The three golden rules — you must meet all three
You spent the money yourself and weren't reimbursed — If your employer bought the item, or paid you back for it, you can't claim it.
The expense directly relates to earning your income — Where something is used for both work and private purposes, you can only claim the work-related portion.
You have a record to prove it — Usually a receipt. A bank statement on its own is not enough.
What you can claim
Tools and equipment
Chisel sets, grinders, power saws, drills, toolboxes and the like. Items of $300 or less are claimed in full straight away; above that, claim the decline in value.
Tool repairs and insurance
Repairs to your work tools, and the work-use portion of insuring them.
Safety boots, hi-vis vests and protective clothing
Steel-capped boots, rubber boots, non-slip shoes, hi-vis vests, fire-resistant clothing, gloves, cut-resistant clothing, wet-weather gear and overalls.
Safety equipment
Safety glasses, goggles, hard hats, welding helmets, dust masks and ear plugs — including repairing, replacing and cleaning them.
Sun protection
Sunscreen, broad-brimmed hats and sunglasses (including prescription sunglasses) if you work outdoors for long periods. If you also use them privately, claim only the work portion.
Laundry
Washing, drying and ironing protective clothing and uniforms. Dry-cleaning and repairs are claimed at their actual cost.
Travel between sites
Travelling from one site to another on the same day. If you have no fixed workplace and continually move between sites, travel from home to the first site and from the last site home is also deductible.
Commuting because you carry bulky tools
Only when all four apply: (1) the tools are essential to your work; (2) they are so bulky or heavy that you can only move them by car; (3) there is no secure storage at the site; and (4) taking them home is a necessity, not a choice.
Renewing a licence or ticket
Renewing a plumbing licence, plant operator ticket or similar so you can keep doing your current job. An ordinary driver's licence is excluded.
Work-related training
Courses that improve the skills of your current job — fees, textbooks, stationery and travel to the training venue.
Overtime meals
Only where you received an overtime meal allowance shown separately on your income statement and declared it. For 2025–26 you can claim up to $38.65 per meal without a receipt.
Work use of your phone and internet
The work-use portion. Above $50 you need records of your usage.
Union fees
Deductible in full.
What you cannot claim
Travel between home and a regular site
A private expense — however far you live, whether you work shifts or are on call, and even if you pick up materials on the way. A travel allowance from your employer doesn't make it deductible.
Carrying tools when the site has storage
If a secure toolbox or shed is provided and you take your tools home anyway, that is your choice and isn't deductible.
Your first licence or ticket
A licence you need in order to get the job — such as a bricklayer's licence or a White Card — isn't deductible. Only renewing it while you're already working is.
Getting or renewing an ordinary driver's licence
Private, even if driving is a condition of your job. Only the extra cost of a special licence, such as for heavy machinery, is deductible.
Jeans, work pants, ordinary shirts and sneakers
Everyday clothing without protective features isn't deductible, even if your employer requires it.
Meals on a normal workday
Private, unless you meet the overtime meal allowance rules.
Fines and penalties
Traffic, speeding and load fines incurred at work are never deductible.
Anything your employer supplied or reimbursed
If your employer provides your hard hat, mask or safety glasses, or pays you back for them, you can't claim them.
Accommodation and meals covered by a LAFHA
Accommodation and food paid for by a living-away-from-home allowance is neither declared nor claimed.
Key thresholds — 2025–26
- Car expenses
- 88 cents per kilometre, up to 5,000 km a year. Using this method means you can't separately claim fuel, servicing or insurance.
- Working from home
- 70 cents per hour under the fixed rate method. You must keep a record of the actual hours worked from home across the whole year — estimates are not accepted.
- Laundry
- $1 a load where the load is work clothing only, or 50 cents a load when washed together with other clothes. No receipts needed if the laundry claim is $150 or less.
- Total work expenses
- If your total work-related expenses come to more than $300, you need written evidence for all of them — not just the amount above $300.
- Single asset limit
- Items costing $300 or less can be claimed in full in the year you buy them. Above $300 you claim the decline in value over the item's effective life.
- Phone and internet
- No separate records are needed where work use is incidental and the claim is $50 or less. Above $50 you need records showing your work use.
- Small expenses
- Expenses of $10 or less, up to $200 in total for the year, can be recorded in a diary note — date, supplier, amount and what it was for — instead of a receipt.
- Record retention
- Keep your records for five years from the date you lodge your return. For depreciating assets, five years from the year of your last claim.