Moneyweb reports that employees can claim for expenses incurred while working from home.
According a recent Moneyweb article, employees can expect some tax relief as a result of having to work from home because certain circumstances under the Income Tax Act allow salaried employees to claim deductions for expenses incurred while providing a service to their employers.
The article quotes Webber Wentzel tax partner Joon Chong who explains how employees can get tax breaks in cases where at least 50 percent of their remuneration is variable (that is, dependent on such things as commissions or bonuses) and 50 percent of the working hours must be spent away from the employer’s office. Those with less than half of their salary made up of variable payments are still able to claim if they spend more than half of their working hours working from the home.
“Costs which can be claimed include fibre connectivity cost, cell phone costs, stationery, and computer equipment, if these have been incurred for use mainly in the employer’s business,” says Joon in the article.
For those looking to claim for expenses incurred while working from home during the lockdown period, it may, however, be easier to claim expenses from the employer as the tax period is 12 months long and claiming for what will only be six weeks could prove cumbersome.
