From saving on transport and takeaway coffee costs to claiming back electricity bills – how YOU can benefit financially from the lockdowns in place in four Australian states
- Australians working from home can save money by not travelling to an office
- Train fares on average cost $4.10 a day with costs rising in the outer suburbs
- Electricity, internet expenses from working at home can also be claimed on tax
Australians forced to work from home because of the lockdown can at least save some money and claim some of the cost back on tax.
Working from the dining table with a laptop computer at least means a Sydney professional, living in an outer suburb more than 25km from the city centre, isn't spending $25 a week on train fares.
Financial comparison group Finder calculated an Opal card user would save $4.90 a day by not catching the train, $4.10 avoiding the bus, and $7 not needing a ferry.
Those calculations are averages based on fares divided the number of trips for mainly return travellers and some commuters making single journeys.
Australians forced to work from home because of the lockdown will at least save some money and can claim some of the cost on tax. Financial comparison group Finder calculated an Opal card user would save $4.90 a day by not having to catch the train, $4.10 avoiding the bus and $7 not needing a ferry. Pictured is an empty Sydney city street
Graham Cooke, Finder's head of research, said transport costs were 'surprisingly expensive' for those living a long way from the office.
'It's staggering to see just how much Aussies are forking out on commuting to and from the office,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
The opportunity to work from home is also a chance to save.
'Australians should be setting aside what they'd usually spend on transport during this time and put it in their savings instead,' Mr Cooke said.
The temptation to buy a $3.50 takeaway cappuccino saves another $17.50 a week on top of the $50 not spent on a $10 sandwich for lunch every day.
While professionals working from home may be less likely to splurge on café food, they will incur higher electricity bills, with more than 12 million now in lockdown in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Townville and Alice Springs.
Under special Covid rules that expired on Wednesday, Australians working from home have been allowed to claim a flat 80c-an-hour rate on tax.
The temptation to buy a $3.50 takeaway cappuccino saves another $17.50 a week on top of the $50 not spent on a $10 sandwich for lunch every day. Pictured is Sydney cafe owner Chris Kriketos at his empty Sydney cafe during the lockdown
The rule introduced in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic was extended to cover the 2020-21 financial year, which ended yesterday.
For Sydney residents who only worked from home during the latest lockdown, that meant they will be able to claim the costs from June 26 to June 30, 2021.
Tax agent H&R Block said they could alternatively opt for the lower 52c-an-hour rate and individually add up their phone, internet, and electricity bills for the set period of working from home.
Choosing that method, it calculated someone stood to claim on average $53 a week for home utility bills related to work time compared with $26.50 if they opted for the flat 80c-an-hour rate.
Despite the lockdown, Sydney's median house prices continued to surge in June, rising by 3 per cent to $1.224 million, new CoreLogic data showed.
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Under special Covid rules that expired on Wednesday, Australians working from home have been allowed to claim a flat 80 cents-an-hour rate on tax. But H&R Block said claiming the lower 52-cents-an hour rate and adding up home electricity bills would yield more. Pictured is an Adelaide woman working from home
Since January, Sydney values soared by 18.5 per cent.
Darwin, another city in lockdown, also had a house price increase with values climbing by 21.4 per cent during the past year to $567,842, outdoing Sydney's 19.3 per cent annual increase.
Brisbane, also in lockdown, saw its house prices increase by 14.8 during the past year to $657,551.
During the Covid pandemic, house prices in most of Australia surged to record highs as apartment values increased at a much more subdued pace.
The 13.5 per cent annual surge in Australian property prices during 2020-21 was the steepest since 2004.
Despite the lockdown, Sydney's median house prices continued to surge in June, rising by 3 per cent to $1.224 million, new CoreLogic data showed. National house prices rose at the fastest level in 17 years. Pictured is a house at Toongabbie in Sydney's west
But CoreLogic's head of research for Australia Eliza Owns said lockdowns were likely to affect auction clearance rates and dent the momentum in property price rises.
'It is difficult to say whether this dynamic will be maintained in the coming weeks amid lockdown conditions in parts of Australia,' she said.
'Sales volumes are likely to decline, but new listings added to market also tend to decline during lockdowns, as properties are harder to sell.'
National house prices rose by 15.6 per cent during the last financial year compared with 6.8 per cent for units.
With more people working from home and pushing up prices for bigger homes, public housing advocacy group Everybody's Home predicted a 24 per cent increase in housing stress where more people struggled to either pay rent or service a mortgage.
'That is a recipe for more housing stress, more homelessness and deepening inequality,' spokeswoman Kate Colvin said.
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