Last year I moved into a rental property with my family, and after another snap lockdown, found myself working from home. For family reasons, we needed to free up a bedroom in the house for the arrival of a new baby, so I needed somewhere else to work. I considered purchasing or renting a temporary portable building to use as an office (purchase price equated to 1 year of renting it).
I contacted the ATO support line to investigate the tax implications of both options. They advised that because it was a portable building, used solely for work, and that I didn't own the property it was installed on, It should be tax deductible. I purchased the building shortly after and it was installed in September 2021. I'm now about to complete my tax return and would like further clarification before I claim it as a deduction, please help!
Summary:
- tenant of a residential property
- full time employee, also have an ABN and do a small amount of business with I (unrelated to "day job")
- purchased a portable building to use as home office as it cheaper than renting it after 1 year
- building is portable, designed to be moved on a truck
- purchase price was equal to one year of renting it from another company so chose to purchase