The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has compiled a list of items which may help individuals complete their tax return.
These are a wrap of all the important items where rates may have changed, or new initiatives have been introduced.
In 2024-25 there are changes to the home office rate, car use and EV charging rate and tax assistance eligibility. If you are selling or purchasing a home, or looking for information about the $1000 tax write off – read on!
Home-office expenses
With the rise in people working from home over the past few years, work-related expenses remains a hot topic for the ATO.
This year the fixed rate for work from home expenses for 2024-25 has increased to 70 cents per hour. Tax payers must have good records to prove their claims.
We have created a Home Office Diary that you can use to record the number of hours worked. This diary must be filled out for every job (or client) that you work from home. We suggest filling this diary out each week so that you can accurately track your hours.
Vehicle (including EV) expenses
You use either the cents per kilometre or the logbook method to calculate deductions for car expenses.
The cents per kilometre rate for work-related car expenses for 2024-25 has increased to 88c per kilometre. If you are using the logbook method you can find our manual logbook here.
Electric vehicles
From 1 July 2024, if you own and use a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) you can use the EV home charging rate to calculate the cost of charging your PHEV at home.
To use the EV home charging rate of 4.2c per kilometre to determine the cost of your electricity, you must:
- use your PHEV for gaining or producing your assessable income
- incur electricity expenses when charging your PHEV at home
- have kept the relevant records for the income year
- be claiming your car expenses using the logbook method or claiming your actual work-related vehicle expenses.
If you choose to use this rate and your vehicle doesn’t have the ability to accurately determine the home charging percentage, you can’t claim commercial charging station costs you incurred during the income year as a separate deduction.
$1,000 instant tax deduction
On 13 April 2025, as part of Labor’s election commitments, they proposed a $1,000 instant tax deduction for work-related expenses. This change applies from 2026–27. It is not yet law and does not apply to Tax Time 2025.
Tax Help eligibility expansion
The eligibility criteria for the Tax Help program has changed. If you earn $70,000 or less and have simple tax affairs, you can access free assistance through the program (previously the income limit was $60,000). However, the criteria is strict and most tax payers will not be eligible.
From July to October, ATO-trained volunteers can help you lodge your tax return online using myTax. They can also assist you with:
- non-lodgment advice
- amending a tax return if you’ve made a mistake
- lodging a refund of franking credits
- creating your myGov account, or helping you link your account to the ATO.
For more information, see Tax Help program.
Selling and purchasing property
From 1 January 2025 the foreign resident capital gains withholding (FRCGW) rate increased to 15% and the threshold was removed. It applies to all individual and non-individual vendors (property sellers) selling or disposing of certain taxable real property.
Australian residents selling property need a clearance certificate to avoid having an amount withheld from the sale price.
Types of property include:
- your home
- vacant land, buildings, residential and commercial property
- mining, quarrying or prospecting rights where they are situated in Australia
- a lease over real property in Australia
- indirect Australian real property (IARP) interests, where the holder has a right to occupy land or buildings on land.
The 15% withholding rate applies to the market value of all property contracts signed on or after 1 January 2025, unless the vendor (property seller):
- is an Australian resident for tax purposes and provides their clearance certificate to the purchaser
- is a foreign resident who is eligible to reduce the amount withheld by supplying the purchaser with a variation notice.
If you are an Australian resident and you didn’t obtain a clearance certificate, you can claim the amount that was withheld in your tax return. For more information read here.
If any of these items apply to you, please reach out to see how we can assist with your tax return. Contact us on 6144 3370 or email office@ultimate-tax.com.au
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