{"id":157,"date":"2015-08-22T09:47:26","date_gmt":"2015-08-22T09:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/wp-blog\/?p=157"},"modified":"2017-03-23T08:35:40","modified_gmt":"2017-03-23T08:35:40","slug":"fifo-workers-will-sweating-atos-spotlight-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trakaccountants.com.au\/blog\/fifo-workers-will-sweating-atos-spotlight-year\/","title":{"rendered":"FIFO WORKERS \u2013 WILL YOU BE SWEATING UNDER ATO\u2019S SPOTLIGHT THIS YEAR?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amongst the Australian Tax Office\u2019s targets this year are work-related deductions \u2013 especially relating to fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) workers. So how can you avoid getting caught in the net?<\/p>\n

The obvious answer is to not to do the wrong thing. Well, that\u2019s always a good start \u2013 but the rules around deductions for FIFO work have been changing recently, and they\u2019re not always easy to decipher at the best of times. We\u2019ve put together a brief guide to avoiding problems with the ATO when it comes to your FIFO tax claim.<\/p>\n

The ATO like benchmarks<\/h3>\n

Historically speaking, the ATO tend to target tax returns that fall outside the benchmarks set for a particular sector. Simply put: if your deductions are significantly higher than the average for FIFO workers, you have a good chance of being audited.<\/p>\n

Keep your records perfectly<\/h3>\n

We\u2019re not saying that you shouldn\u2019t claim deductions if you\u2019re entitled to them \u2013 no way! But we do recommend \u2013 very strongly \u2013 that you keep your substantiation records meticulously. Keep your receipts. If you\u2019re claiming on private goods (phone, cards, internet access, working from home), then ensure that you have a signed declaration from your employer to say that your use of these was necessary. As a side point \u2013 you can save a lot of time and, often, money if you can bring all of your deductions information to your accountant in a summary document of every source record and log book entry.<\/p>\n

Know the rules around travel claims<\/h3>\n

One area that can trip up FIFO workers is the lack of clear direction from the ATO on what travel expenses can be claimed. Once upon a time, you could claim travel costs from your home to your work destination. However, the 2012-2013 financial year\u2019s budget release specifically stated that these expenses are\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0deductible. There is a possible exception to this rule: if your contract specifically states that you start work \u2013 and hence start getting paid \u2013 when you leave home, and finish work when you return home, then you might be able to claim the full travel expenses as a deduction.<\/p>\n

There are two ways that your employer can reimburse you for these costs:<\/p>\n