Tax Deductions You Can Claim in Australia 2025-26: The Full List

Heads up — To claim a work-related expense as a tax deduction, it must meet three criteria: you must have spent the money yourself (not been reimbursed), the expense must directly relate to earning your income, and you must have a record to prove it. Common work-related deductions include tools and equipment used for work, protective clothing and uniforms (including laundry costs), union and professional association fees, work-related phone and internet expenses, self-education related to your current job, and travel between work sites (but not home-to-work commuting).

For items costing $300 or less, you can claim an immediate deduction. Items over $300 must be depreciated over their effective life. You don't need receipts for claims totalling $300 or less across all work-related categories, but you must be able to demonstrate how you calculated the amount.

Since 1 July 2022, the ATO offers a revised fixed rate method for claiming working from home expenses. You can claim 67 cents per hour for each hour you work from home, covering electricity, phone, internet, stationery, and computer consumables.

On top of this, you can separately claim the decline in value of office furniture and equipment (desk, chair, computer, monitor) used for work. To use this method, you must keep a record of the actual hours you work from home — a timesheet, diary, roster, or time-tracking app is acceptable. If you worked from home for 1,000 hours across the year, you can claim $670 under the fixed rate plus any additional depreciation on equipment.

Alternatively, you can use the actual cost method, where you calculate the exact proportion of each expense attributable to work use — this requires more record-keeping but may yield a larger deduction.

This bit matters. You can claim car expenses for work-related travel such as driving between two separate workplaces, travelling to client meetings, transporting bulky tools and equipment that can't be left at work, and attending work-related conferences or training. You can't claim the cost of driving between home and your regular workplace — this is personal commuting.

There are two methods for claiming car expenses. The cents-per-kilometre method allows you to claim 85 cents per kilometre (2025-26 rate) up to a maximum of 5,000 business kilometres per year, with no receipts required but you must be able to show how you calculated the distance. The logbook method requires keeping a logbook for at least 12 continuous weeks to determine the business-use percentage, then applying that percentage to all running costs (fuel, registration, insurance, servicing, depreciation).

The logbook method typically yields larger deductions for those who drive extensively for work.

Self-education expenses are deductible when the course or training directly relates to your current employment and either maintains or improves the skills required for your job, or results in a likely increase in income from your current employment. Deductible costs include tuition fees, textbooks and course materials, stationery, computer expenses for study, travel to attend classes, and student union fees.

However, if the course is designed to get you a new job or move into a different field (rather than improving your current role), the expenses are not deductible. For example, a marketing manager studying for an MBA can claim the costs, but an accountant studying to become a lawyer can't. HECS-HELP fees are specifically excluded from deduction — you can't claim your university course fees as they're repaid through the tax system.

Don't skip this part. FEE-HELP payments for courses at private institutions are also non-deductible.

If you earn investment income, you can claim deductions for the costs of earning that income. For shares and managed funds, deductible expenses include interest on money borrowed to invest, financial adviser fees related to maintaining investments (but not the initial acquisition advice), subscription fees for investment research services, and the cost of managing your investments (such as accounting fees for preparing investment tax schedules).

For rental properties, the full list of deductions is extensive — interest on the investment loan, property management fees, insurance, rates, repairs, depreciation, and more. Bank fees on accounts used to earn interest income are deductible. Income protection insurance premiums are deductible regardless of whether you've made a claim.

Tax agent fees for preparing your return are deductible in the year following payment. Pretty straightforward once you know.

Several legitimate deductions are commonly overlooked. The cost of income protection insurance is deductible but many employees forget to claim it.

The practical side: If you've private health insurance and earn above the Medicare levy surcharge thresholds, ensuring your cover is adequate avoids the surcharge — effectively a deduction by avoidance. Sunscreen and sunglasses are deductible for outdoor workers. Professional development books and magazines related to your work are deductible.

Union and professional association fees are deductible but must be specifically claimed. If you work in certain industries, specific deductions apply — for example, teachers can claim classroom supplies, tradespeople can claim tools, and nurses can claim non-slip shoes. Charitable donations of $2 or more to DGR-registered organisations are deductible.

Use our Tax Calculator to see how deductions affect your refund, and keep digital copies of all receipts using the myDeductions tool in the ATO app.