OCCUPATION
Tradies (building & construction)
Carpenters, sparkies, plumbers, concreters, painters, shopfitters and apprentices on the tools.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- Tools and equipment under $300 (full deduction); over $300, depreciate the cost
- Steel-cap boots, hi-vis, hard hats, sun protection (sunscreen, hats, sunglasses) for outdoor work
- Travel between separate worksites in the same day, and carrying bulky tools when no secure storage exists
- Cents-per-km up to 5,000 km at 88¢/km, or logbook for higher mileage
- Phone and internet — work-use percentage only, kept via a 4-week diary
- Union, licence and ticket renewals (white card, EWP, working at heights)
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Plain jeans, t-shirts, runners — even if you only wear them on site
- Travel from home to your usual site (ordinary commute)
- Tools your employer paid for or fully reimbursed
OCCUPATION
Nurses & midwives
Registered nurses, ENs, midwives, agency and aged-care nurses across public and private settings.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- AHPRA annual registration, professional association membership (ANMF, ACN)
- Compulsory uniform with employer logo, plus laundry — $1/load work-only or $0.50/load mixed
- Stethoscope, fob watch, scissors, nurses' shoes (occupation-specific footwear only)
- CPD courses directly tied to your current role, plus textbooks and journals
- Phone and internet for shift-bid apps and work email — work-use % only
- Agency travel between unrelated workplaces in the same day
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Childcare while you work night shifts
- Plain white shoes, hosiery or a generic black uniform without a logo
- Self-education for a future role you don't currently hold
OCCUPATION
Teachers & education professionals
Primary, secondary, early childhood, TAFE and tertiary educators (employed, not self-employed tutors).
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- Classroom supplies you buy yourself — books, art materials, prizes
- Excursion costs where you're required to attend and the employer doesn't reimburse
- VIT/QCT registration, professional body fees (AEU, IEU)
- Working from home — 70¢/hour fixed rate; full diary required for the year
- PD courses tied to your current teaching area, plus reference books and subscriptions
- Phone and internet — apportioned for parent emails, planning, marking
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Driving from home to your regular school (ordinary commute)
- Postgraduate study aimed at moving into a new field (e.g. principal training before promotion)
- Plain clothing worn to work, even if school colours
OCCUPATION
IT professionals
Developers, sysadmins, network engineers, security and DevOps. Employed (PAYG) — sole-trader contractors have a different structure.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- Working from home — 70¢/hour fixed, or actuals (electricity, internet, depreciation) with a logbook
- Home office equipment under $300 outright; over $300, depreciate (laptop, monitor, chair)
- Software licences and online courses where the skill is used in your current role
- Phone and internet — work-use percentage from a 4-week representative diary
- Conference attendance and books on languages/frameworks you currently work with
- Industry certifications (AWS, Azure, CISSP) when the skill applies to your current role
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Personal Netflix, Spotify or non-work software subscriptions
- A new MBA or unrelated degree to switch careers
- Travel from home to your usual office
OCCUPATION
Office workers & public servants
Admin, finance, HR, government and corporate office workers — the largest single category in Australia.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- Working from home at 70¢/hour fixed (covers electricity, internet, phone, stationery, depreciation)
- Phone calls and internet only if claiming actuals separately, not in addition to fixed rate
- Compulsory uniform with employer logo (if any) and laundry
- Self-education tied to your current role — short courses, certifications
- Professional body fees (CPA, CA, governance, HR institutes)
- Travel between two unrelated workplaces in the same day
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Conventional business attire — suits, dresses, shirts (even if a dress code applies)
- Coffee, lunches and after-work drinks
- Driving from home to the office, parking at your regular workplace
OCCUPATION
Retail workers
Sales assistants, supervisors, visual merchandisers, cashiers and stockroom staff.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- Compulsory uniform with employer logo plus laundry (track loads through the year)
- Protective clothing — non-slip shoes if required, sun protection for outdoor stalls
- Self-education tied to your current role (e.g. retail management course while on the floor)
- Phone and internet — work-use % for rostering apps and work texts
- Union fees (SDA) and professional association memberships
- Travel between two stores on the same day if rostered across multiple sites
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Generic black-and-white work clothing without an employer logo
- The store's products you bought at staff discount — these are personal expenses
- Driving from home to your usual store
OCCUPATION
Hospitality workers
Wait staff, baristas, chefs, kitchen hands, bartenders, hotel and event staff.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- Compulsory uniform with logo, chef whites, checked pants — plus laundry
- Non-slip kitchen shoes (occupation-specific safety footwear)
- RSA, RSG and food handling renewals; barista/cocktail courses tied to current role
- Knife sets and chef tools you supply yourself (under $300 outright; over $300, depreciate)
- Travel between two venues in the same day if you work shifts at both
- Self-education courses directly related to your current role (commercial cookery, sommelier)
