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MJE Business Services

What Can I Claim? Work-Related Deductions Explained

Last reviewed: 2026-06-15Individual Tax

What Can I Claim? Work-Related Deductions Explained

Short answer: you can claim a work expense if you paid for it yourself, it directly relates to earning your income, and you have a record to prove it. For 2025-26 the headline rates are 70 cents per hour for working from home and 88 cents per kilometre for work car trips (up to 5,000 km). The detail below is what makes or breaks your claim.

Every July, the same question lands on our desk in Mortdale: "What can I actually claim this year?" It is a fair question, because a few well-supported deductions can make a real difference to your refund - and a few unsupported ones can land you in trouble. Here is the plain-English version, straight from the ATO rules.

The 3 golden rules

Before you claim anything, it has to pass three tests. The ATO sums these up simply:

  1. You paid for it yourself and were not reimbursed by your employer.
  2. It directly relates to earning your income - not a private or domestic expense.
  3. You have a record to prove it - usually a receipt or invoice.

If an expense is part work and part private (like a phone bill), you can only claim the work-related portion. When in doubt, keep the record and we will sort out the apportioning at tax time. If you would like help deciding what is fair, our individual tax returns service is built for exactly this. It also pays to know your lodgment timing - see our guide to tax return due dates.

Common things people claim

Every job is different, but these are the categories we see most often:

  • Car and travel - trips between work sites, to clients, or to meetings (but generally not your normal home-to-work commute). See the cents-per-kilometre method below.
  • Working from home - a share of your running costs (covered below).
  • Clothing and laundry - only for occupation-specific uniforms, protective gear, or compulsory branded uniforms. Plain clothes for work do not count, even if your boss insists on a dress code.
  • Self-education - course fees, textbooks and some travel, where the study directly relates to your current job.
  • Tools and equipment - items you buy to do your job. Smaller items can often be claimed in full; higher-cost items are usually claimed over time as they decline in value.
  • Union fees, professional memberships and subscriptions - including journals and registrations tied to your role.

Car expenses - the cents-per-kilometre method

For the 2025-26 income year, the cents-per-kilometre rate is 88 cents per kilometre, and you can claim a maximum of 5,000 work-related kilometres per car. That is a top deduction of $4,400 per car under this method. The rate already covers fuel, registration, insurance, servicing and decline in value, so you cannot add those on top. You do not need receipts, but you do need to show how you worked out your kilometres - a diary or logbook of work trips is ideal.

The working-from-home fixed-rate method

Working from home is the deduction the ATO watches most closely, so it pays to get it right. There are two methods - the simple fixed-rate method and the more detailed actual-cost method - and you pick whichever gives the better result.

If you work from home, the simplest option is the fixed-rate method. For the 2024-25 and 2025-26 income years the rate is 70 cents for each hour you work from home.

That 70 cents covers your hard-to-split running costs - electricity and gas, your phone and internet, and stationery and computer consumables. Because those are bundled in, you cannot claim them separately on top. You can still separately claim the work-related decline in value of bigger items like a desk, office chair or computer.

Two record-keeping points the ATO is strict about:

  • You need a record of the total hours you worked from home across the whole year - a timesheet, roster or diary. An estimate or "4 days a week" guess is not accepted; this is the single most common mistake the ATO sees, and from 2024-25 onward you must keep a record as you go, not reconstruct it later.
  • You need at least one bill for each running cost the rate covers (for example, one electricity bill and one internet bill) to show you actually incurred them.

There is also an actual-cost method if your real expenses are higher, but it needs far more detailed records. We are happy to run both ways and use whichever gives you the better result - something we do every July for clients working from home right across Penshurst, Oatley and the wider St George area. And remember, the fee you pay us is itself deductible: see is your accountant's fee tax-deductible.

Keep good records - the myDeductions app

Deductions live or die on records. The ATO's free myDeductions tool (inside the ATO app) lets you photograph receipts and log trips through the year, then send the lot to your agent or prefill your return. Even a shoebox of receipts beats nothing - but a tidy digital record means a faster, more accurate return and far less stress if the ATO ever asks questions.

FAQ

Can I claim my drive to and from work? Generally no. Ordinary home-to-work travel is private. Travel between work sites, to clients, or carrying bulky equipment you cannot leave at work can be claimable.

Do I need a receipt for everything? For most expenses, yes. There are limited exceptions (for example, the cents-per-kilometre car method uses a kilometre record rather than receipts), but as a rule: no record, no claim.

If I use the 70c working-from-home rate, can I still claim my phone and internet? No. The fixed rate already bundles in phone, internet, electricity, gas and consumables, so you cannot claim those again separately on top. You can still separately claim the decline in value of bigger items like a desk, chair or computer. Claiming the phone and internet a second time is a frequent ATO red flag.

Do I need a separate room or dedicated office to claim working from home? No. Under the fixed-rate method you do not need a dedicated home office - you just need to be genuinely working from home and keep your record of hours.

Can I claim a flat amount without spending anything? No. The "you paid for it" rule is firm. There is no automatic standard deduction in Australia - every claim must reflect money you genuinely spent on earning your income.

Let us find what you are owed

The honest answer to "what can I claim?" is "it depends on your job and your records." That is where a registered tax agent earns their keep - we know what your occupation can legitimately claim and we make sure it is backed up. If you are in Mortdale, Hurstville, Kogarah or nearby, get in touch or call (02) 9580 1167 before you lodge and we will make sure nothing is left on the table.

Written by the team at MJE Business Services, a registered tax agent (No. 26313222) serving the St George area since 2000.

This is general information, not personal advice. Tax rules and dates change - please check your situation with us or at ato.gov.au.

Sources (ATO)

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