Two Jobs or Two Computers: Don’t Double-Count Hours

Can I claim WFH hours for two jobs?

Yes, if you work from home for both jobs and meet the conditions for each. The ATO’s fixed rate method is 70 cents for each hour you work from home, and hours worked from home for a second employer are still hours worked from home.

The conditions are the same for every job. You must be working from home to fulfil your employment duties, not just doing minimal tasks like occasionally checking email. You must incur additional running expenses as a result. And you need a record of the actual hours you worked from home for the whole year, plus the bills that show you incur the costs the rate covers.

If one employer reimburses your running costs and the other doesn’t, read employer reimbursements and the WFH deduction before you claim.

What happens if my two jobs overlap?

Count the overlapping time once. The fixed rate is a way to work out your extra running costs, such as electricity, internet and phone, for each hour you work at home. An hour in which you answer messages for one employer and finish a task for the other is still one hour at your desk, with one hour of running costs.

Overlap is more common than it sounds. A part-time role with flexible hours and a casual job with an on-call chat channel can easily share the same afternoon. Claiming both employers’ hours in full would count that afternoon twice.

The simplest approach is to keep one diary for all your work from home, with a note of which job each block was for. Then total the hours of the day, not the hours of each job.

How do I add up hours from two jobs?

Add the time you spent working at home across the day, counting any shared time once. Some examples:

The last row is the hybrid rule at work. Only home hours count, whichever employer they’re for. See hybrid work: office and home days for split days.

Where do the hours go on my tax return?

Your work-from-home deduction is part of your work-related expenses, and in myTax it goes under other work-related expenses. You work out the hours across the year and multiply them by the rate. You don’t need a separate fixed rate claim per employer.

The ATO has said that work-related expenses, working from home deductions and multiple income sources are areas where it sees errors. It listed all three as tax time focus areas in its 2025 media release. If you have two jobs, that’s a good reason to make sure your hours total adds up and that you’ve declared income from both.

A registered tax agent can help if your two jobs have different arrangements, for example one with a home office allowance.

What if I use two computers?

The same rule applies: an hour is an hour, however many screens are on. Many people have a work laptop and a personal Mac, or a laptop for each job. If both are in use at the same time, adding up each computer’s hours counts the same time twice.

This is where automatic records need care. If each device keeps its own log, merge them before you total the year. Line the sessions up by day, and where they overlap, count the overlapping time once.

Some apps do this for you. WFH Diary, for instance, syncs your Macs through iCloud and counts overlapping time once, so a morning on your personal Mac and your work Mac at the same time is recorded as one morning. If your tool doesn’t merge devices, do it yourself before the totals go anywhere near your return.

Also check that each device’s time was at home. A laptop that goes to the office with you will log office hours that don’t belong in a work-from-home claim.

What records do I need with two jobs?

One record of actual hours worked from home, covering the whole year and both jobs. The ATO accepts timesheets, rosters, logs from time-tracking apps, or a diary, kept at the time (PCG 2023/1 para 58). Estimates aren’t accepted.

If one employer gives you timesheets and the other doesn’t, the timesheets alone won’t cover your second job. Keep your own diary for the hours they miss, and note which job each block was for. That note isn’t strictly needed for the fixed rate total, but it makes overlaps easy to spot and explains your numbers if anyone asks.

You need only one set of bills. The running costs the rate covers, such as energy, phone and internet, are your household’s costs, not each employer’s. Keep at least one bill for each running expense you incur, and receipts for stationery and consumables. Keep it all for five years from when you lodge.

Can two people in the same home both claim?

Yes. The fixed rate is per person. If you and your partner both work from home, you can each claim for the hours you each work, provided each of you meets the conditions and incurs the running costs. Your partner’s hours don’t count towards your claim, and yours don’t count towards theirs.

Each of you needs your own record of hours and evidence that you incur the expenses the rate covers. If a bill is only in one name, read which bills to keep and check the ATO guidance on who incurs the expense.

Is the fixed rate the best choice with two jobs?

It depends on your total. From 2026–27, the new $1,000 standard deduction applies automatically to labour income, such as salary and wages. It’s reduced dollar for dollar by any work-related expenses you itemise, so in effect you get the higher of $1,000 or your itemised work expenses.

With nothing else to itemise, you’d need about 1,429 hours at home for the fixed rate to pass $1,000. Two part-time jobs from home can add up to that, so your combined total is the number to watch. The deduction calculator compares the two for you.

Whichever way it goes, keep one combined record. You can’t itemise above $1,000 without records for the full amount, and you won’t know until June which side of $1,000 you’re on. PCG 2023/1 sets out the record requirements in full.