How to Claim Internet Expenses in New Zealand (2026 Guide)

Quick answer

Broadband is almost always shared between work and home, so the New Zealand question is how to split it, and who gets to claim. This guide covers the self-employed share, how it interacts with the home office square metre rate, the EE004 reimbursement options for employees, GST and records. Rules are from Inland Revenue in the Sources section, retrieved 10 October 2026.

The self-employed: the business share

Where your business shares an internet plan with private use, you can claim part of it as a business expense: you choose the business proportion, as long as it gives a fair and reasonable result, and you meet the normal record-keeping rules ^[1] . Reasonable bases include hours worked from home against total hours online, or data used for work against total data. A dedicated business connection used only for the business is deductible in full.

Worked example: a bookkeeper working from home 30 hours a week on a $90 monthly fibre plan, with the household online about 60 hours a week in total, claims 50%: $90 × 12 × 50% = $540 a year.

The square metre rate

The square metre rate is based on the average cost of utilities per square metre, and if you use it you cannot claim any other expenses or depreciation for business use of your home ^[1] . Inland Revenue’s page doesn’t name internet specifically, so the cautious reading is that broadband is part of what the rate covers. If your real broadband share is large, compare the square metre rate with the proportional method, where internet is apportioned along with the other household costs ^[1] . The home office guide works through both.

Employees: EE004 reimbursements

Employees can’t deduct work costs, so the question becomes how much the employer can reimburse as exempt income. For an employee who works from home and uses their own internet plan, Determination EE004 offers three options ^[2] :

• De minimis: up to $27 a week, or $54 a fortnight, covering the extra household and telecommunications costs together ^[2] .
• Principally business use: up to $20 a week, plus up to 75% of the plan bill ^[2] .
• Principally private use: up to $20 a week, plus up to 25% of the plan bill ^[2] .

For an employee who doesn’t work from home but uses their own plan for work, the de minimis amount is $7 a week instead, with the same 75% and 25% options ^[2] . The 75% option needs evidence of business use or a signed employee declaration, reviewed about every two years ^[2] .

GST

GST is 15% on most goods and services ^[3] . Claim it on the business share of a plan the business pays for. A reimbursement to an employee isn’t a supply to the business, so there’s no GST on it.

Records

Keep the bills and a note of how you chose the business share; for EE004, keep the usage evidence or the employee’s declaration ^{[1] [2]} . The record-keeping guide covers retention.

Common mistakes

• Claiming broadband on top of the square metre rate ^[1] .
• Paying a home-working employee $27 a week and a separate telecommunications amount; the $27 already covers it ^[2] .
• Using the 75% option for a plan that is mostly private ^[2] .
• Claiming GST on employee reimbursements.

Software that helps

ExpenseFlow captures broadband bills by email, upload or photo, codes each line with a tax code and a written reason, and can apply a fixed business-use percentage you configure for the internet account so the same share is used every month. It syncs to Xero or QuickBooks Online after approval. It doesn’t calculate EE004 reimbursements.