Is it sufficient to have a record of the total hours claimed as deduction?
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I didn't realise that was my "question" when I typed it in. I'll ask it again!
The ATO online explanation of the "fixed-rate method" for deducting WFH expenses says, "To use this method, you must keep a record of all the hours worked from home for the entire year, using a diary, spreadsheet, or similar document." (My emphasis)
And my question is if someone has kept a partial diary that documents an actual but incomplete total of hours worked at home, can one claim for that number of hours? Logically, it would seem so, as the entire deduction will be documented and it's a smaller deduction than the "entire year" total would have been, so one is certainly not claiming anything one isn't entitled to.
If so, the online advice would appear to be an oversimplification.
To sum up: is a partial diary sufficient for the fixed-rate method if it still documents the entire deduction being claimed?
Then only for the hours the diary covers.
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