Hi, two simple questions around tax and work expenses
The first is, if I purchase a technology device for work purposes (either 50% or 100%) how do I claim it back? Do I claim it back in one year or over multiple years?
Secondly, I understand due to work from home, there are certain claims we can make around this - is there more information?
understand these are basic questions however it is my first Australian tax return
Have a look here on how/ what to claim for covid related work from home expenses
https://www.ato.gov.au/general/covid-19/support-for-individu…
How to work out the depreciation for a laptop? I have only purchased it today for $1500
you only get to claim depreciation from the day you hold it ready for use. So if you ordered it today but pick it up next Friday, then the start date is next Friday. If you picked it up today and it was ready for use from today, you use today's date. So at best you get 9 days depreciation for this year.
The ATOs effective life of a laptop is 2 years and you have to do a 4 week diary to work out work v personal use. You can only claim the work related % of the depreciation.
ATO calculator
https://www.ato.gov.au/Calculators-and-tools/Host/?anchor=DC…
So should I just leave it till the next financial year as it's probably only 20% for work purposes
Thanks for the replies so far. Looks like a bit of a gap between $300 and $1k limit. The device I bought is over $300 but less than $1k - can I claim it in one year or over multiple years?
What is it over $300 but after you split between work and personal it is under $300, do you claim it over multiple years or just one?
Multiple
What did your accountant say when you asked?
That will be $150 please.
Going by your questions, I'd recommend seeing an accountant for your first Australian tax return. You can copy what he does by doing it yourself when you lodge your FY20-21 return plus you can claim the cost of seeing the accountant as a tax deduction
My understanding is if it's under $300 you can claim it all this year but if it's over $300 you claim the depreciation. The number of years you can depreciate something depends on what the item is.