What Records Does the ATO Accept for WFH Hours?

What records do I need for the WFH fixed rate method?

You need two kinds of record: a record of the actual hours you worked from home for the whole income year, and at least one bill or document for each running expense the rate covers.

Both come from PCG 2023/1, the ATO’s guideline for the revised fixed rate method. The hours record has been required in this form since 1 March 2023. The rate is 70 cents per work hour from 1 July 2024 (para 26A), and the hours record is what you multiply by it.

The rest of this guide goes through each part: what the hours record must show, which formats count, what a good daily entry looks like, which bills to keep, how long to keep it all, and the mistakes that most often get claims reduced.

What does PCG 2023/1 paragraph 58 require?

Paragraph 58 says your hours record must be kept at the time, must cover the whole income year, and must show your actual hours. It can be in any form, but estimates aren’t accepted.

In practice, that breaks into four rules.

• Contemporaneous. The record is made as you go, on or close to the day, not reconstructed at tax time.
• The whole year. It covers every day you worked from home from 1 July to 30 June.
• Actual hours. It shows the hours you really worked at home, not your contracted hours or a typical week.
• No estimates and no samples. An estimate won’t do, and a representative 4-week diary, which the old 52c method allowed, is no longer accepted.

The 4-week diary trips up a lot of people who have claimed WFH expenses for years. It was fine under the 52c method until 30 June 2022. It isn’t under the method that applies now.

Which types of record count as evidence of hours?

Any format works if it meets the rules above. PCG 2023/1 para 58 gives these examples.

You can combine sources. For example, a roster can show which days were at home, and your diary can show the start and finish times on those days. What matters is that together they cover the whole year with actual hours.

What should a good daily WFH record contain?

A good daily record shows the date, that you were working at home, and the hours you worked, with start and finish times. It’s made on the day.

The ATO doesn’t prescribe a template, but an entry like this answers the questions a reviewer is likely to ask:

• Date, for example Tuesday 11 November 2026
• Location: at home
• Start and finish times, and any long break, for example 8:30 to 12:15 and 13:00 to 17:10
• Total hours for the day, for example 7.92
• When the entry was made, if your format can show it

Include work time that wasn’t at the keyboard, such as calls and meetings. Don’t count time that wasn’t work. Our guide on whether breaks count covers the grey areas.

On hybrid days, record only the hours at home. If you worked at the office in the morning and at home in the afternoon, only the afternoon counts. The hybrid work guide has examples.

At the end of the year, total the hours, then multiply by 70 cents. The ATO’s worked example on the fixed rate method page is 843 hours × 70c = $590.10, claimed as $590.

Which bills do I need to keep?

You need at least one bill or document for each running expense the fixed rate covers that you incur: energy, phone and internet. For stationery and computer consumables, keep a receipt.

That comes from PCG 2023/1 paras 56 and 60–62. The bills show you actually incurred the additional running expenses, which is one of the conditions for using the method. You don’t need every bill for the year, and you don’t use the bills to work out the amount: the hours do that.

• Energy: one electricity or gas bill
• Phone: one mobile or home phone bill
• Internet: one internet bill
• Stationery and computer consumables: a receipt for something you bought, such as printer ink or paper

The bills to keep guide covers the details, including bills in someone else’s name.

How long do I need to keep WFH records?

Keep your hours record and your bills for 5 years from the date you lodge your tax return (ATO). For a 2026–27 return lodged in October 2027, that’s until October 2032.

If you also claim the decline in value of equipment, such as a desk or computer, keep the purchase records for 5 years from the date of your last claim for that item. Records can be paper or digital. If you rely on an app, export a copy each year so you aren’t depending on the app still being around in five years.

What mistakes get WFH claims reduced?

The most common problem is a record that doesn’t meet the rules: an estimate, a sample, or a diary made after the fact. Those can mean your claim is reduced or disallowed, even if you really did work the hours.

1. Estimating. “I worked from home about three days a week” isn’t a record. Neither is your contracted hours multiplied by 48 weeks.
2. Using a 4-week diary. It was accepted under the old 52c method. It hasn’t been since 1 March 2023.
3. Rebuilding the year in June. Working back from calendars and memory produces an estimate, not a record kept at the time.
4. Counting office days. Only hours worked at home count. Days at the office, on leave or public holidays without work don’t.
5. Counting incidental tasks. Checking an email or taking a call at home doesn’t make you eligible. You need to be working from home to fulfil your employment duties.
6. Claiming covered costs twice. The 70c rate already includes energy, phone, internet, stationery and consumables. You can’t claim those again separately. Equipment depreciation is separate and can be claimed on top.
7. Having no bills. Without at least one bill for each running expense, you can’t show you incurred them.
8. Gaps in the year. A record that stops in March and starts again in May doesn’t cover the whole year.

If you’ve already missed days, record what you can from now on. Our guide to a forgotten WFH diary explains your options honestly.

Do I still need records with the $1,000 standard deduction?

Only if you itemise. From 2026–27, eligible workers get a $1,000 standard deduction without receipts. If you want to claim more than $1,000 in work-related expenses, the ATO says you need records for all of them, not just the part above $1,000.

You won’t know until June whether your total will pass $1,000, and you can’t make the hours record after the fact. So keeping it from July keeps both options open. WFH Diary records your hours from the Mac menu bar as you work, and the deduction calculator shows which option is likely to be higher. The standard deduction guide has the break-even tables.