[LINK] Work from home and help keep transport gridlock at bay

Michael Skeggs mike@bystander.net mskeggs at gmail.com
Tue Oct 11 10:27:28 AEDT 2011


I've worked for a large corporate for the last nine years with two
days at home and three in the office.
(In fact, Paul Broad, quoted in the article, used to be my boss).
This works well for me as half my job is writing documents, and the
other half is chasing people.
WRT the issues below:
- I had to set up a home office and sign a declaration it met OH&S
requirements. I received OH&S training in the workplace.
- I use Corporate Gmail over SSL for email/calendar (previously used
Corporate Outlook which had some bugs in it's web client calendar).
- I have a RSA token should I need access to a file server. This is a
little annoying so I tend to keep files I am working on with me on a
flash drive.
- I have my work desk phone divert to my mobile on no-answer.
- My tax accountant suggests claims for operational expenses like a
percentage of power/heating/phone/internet bills are legitimate
expenses for me to claim (and do not expose me to a CGT liability on
my house).
- I could also legitimately claim a portion of my mortgage interest,
but that would then expose me to CGT for a similar proportion of the
capital gain if I sell the house.
- I do not claim a tax deduction for travel between work and home, but
if I routinely did some work prior to leaving/after returning I
probably would.

Regards,
Michael Skeggs


On 11 October 2011 09:24, Richard Chirgwin <rchirgwin at ozemail.com.au> wrote:
> On 11/10/11 8:47 AM, Tom Worthington wrote:
>> On 10/10/11 10:08, David Boxall wrote:
>>> I wonder; to what extent will/can telecommuting substitute for
>>> traditional commuting? ...
>> There are some tricky administrative issues to work out with
>> teleworking. Your home becomes a workplace and so is subject to work
>> rules. Occupational health and safety is difficult to administer in the
>> home: do you have an office environment which conforms (desk, computer
>> chair, lighting) are you dressed correctly (covered shoes for
>> protection)? Is your home and its telecommunications sufficiently secure
>> for the information being held there? Have you attended all the required
>> meetings for the workplace (or are these available on-line)?
>>
>> There could be a burden for the government as well. Workers are not
>> entitled to deduct the cost of traveling to work, but can take the cost
>> of traveling between workplaces off their tax. If you start the work day
>> at home on the computer, is your commute to the office then traveling
>> between workplaces and so deductible?
>>
>>
> In this last one, I know of people who have been allowed to make that
> "travel between workplaces" deduction, so I guess the answer is "yes".
>
> There's one more consideration for the work-from-home: capital gains
> tax. If you start claiming deductions (eg part of the electricity bill)
> for your home workplace, do you make part of the family home subject to
> CGT on its eventual sale? Would that tax burden, accumulated over time,
> outweigh any personal benefits gained from telecommuting?
>
> RC
> _______________________________________________
> Link mailing list
> Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
> http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
>



More information about the Link mailing list