You can’t claim the cost of normal trips between home
and work,even if you live a long way from your usual
workplace, or if you are on call (e.g. relief teaching) or have
to work outside normal business hours (eg parent-teacher
interviews). This includes parking fees and tolls when you
drive to and from work.

You can claim a percentage of the running costs of your
home office if you have to work from home, including
depreciation of office equipment, work-related phone calls
and internet access charges, and electricity for heating,
cooling and lighting costs.
If you are required to purchase equipment for your work
and it costs more than $300, you can claim a deduction for
this cost spread over a number of years (depreciation).
If you keep a diary of your home office usage, you
can calculate your claim quickly using the home office
expenses calculator.

You generally can’t claim the cost of rates, mortgage
interest, rent and insurance.

You must have a record to prove it

You must have spent the money yourself and weren’t reimbursed

It must be directly related to earning your income

You can claim a deduction for the cost of buying, hiring,
mending or cleaning certain uniforms that are unique to
your job.

You can’t claim a deduction for the cost of buying or
cleaning plain clothing worn at work, even if your employer
tells you to wear it (eg sports clothing).

As long as the expense relates to your employment,
you can claim a deduction for the cost of:
• Phone and internet usage
• Excursions, school trips and camps
• First aid courses
• Seminars and conferences
• Protective equipment such as sunglasses, sunhats and
• Teaching aids
• Technical or professional publications
• Union and professional association fees.

You can’t claim a deduction for the cost of:
• Gifts you purchased for students
• Meeting students’ personal expenses
– for example, paying for lunch,
excursions or school books.