The new $1,000 deduction. Or, why full-time WFH workers should still log their hours

Important disclaimer

The information in this article is general in nature and should not be considered financial or taxation advice. Everyone’s circumstances are different, and tax laws can be complex. We strongly recommend consulting a qualified accountant or registered tax agent who can provide advice tailored to your situation. WFH Logbook Australia is a record-keeping tool and does not provide tax or financial advice.

The short answer

From the 2026–27 income year, eligible workers can receive a new standard deduction of up to $1,000 for work-related expenses. The government describes it as allowing workers to deduct up to $1,000 without keeping receipts.

That will make tax time simpler for plenty of people. But if you work from home full time, it does not mean you can ignore record keeping without potentially missing out on a higher deduction.

The ATO’s fixed-rate and actual-cost methods remain available. At the currently published fixed rate of 70 cents per hour, a full-time employee working from home most days can exceed $1,000 through their WFH hours alone. They may also have other eligible work-related expenses to consider.

The catch is that claiming actual deductions above the standard amount requires records. For the fixed-rate method, that means keeping a record of your actual work-from-home hours throughout the year.

The $1,000 deduction does not cap actual claims

The new standard deduction does not replace the existing rules for claiming actual work-related expenses or cap those claims at $1,000.

Under the enacted calculation, the standard deduction broadly works as a top-up. Certain actual work-related deductions reduce the standard deduction, bringing the total for those covered expenses up to $1,000. Once the actual deductions reach $1,000, no standard deduction remains. The legislation preserves the actual deductions, so substantiated claims above $1,000 can still produce a higher total deduction.

For work-from-home expenses, those actual deductions can be calculated using either the fixed-rate method or the actual-cost method. If your total eligible work-related deductions would exceed $1,000, keeping records may therefore produce a higher deduction than relying on the standard amount alone.

That is particularly worth considering if you work from home regularly or full time.

Full-time WFH adds up quickly

At the currently published rate of 70 cents per hour, the fixed-rate calculation is straightforward:

Actual WFH hours × 70 cents = fixed-rate WFH deduction

For example, someone working from home 38 hours each week for 48 weeks records 1,824 hours. At 70 cents per hour, that is a WFH deduction of $1,276.80.

Someone working from home 40 hours each week for 48 weeks records 1,920 hours. At 70 cents per hour, that is a WFH deduction of $1,344.

And that is before any additional overtime. If you regularly work extra hours from home, those actual hours can increase the fixed-rate deduction further.

These examples use the ATO’s currently published fixed rate of 70 cents per hour, which its guidance lists as applying from 1 July 2024. The ATO may update the rate in future, so check the rate that applies to the income year you are claiming.

Your own result will depend on your actual hours, expenses, work arrangements and eligibility. But the point is simple: for regular full-time WFH workers, the $1,000 deduction may not be the highest claim available.

A normal schedule is not a record of actual hours

It is tempting to estimate from your usual working week. But the ATO’s fixed-rate method is based on the hours you actually worked from home.

Leave, public holidays, office days, appointments, travel, shorter days and overtime all affect the number. A neat calculation created at tax time may look convincing, but it cannot honestly show what happened throughout the year.

That is why contemporaneous record keeping matters.

Contemporaneous means recording your hours at the time you work from home, or soon afterwards while the details are still reliable. It gives you confidence that your report reflects your real working pattern instead of a reconstruction from memory.

Logging takes seconds

WFH Logbook Australia is built for exactly this job.

Set your usual schedule once, receive optional reminders, and log your day with one tap. Your entries are timestamped, corrections have a transparent history, and you can export a clear PDF report whenever you need one.

You do not have to know today whether your eligible work-related deductions will exceed $1,000 at tax time. Logging your hours preserves your ability to substantiate a higher claim while you work it out with your accountant or tax agent.

If you do not log as you go, you may later be able to use the standard deduction but you will not have the same confidence that you hold a complete, contemporaneous record of your actual WFH hours.

Keep your options open

The new $1,000 deduction is useful. It is not a cap on substantiated work-related deductions.

If you work from home full time or close to it, keep logging. It is easy, it gives you a reliable record of your actual hours, and it lets you assess whether the fixed-rate method delivers a better result for you.