Cooking the Books podcast: The easy way to claim expenses for working from home

The boom in people working from home during Covid-19 has brought in an easier way to claim expenses. Photo / Getty Images

Each week the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's how to get cash back for your work from home expenses. Hosted by Frances Cook.

If you're one of the people who's been lucky enough to work from home during the pandemic, you've probably got a question about now; can I claim expenses for this?

You don't need me to tell you that it's uncertain times now, and every bit you can save on expenses can help you prepare for the coming rainy days.

Listen to the podcast episode here

After all, your electricity and your internet usage have probably gone up. Those who are self-employed can claim tax back on that, as well as part of their rent or mortgage interest.

So what about if you're an employee, can you get those expenses back?

Well yes, but through a slightly different system. The good thing is, it's actually pretty simple.

For the latest Cooking the Books podcast I talked to Terry Baucher, director of tax consultancy Baucher Consulting.

We discussed the system for claiming expenses as an employee, the easiest way to do it, and how to organise it with your employer.

For the episode, listen on the podcast player above.

If you have a question about this podcast, or a question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.

You can subscribe to this podcast on iHeartRadio, Apple podcasts app, or Spotify, to make sure you never miss an episode.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website