The City of Ballarat is offering Ballarat businesses and community groups some financial relief under the “Community and Business Support Package” Business may be eligible to receive a one-off grant of $500 and community groups receive $250. To qualify, the applicant must evidence a turnover reduction of at least 30% over a four-week period since 27 May 2021, have an ABN and a payroll of less than $1m. In addition, the business must operate within the City of Ballarat municipal boundary. Applications are now open and can be accessed here https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/supportpackage

Following on from the 2020 financial year when a simplified calculation for working from home expenses could be claimed as a tax deduction, the 2021 financial year will see similar deductions. As a reminder, the taxpayer has three options to claim working from home costs as follows: claim a rate of 80 cents per work hour for all additional running expenses. This is known as the “short cut method”. claim a rate of 52 cents per work hour for heating, cooling, lighting, cleaning, and the decline in value of office furniture, plus calculate the work-related portion of phone and internet expenses, computer consumables, stationery, and the decline in value of a computer, laptop, or similar device. claim the actual work-related portion of all running expenses, which taxpayers need to calculate on a reasonable basis. Expenses include the following: electricity expenses associated with heating, cooling, and lighting the area from which they are working and running items they are using for work. cleaning costs for a dedicated work area. phone and internet expenses. computer consumables (for example, printer paper and ink) and stationery. home office equipment, including computers, printers, phones, furniture, and furnishings; you can claim either the: - full cost of items up to $300 - decline in value (depreciation) for items over $300 It is important that the taxpayer has incurred the expense themselves for work purposes, they have not been reimbursed by their employer and that they are able to substantiate the expenses with a receipt.