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Plain black trousers and white shirts without a logo
- Meals while on shift — not deductible even if you can't leave the venue
- Travel from home to your usual venue
OCCUPATION
Truck drivers
Long-haul, local delivery, owner-drivers (employee-classified) and driver-trainers.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- Heavy-vehicle licence renewal and medicals required for the job
- Logbooks, GPS units, CB radio, work-only phones and dash cams
- Hi-vis, steel-caps, gloves, work-issued or compulsory uniform with logo
- Reasonable overtime meal allowance — within ATO TD rates, with records
- Tools and equipment for routine maintenance (under $300 outright; over $300, depreciate)
- Sleeper-cab incidentals on long-haul (showers, laundry on the road)
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Speeding fines, parking fines, infringement penalties
- Personal coffee and snacks (only the formal overtime meal allowance is claimable)
- Travel from home to the depot at the start of your shift
OCCUPATION
Doctors & medical specialists
GPs, hospital registrars, surgeons, anaesthetists, pathologists and salaried specialists. Mixed-income arrangements — VMOs, private-practice ABN holders, salary-packaged hospital roles — change which expenses go where, so use this as a starting point and we'll allocate correctly.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- AHPRA registration, college fees (RACGP, RACS, RACP), specialist exam fees
- Indemnity / medical defence insurance attributable to employed clinical work (the private-practice portion is claimed against ABN income separately)
- Medical journals, textbooks, online subscriptions (UpToDate, BMJ Best Practice)
- CPD courses and conferences directly tied to your current specialty
- Stethoscopes, loupes, surgical scrubs with hospital logo, occupation-specific footwear
- Self-education for the current specialty — fellowship training, qualifying exams
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Conference travel that's predominantly leisure (the personal/work split must be genuine)
- Medical-school HECS — repayments are mandatory but not deductible
- Indemnity premiums apportioned to private-practice or VMO income (claimed against that income, not your salary)
OCCUPATION
Paramedics
Ambulance officers, MICA paramedics, intensive-care and flight paramedics employed by state services or private operators.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- AHPRA paramedic registration and Paramedicine Board fees
- Compulsory uniform with service insignia plus laundry
- Stethoscope, shears, torch, tactical pen, work-only phone equipment
- CPD, advanced life support, MICA upgrades and continuing-competency courses
- Travel between two stations or unrelated workplaces in the same shift
- Professional association membership (APA, Australasian College of Paramedicine)
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Plain navy or black T-shirts and trousers without service insignia
- Driving from home to your usual base station
- Meals during long shifts unless on a formal overtime meal allowance
OCCUPATION
Police officers
State and federal police, detectives, plain-clothes and protective services officers. Specific deductions for compulsory equipment and physical-fitness requirements.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- Compulsory uniform plus laundry; protective items (vest carriers, duty belt, tactical gloves)
- Police-issued and personally-purchased boots, watch, torch, multi-tool
- Fitness-test requirements directly tied to maintaining operational status (specific gym fees only where compulsory)
- Professional development courses required for promotion or specialisation
- Phone and internet — work-use percentage from a 4-week diary
- Police association / union fees
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- General gym membership for personal fitness, even if it helps you pass annual tests
- Plain civilian clothing for plain-clothes work (the ATO doesn't accept this as occupation-specific)
- Driving from home to your usual station
OCCUPATION
Australian Defence Force members
Army, Navy and Air Force personnel — permanent and reserves. ADF members have specific allowances, exempt foreign service rules and overseas-deployment treatment that change the picture significantly. Send your PAYG summary and any deployment notice through and we'll work through the specifics.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- Compulsory uniform purchases not covered by issue, plus laundry and dry cleaning
- Mess fees and compulsory unit subscriptions
- Self-education for promotion within the current rank stream
- Physical-fitness equipment where required to maintain operational status
- Travel between two bases in the same day where movements doesn't cover it
- Professional association memberships (RUSI, service-specific)
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Civilian clothing for off-base wear
- General fitness costs that aren't compulsory for your role
- Travel home from base on weekends (ordinary commute, even if long)
OCCUPATION
Real estate employees
Sales agents, property managers, leasing consultants and BDMs employed by an agency. Commission-based; high-value deductions need careful records.
✓ YOU CAN CLAIM
- Car expenses for property inspections and client meetings — logbook usually beats cents-per-km
- REIA / state Real Estate Institute fees, sales registration renewals
- Phone and internet — work-use percentage, often high for agents
- Marketing materials you fund yourself (signs, brochures, photography for personal listings)
- Self-education courses for current role (auctioneer cert, property management diploma)
- Compulsory uniform with agency logo plus laundry
✗ COMMON MISTAKES
- Client gifts beyond a token amount (entertainment-style gifts often denied)
- Driving from home to your usual office
- Generic business attire (suits, dresses) even if the agency has a dress code
