Published on July 26, 2024
Can I claim my mobile phone as tax deduction? The answer is YES. However, you must genuinely use your mobile phone for work purpose to be eligible to claim a tax deduction.
Example: Often people use their mobile phone during work or after work hours to contact staff & management. In both cases they use their own equipment for such work. If this sounds like you, it's likely that you could claim your mobile phone as a tax deduction.
In this article we will cover following mobile phone tax deduction questions:
- How do I claim a mobile phone as a tax deduction?
- Can I claim a one off tax deduction or do you need to claim it as depreciation?
- What if I have hired/leased a mobile phone?
- How can you prove it?
- Can I claim a deduction for phone calls?
1. How do I claim a mobile phone as a tax deduction?
The most important thing to note here is that you are only eligible to claim a 'business use percentage' of your mobile phone as a tax deduction. To begin with, you need the following records:
- 1 Proof of purchase for the mobile phone
- 2 The purchase date
- 3 The business use percentage
- 4 Working out your business use percentage (work purpose usage)
ATO require you to keep a diary of all your mobile phone usage for a minimum 4 weeks, and make a note of the time spent on your mobile phone for work and for personal use. Once documented, you will be able work out what percentage of your mobile phone use is for work.
2. Can I claim a one off tax deduction or do you need to claim it as depreciation?
The answer to question depends on the price of mobile phone.
If your mobile phone cost under $300, you can claim a one-off, immediate tax deduction for the business use percentage of the purchase price.
If your mobile phone cost more than $300, you can claim the depreciation of your mobile phone over the life of the equipment which is 3 years as per ATO guidelines.
3. What if I have hired/leased a mobile phone?
You can claim a mobile phone as a tax deduction even if you lease or pay a monthly fee for your mobile phone. Claim the business portion of the lease payments on your tax return.
4. How can you prove mobile phone tax deduction?
First you need list of record listed on question 1 plus you need to have a genuine reason to use personal mobile phone for work and it must be a requirement of your job. Note, ATO can request further clarification, in that case you will be required to prove that personal mobile phone use is a requirement of your job. Also note, most employers provide office facilities and equipment so you are not required to work at home or, if you do, you are provided with work mobile phone so that you do not need to use your own mobile phone.
5. Can I claim a deduction for phone calls?
You can also claim a tax deduction for phone calls cost. Establish what percentage of your phone call cost is for work purposes (just as you did for your mobile phone) and claim that percentage of your annual phone calls bill as a tax deduction.
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This information is intended as a guide. All actual detail and circ*mstances differ, refer to ATO website for current legislation. Please discuss your situation with Top Accountants at https://topaccountants.com.au/tax-return
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FAQs
You can 30% of the data, messaging, and talk costs related to business. ¹ To deduct the expense, you would need to calculate the business-use percentage of the cell phone on a month-by-month basis.
Can I deduct my cell phone on my taxes? ›
Share: You can qualify for a cell phone tax deduction from cell phone charges incurred when the mobile phone is being used exclusively for business. There is not an IRS cell phone deduction for self employed people, exclusively. However, you can also deduct additional business expenses that you incur.
How much can I deduct for mobile phone? ›
If the phone was below $300 you can claim the business percentage of that amount as a one-off tax deduction. Or, if it was above $300, you claim the depreciation of the mobile phone over its lifespan, which the ATO states is two years from date of purchase. (Don't worry about calculating this yourself!
How much of my wifi can I write off? ›
How much of your Wi-Fi bill can you deduct? You probably use your home internet for both work and leisure, but you can only write off the portion of your internet usage that's work-related — called your “business-use percentage.”
What are the IRS regulations on cell phone reimbursem*nt? ›
The value of the business use of an employer- provided cell phone is excludable from an employee's income as a working condition fringe to the extent that, if the employee paid for the use of the cell phone themselves, such payment would be allowable as a deduction under section 162 for the employee.
Can I do my taxes on a smartphone? ›
Get your taxes done and filed. You can directly access FREE tax software from your mobile device to quickly prepare and file your taxes and get your refund.
How much of my utilities can I write off? ›
You can write off a percentage of your electricity bill that is equal to the percentage of space that your office occupies in your home. For example, if your home office occupies 20% of the space (square footage) in your home, then 20% of your electricity bill can be used as a tax deduction.
Can I claim expenses for my mobile phone? ›
Yes, you can claim mobile phone expenses if you use your mobile phone for both business and personal purposes.
Can you claim a watch on tax? ›
You can't claim a deduction for the cost of buying or maintaining watches or smart watches, even if you require one as part of your job. This is a private expense.
Is a laptop tax deductible? ›
Can you claim your laptop separately if you claim work from home expenses? Yes, both of the work from home expense methods (actual cost method and 67 cents per hour fixed rate method) allow you to claim your laptop (or computer) separately to boost your tax refund. Read about claiming work from home expenses here.
Car insurance premiums may be tax deductible if you're self-employed and do business-related driving. You can file an IRS Form 1040 or IRS Form 2106 to write off car insurance on your taxes.
Can I write off my car payment? ›
Car loan payments and lease payments are not fully tax-deductible. The general rule of thumb for deducting vehicle expenses is, you can write off the portion of your expenses used for business.
Can I claim my phone on tax? ›
Can I claim my mobile phone as tax deduction? The answer is YES. However, you must genuinely use your mobile phone for work purpose to be eligible to claim a tax deduction. Example: Often people use their mobile phone during work or after work hours to contact staff & management.
How much of my cell phone can I deduct for taxes? ›
If you're self-employed and you use your cellphone for business, you can claim the business use of your phone as a tax deduction. If 30% of your time on the phone is spent on business, you could legitimately deduct 30% of your phone bill.
Can the IRS monitor your phone? ›
IRS policy therefore restricts the use of non-consensual interception of oral and wire communications to "extremely limited situations" and only in "significant money laundering investigations." 18 USC §2516(3) authorizes the real time interception of electronic communications to investigate any Federal felony.
What is a cell phone allowance? ›
What is a cell phone stipend? One of the most common ways to reimburse employees for their cell phones is with a cell phone or remote work stipend. A cell phone stipend is a sum of money employers provide to employees to pay for their cell phone plans. Sometimes, employers provide a lump sum or an annual allowance.
What expense category is a cell phone? ›
If your business views cell phones as a necessary business expense, then they would likely fall under the category of "communication expenses".
Are phone expenses taxable? ›
Is cell phone reimbursem*nt taxable by the IRS? Reimbursem*nts made for work-related personal cell phone use aren't taxable.