Suitable for: Everyone

Tax Difficulty: Easy

Time to read: 2-3 minutes

Tax Focus: Income Tax Returns

Work-related expenses in your income tax return

If you have been working through your tax return and have some work-related expenses that you have not yet found an appropriate section for, they may be able to be categorised as “other work-related expenses”. In this Help Centre article, we’ll go through a number of example expenses that may be claimable here, and how the Airtax tax return is able to capture these amounts.

What are some examples of other work-related expenses I can claim?

It is important to remember that you should not list any expenses that you have already claimed in other sections of your tax return, and that any expenses you claim must be incurred through your employment. For example:

• Union fees
• Professional seminars, workshops and conferences
• Reference books, technical journals and trade magazines
• Tools and equipment
• The work-related portion of the following costs:
  • Interest on money borrowed to buy a computer
  • Repair costs of your computer
  • Internet access charges
  • Phone calls
  • Home office heating, cooling, lighting and cleaning costs

NOTE: if your total claim for all work-related expenses exceeds $300, you must have written evidence to support your claims - the best way to prove expenses is through a receipt/tax invoice.

What are some examples of expenses that I can’t claim on my tax return?

• Cost of entertainment
• Fines and penalties (e.g. parking, speeding fines - even if incurred on a deductible trip)
• Child care expenses
• Fees paid to social clubs

Where you can get more help:

• Feel free to search for other topics in the Help Centre
• If interested, consider using our Business Assist service to discuss with a qualified Tax Specialist about your BAS (recommended for first time users)

• If you want to speak to someone about your current Airtax income tax return, book in a Tax Assist call or Tax Professional call with a tax specialist.

This document merely provides a broad outline of the subject and is necessarily general in nature.  If you require specific advice, which is tailored to your specific circumstances, please do not hesitate to contact us (fees would apply).