Eligibility to claim stationery and office supplies
To claim a deduction for stationery and office supplies:
- You must use them to perform your work duties.
- You must incur the cost of the items.
- You must have a record of your expenses and use of the item.
When you use the stationery and offices supplies for both private and work purposes, you need to apportion your deduction. You can only claim the work-related use of the stationery and offices supplies as a deduction.
Exception to eligibility for working from home
Stationery and office supply expenses you incur when working from home may be included in the method you use to work out your deduction for working from home. Where this is the case, you can't claim any other deduction for stationery and office supply expenses.
You will need to meet the eligibility and record keeping requirements of the work from home method you use.
Types of stationery and office supplies you can claim
You can claim the cost of stationery and office supplies that you use for work, such as:
- a calculator
- printer ink
- paper
- envelopes
- pens
- a diary
- a logbook.
How to calculate your stationery and office supplies deduction
In most circumstances, stationery and office supplies are small expenses, and you can claim an immediate deduction for the cost of the items.
Stationery and office supplies that cost $300 or more, are part of a set or substantially identical are generally depreciating assets which decline in value over time. For example, if you purchase a printer to use at home that cost $300 or more, you can't claim the cost of the printer in the year you buy it. You can claim the printer's decline in value over its effective life.
Calculating your deduction
Work out your deduction for the decline in value for a depreciating asset, using our Depreciation and capital allowances tool.
You can manually calculate the decline in value of a depreciating asset using either the prime cost method or diminishing value method.
Keeping records for stationery and office supplies
You don’t have to keep a receipt for small expenses:
- that are $10 or less, as long as your total claim for small expenses is $200 or less
- where you are unable to get a receipt from a supplier.
However, you must instead keep other evidence to support your deduction, and your work use of stationery and office supplies, that shows you spent the money and what you spent the money on, such as:
- a bank or credit card statement that shows the amount, and when and to who it was paid
- other documents that outline the nature of the goods or services
- a written record in your work diary outlining the item purchased, its cost, where it was purchased and the day it was purchased.
For more information on general record keeping requirements and formats, see records you need to keep.
Deductions for stationery and supplies such as pens, printer ink, and paper you use for work.