop is even lower, less that 1c per hour

    By comparison, a 2000w oil heater (thats pretty common) is around 46c/hr
    Our ducted aircon is the real monster - 5000w, $1.15/hr.

    Calculations are based off my electricity rate in NSW with AGL - 30c/kwh with a 24% discount (23c). That's usage only, there's also supply charges but they accrue whether you use any electricity or not.

    • WhatWouldBiggieDo on 16/10/2017 - 12:51
      +1

      Is this correct? $1.15 an hour for ducted air? So if you left it on for a whole week in summer it would cost you $168?

      • poboy on 16/10/2017 - 14:03
        +4

        Air con uses a lot of energy at the beginning of its cycle, but when it's up and running, it consumes far less. So, the initial burst of energy could be 5000W for a short period (~20-30 mins depends on a lot of factors). Once the room reaches the required temperature the AC uses ~1000W per hour, all things being equal.

        • smpantsonfire on 16/10/2017 - 21:59

          This is true for inverter air cons, but not all types.

        • Marty131 on 17/10/2017 - 15:53
          +1

          On a 45 degree day it might use more than that 1KW.

    • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 14:40

      Awesome. Heating and cooling isn't needed for me and I'll probably buy a fan if I see a drop in productivity.

    • supaderp on 18/10/2017 - 11:56

      Did you mean 5kW of cooling power required? For 5kW power input, lets say your EER is 3. Your cooling requirement is 15kW. That's basically cooling the whole house (double storey). Reverse cycle will always be more efficient than the oil heater.

  • Baysew on 16/10/2017 - 09:31
    +1

    Save money, work at work.
    Use their heaters in winter.

    • ronnknee on 16/10/2017 - 12:14
      +3

      Commute to/from work is not free.

      • pwnd on 16/10/2017 - 12:18
        +10

        So move into work, save on the commute. #winning

        • cameldownunder on 16/10/2017 - 17:59

          Save on rent !

        • lostn on 16/10/2017 - 23:05

          sleeping bags aren't free.

        • j05h on 17/10/2017 - 13:37
          +1

          @lostn: Get a potato sack then. Ask your local greengrocer :)

  • jo5h89 on 16/10/2017 - 12:59

    Install solar along with new Tesla battery. Watch your electricity shrink to under $100 for the year.

    • OzzyOzbourne on 16/10/2017 - 13:37

      So around $30k plus $400pa for the electricity daily connection charge.

      • poboy on 16/10/2017 - 14:10
        +1

        $400 for the electricity daily charge? If you are inferring that this is over and above the normal electricity supply charge then your number is not correct. Solar owners do pay an additional solar supply charge, but this is in the order of 7c per day, making the incremental additional supply charge $25.55 per year - not $400.

    • Marty131 on 17/10/2017 - 15:54

      Since OP is at home during the day, they wouldn't need the battery.

      Unfortunately OP is renting though.

  • ChickenTalon on 16/10/2017 - 14:12
    +1

    I see you're renting.

    Firstly, make sure your home office costs are being correctly allocated to the business. If you are working for yourself, then these are a tax deduction. If you are working for a company, then make sure the company is giving you an allowance for these costs.

    You should be able to claim a portion of the rent, electricity/gas, cleaning etc.

    Worth talking to an accountant.

  • [Deactivated] on 16/10/2017 - 15:26

    You can claim a percentage of the running costs for power heating/cooling etc as you work from home. You CAN'T claim part of your rent however as it's not a principle place of business or your sole business address…but internet costs and the running costs etc yep go for gold!

    https://www.hrblock.com.au/tax-tips/claiming-home-office

    • ChickenTalon on 17/10/2017 - 11:37

      what you've said contradicts what's in your link. OP should be able to claim part of the rent if they have a dedicated space and he's working there full time. Working there full time makes it his place of business.

      OP says

      Started working a full time job from home

      your link says

      Home is your place of business or work and you have a home work area. If he's there full time then it becomes his place of business.

      working there full time = place of business.

      I do the same. I live in Sydney but my company offices are in Canberra. Because I'm pretty much full time working from home in Sydney then I can claim a portion of my rent/elec/internet etc. According to my accountant. All I needed to do was keep a diary for 6 weeks and then keep track of expenses I didn't charge back to the company. I claim a % of my rent as a deduction based on the sq meter % Office/House

      • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 14:08

        I would have to disagree with you here.

        If you are a sole trader OR run a business from your home (meaning the ABN is registered to your home address) THEN you can claim the rent or mortgage repayments as a deduction.

        If you are employed by a business who's ABN is registered in Canberra, but you work from home as an employee of said business, you cannot claim part of your rent/mortgage as a deduction…but you can claim running costs and equipment depreciation

        Working there full time but it's not a registered place of business means you work from home as an employee of a company who's head office is elsewhere. Therefore you are unable to claim rental/occupancy costs.

        That's my understanding. Your accountant might want to check his logic?

        • ChickenTalon on 17/10/2017 - 14:29

          I did. And I did my own research to verify.

          You keep mentioning "registered"

          …ABN is registered to your home address…
          …ABN is registered in Canberra….
          …not a registered place of business…

          There is nothing on the ATO website or your link about the address needing to be registered. If the only place you work is at home (or in my case 85% of the time), then that's "your principal place of business" ATOaccording to my accountant. Note the word "your". Anyway, my ABN is registered to the accountant's offices so that would be pretty meaningless as a test.

          If I needed evidence to show my principal place of business I would simply show that I have workers compensation in my Canberra offices and my Sydney home office.

          I'll agree it's not quite straightforward, I think they do this to clamp down on the people working from home occasionally and trying to claim big deductions.

          Running your business from home
          V's
          Working from home
          note the examples for working from home, where no rent would be claimable:

          for example, you may have an office elsewhere, but work at home after hours
          for example, you might work for a few hours in the lounge room

          https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Income-and-deductions-for-bu…
          You can satisfy either of the two main criteria. in my case it's the at home because that's where I do all my work. It would be the same for anyone else who does all their work at home.

          Anyway, always best to speak to an actual accountant.

        • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2017 - 18:47

          @ChickenTalon: I agree it's mega confusing and does give the gov an opportunity to meet their 'audit' targets IF and when that arises.

          I myself work from home 90% of the time and claim multiple costs associated with it. Seems a bit of a grey area however if your registered accountant says it's right, that's the bottom line for me!

  • [Deactivated] on 16/10/2017 - 16:19
    +12

    Throw an extension lead over you fence and connect it to the Neighbours external power point

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