Small business in sydney australia,TAX QUESTION. can anyone please advise or help.?

I run a small business and have a three bedroom house i rent $250pw.I use one of the rooms as my office.the tax book i got from the ATO says i have to work out what percent is used for private use and what percent is used for the business.when recording my tax Manually by paper.how do i work this out.Also the electricity bills.im assuming with the phone bill i itemise the calls ive made for the business would that be right.YOUR ADVISE IS GREATLY APPRECIATED

Have you visited the Australian Taxation Office website? Visit http://www.ato.gov.au/ and view the information for Businesses, you should find most of the information you need there.

I would suggest reading the publication 'Carrying on a business at or from your home' NAT 10709 (search for the NAT number in the top right)

If you do not want to do the manual calculations yourself the Home Office Expense calculator is an excellent tool http://calculators.ato.gov.au/scripts/ax...

Otherwise I would suggest you see a registered Tax Agent or Accountant for advice tailored to your circumstances. Better spending the money for them to get it right, rather than being audited 4 years down the track and being hit with SIC & GIC + other penalties.

If you do have any questions about deductions call 13 28 66 (ATO Business Infoline) & ask to speak to someone regarding home office expenses. You will be transferred through to the Business income tax area & they can assist you.
The ATO will NOT do any calculations for you - they just provide the information and resources so you can do it yourself.

Hope this helps

Hi, I have a home office as well. I'm not sure if your laws are the same or not. But I was told that deducting the home office is a red flag for the IRS to audit you. You can't have it shared as a spare guest room, etc. Also, the electric bill is hard to deduct b/c you would use electricity in that room if you didn't have an office. Would be hard to figure the percentage. The phone bill needs to be itemized. Deduct your calls for biz. I deduct a portion of my cell phone and my internet. I figured 25% for each. Basically, the rule of thumb is that if you are using it because you started your biz, then it's deductible. Hope that helps! Good luck!

It really depends on the type of work you carry on at home.If you work from home, you can claim a proportion of rent , and insurance. Other than that you can claim 26c per hour, you'll need to keep a diary to establish your usage. Dont forget depreciation on computer, printer etc which is claimable seperately