Tax - Personal Phone is now required to be connected to work building management system (part of a new way of working)

Toons on 09/10/2018 - 20:43
Last edited 09/10/2018 - 22:45

We have just moved into a new smart building, which is great we can work where we want no fixed desks on entire campus.

Couple of catches. we have no desk phone, BT headset that connects to your phone or pc while wandering around.

it's also being used as a way of tracking down people no matter what floor or building they are in.

So in short although your not paying for the data usage you're having to connect your personal phone to the building network during work hours. so let's say 40 hours a week.

I'm sure this will eventually be addressed in some way eventually once someone other than management has the guts to pose the question.

Could anyone provide solid tax advice, because if I can claim a lot more in way of % of Phone and Service then it would make more sense to get a better model if it's going to provide enough of a tax deduction that I can claim as an offset to normal allowance I'd spend.

Financial

Comments

  • altomic on 09/10/2018 - 20:50
    -3

    *you're

  • JimmyF on 09/10/2018 - 21:17
    +3

    if I can claim a lot more in way of % of Phone and Service

    your not paying for the data usage your having to connect your personal phone to the building network

    So thats 0% of your phone plan used for work, which is what you're allowed to claim, the % used……

    You could claim a small % of the phone cost if you buy it outright.

  • Diji1 on 09/10/2018 - 21:34
    +3

    which is great we can work where we want no fixed desks

    Wow, how er .. great.

    Bonus: it's less productive than having your own desk so everybody wins.

    • Toons on 09/10/2018 - 22:32

      Actually working out to be more productive surprisingly.

      It's now a paperless office you go sit with the team you need to work with collaborate and just get things done, if you don't like the habit's of someone move somewhere else.
      The roaming thing also works well if you have kids you can take them to the guest levels and let them play after school, you just have to be in the area, and do what you need to from there.

    • HighAndDry on 10/10/2018 - 20:32

      "Hot-desking". Apparently everyone does it now. I don't get it but eh, hasn't spread to my neck of the woods yet.

  • hawkeye on 09/10/2018 - 22:38
    +1

    Just leave your phone at work and go down to the pub until it's time to knock off and no one will know the difference.

    • Toons on 09/10/2018 - 22:43

      Someone tried that, They find your phone and no you! lol

      The biometric sensors on entry and exit give them the rest of the info.

      • HighAndDry on 10/10/2018 - 20:32
        +2

        That's why you tie it to a Roomba and send it into the AC vents.

  • hawkeye on 09/10/2018 - 23:07

    A company with full control over a phone you own and your fingerprints wouldn't be quite legal in Australia one would think.

  • Toons on 09/10/2018 - 23:19

    I guess it's a choice don't like it, work somewhere else.

    The phone bothers me the biometrics thing not so much. You wave your hand over the scanner and it picks up.

    I thought it was fingerprints at first but it's actually scanning veins the article below gives a better description.

    (https://www.bayometric.com/fingerprint-vs-finger-vein-biomet…)

  • bobbified on 10/10/2018 - 02:15

    it's also being used as a way of tracking down people no matter what floor or building they are in.

    I don't quite get what you're saying - What's being used to track you?

    There's a BT that you've said is connected to "your phone or pc". Is that a desk phone on each hotdesk or are you talking about the BT device being connected to your personal mobile?

    • Toons on 14/10/2018 - 22:23

      The tracking is purely by your location data sent either via laptop or phone as long as your logged into the network (turn them all off you disappear) or you walk away from desk leaving phone and laptop it shows as that location.

      The connections are Wifi within the building or via your own data, if you haven't switched it to the network, I used to leave my data on my 4g carrier so when I'm streaming music or something they can't moan as I'm using my own data, certain apps won't load on the internal staff network also. hence I'd be finding I'd be using my own phone data for their use.

      The BT connection is for the headset that connects to laptop used what used to be your desk phone. it's all done through the application if your at your desk when a call comes through your laptop rings and your mobile will too, the headset is just a tool to allow you to have hands free.

      The 2 can work independently the software is integrated into the laptop, the Mobile phone is via the companion app.

      I hope that is a bit clearer it's all been a new world this last week.

  • burningrage on 10/10/2018 - 07:00

    I'd like to know this as well.

    As we don't have deskphones and have to use skype (which is not effective and crappy too, I mean, VOIP vs traditional phone), many of us if not all, forwarded all calls to mobile phones which effectively makes having a mobile phone essentially part of work requirement

    Does that make the phone tax deductible at least 50% because of the stand by requirement?

  • singlemalt72 on 10/10/2018 - 10:01
    +1

    What if you are a person without a phone (yes, they do exist) - if the possession of a phone is a requirement of employment I would argue;
    1. The employer should supply said phone or
    2. That the cost of the handset be claimed as at least 50% work use (8 hrs at work, 8 hrs personal time 8 hrs sleep per day) and that cost depreciated over the (generally) 2 year life of the handset.

    As the plan is not being used for work I would say that is not tax deductible.

    • burningrage on 10/10/2018 - 11:50
      +1

      If supplied by company usually there would be Phone Allowance.

      The way I see it as soon as I have phone allowance, then thats straight deductibility is available. Say allowance is $1000pa then $1000 deduction should be available unless if you use less.

      Also if purchased via FBT sal sac usually you have to sign declaration of business use anyway which will give you access to deduction. The question is how much

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