Employees, and taxpayers such as sole traders operating a business from home, claim running expenses in the same way. Running expenses are the additional costs incurred as a result of income producing activities when working from home such as heating, cooling and lighting. Taxpayers can claim running expenses using actual costs, or where they satisfy the criteria, can use the fixed-rate method, for the portion of their expenses that relate to earning their income or operating their business.

When a taxpayer’s home is a place of business, they may also be eligible for expenses relating to the ownership of the home such as rent, mortgage interest, rates and house insurance premiums. Employees working from home would not usually meet the criteria to claim occupancy expenses. See the ATO’s Occupancy expenses for more information.

Whether your client is an employee, sole trader, or in a partnership, you can use the fixed rate of 67 cents per hour worked from home to calculate their additional running expenses. This covers electricity, gas, stationary, computer consumables, internet and phone usage. See the ATO’s Fixed rate method for more.

The ATO’s deduction label posters, occupation-specific guides and posters, and tax time toolkits can help drive and support the conversations you’re having with your clients about what they can and can’t claim. These products are downloadable, and links can be included in the communications you send to your clients.

Generally, if you work from home, there won’t be any capital gains tax (CGT) implications when you sell it. However, if you use part of your home as a place of business, then you need to consider CGT. 

Check the ATO’s CGT and the main residence exemption factsheet in the Investors toolkit for more scenarios.

If a person is single with no dependants, and exempt from the Medicare levy, they are also exempt from the Medicare levy surcharge. If a person has dependants, there are circumstances where they can be exempt from the Medicare levy, but not be exempt from the Medicare levy surcharge. This is because the definition of ‘dependants’ varies for the Medicare levy and the surcharge. 

For example, if you are exempt from paying Medicare levy but one of your dependants for Medicare levy surcharge purposes doesn’t have private patient hospital cover and your income for Medicare levy surcharge purposes is over the relevant income threshold, you will be liable to pay Medicare levy surcharge. Subsection 251R(3) and section 251V Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 cover who is a dependant for Medicare levy purposes and for Medicare levy surcharge purposes.

More information on Medicare Levy and Medicare Levy Surcharge is available at M1 Medicare levy reduction or exemption 2024 and M2 Medicare levy surcharge 2024.

A director ID number is personal information, so the ATO strongly recommends that it is kept safe until a director is required to use it. If a company director has provided you with their director ID number, you should store the details in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles. See the ATO’s security advice for tax professionals and businesses for more information.

Please reach out to the ATO. They have a number of support options available that may be able to help you.

A registered tax agent can lodge a not-for-profit (NFP) self-review return on behalf of an NFP in Online services for agents. The return is a Tax Agent Service under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.

While BAS agents cannot lodge the self-review return on behalf of an NFP, they can provide support and help the organisation prepare by updating their ABN address and contact details.

Yes, updated tax tables are now available on the ATO’s website.

No, the income statement will show you the individual’s salary/wage, tax withheld and super details year to date, however, it does not provide you with additional client information that is contained on a Tax File Number declaration.

Read about the ATO's Agent client verification methods.

No, this would not be an approved method. However, you can use information on the ATO's systems in certain circumstances. We suggest you look at the ATO's  Agent client verification methods for more information.

Read about the ATO's Agent client verification methods.

Clients who do not have a computer or a smart phone can contact the ATO on 13 28 66 and they will help them to do the agent nomination.

The client will need to be able to prove their identity and their authority for the business over the phone. To assist clients when they call the ATO, their ABN details on the Australian Business Register and contact details with the ATO should be kept up to date.

The ATO plans to extend similar protections to individuals, sole traders, and non-ABN entities.  They will be undertaking extensive consultation to inform the solution design and delivery options.

To be able to access Online services for business, you need to first Set up MyGovID and link it in RAM.

If you can't lodge using Online services for business, you can submit your 2023-24 Not-for-profit (NFP) self-review return using the ATO’s self-help phone service. To lodge using the self-help phone service, you will need to review the self-review return questions using our guide and prepare your response for each question. You can phone the self-help service on 13 72 26 to lodge your NFP self-review return.

A registered tax agent can lodge an NFP self-review return on behalf of an NFP in Online services for agents. The return is a tax agent service under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009.

While BAS agents cannot lodge the self-review return on behalf of an NFP, they can provide support and help the organisation prepare by updating their ABN address and contact details.

The NFP self-review return is available for lodgment from 1 July 2024 in Online services for business and Online services for agents. The last section of the form is the declaration section.

If you determine that your clients are ‘well established’, the verification requirements may be different to those that apply to new or lesser-known clients. Whether a client is ‘well established’ will depend on a range of factors, including the length of time you have known the client. However, when determining whether a client is ‘well established’ you need to exercise your professional judgement and be aware of any 'red flags' that may indicate that you should make additional enquiries (for example, out of character communications and changes in details). You can check out paragraph 18 onwards in our proof of identity (POI) Practice note for more on 'well established' clients.

You can use remote verification methods. We suggest you check our Practice note which explains how you can do this (see paragraphs 28 to 30). 

Verifying on social media is not an approved method by us or the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). We also do not recommend receiving ID documents via email unless it is in an encrypted or password protected attachment.

It depends on the client and the circumstances. Our guidance (in particular paragraph 22 onwards) explains the things to consider. 

Yes, ASIC records can be used to verify companies under our POI requirements.

We do not recommend or require you to keep copies of ID documents. Instead, we require you to keep a file note about the checks undertaken. We suggest you have a look at our Practice note which sets out the detail you should include in your file note (see paragraph 24). 

Absolutely, all clients need to be verified. 

You can download our factsheet here.

No, you need to undertake your own POI for all new clients.

You can sight ID documents issued overseas. We also have guidance for verifying clients who do not have conventional ID documents (see paragraph 16). 

In this situation, we would expect copies of the POI records you completed be transferred to the buying tax practitioner as part of the transfer, along with other relevant client records. In this circumstance, the buyer would not be required to complete POI, but may do so if they prefer. However, the new tax practitioner would be expected to consider undertaking POI checks as appropriate throughout the engagement with relevant clients. See our guidance on this type of scenario seat paragraph 31.  

We highly encourage you report anyone doing the wrong thing. You can use our online complaints form. See more information on how to make a complaint. 

Our recommendation is that engagement letters are renewed at least annually or whenever there has been a change, including fee changes.

There are a number of reasons why we suggest this. We recommend you have a look at our Practice note, in particular refer to the section: Recurring or ongoing client arrangements.

At a minimum you should include:

• Your name and registration number to provide certainty that you are registered. 
• A description of the work to be completed.
• How much the work will cost.
• How you will manage your client’s information and maintain confidentiality. 
• Arrangements for storing your client’s documents or making copies of them. 
• Your responsibility to provide services in a competent manner and within agreed time frames.
• How you will deal with tax refunds received on behalf of your client. 

Check out our Practice note to learn more. 

Yes, this is an ongoing registration requirement, and you will be asked to provide details on this arrangement at your next registration renewal.

You will need to declare your payment arrangement at your next registration renewal, Learn more about personal tax obligations.