Work-related travel expenses you can claim

Travel expenses that you claim must directly relate to your work as an employee. These expenses may include:

• work-related car expenses
• expenses for motorcycles and vehicles with a carrying capacity of one tonne or more, or nine or more passengers
• actual expenses – such as any petrol, oil and repair costs if you travel in a car that is owned or leased by someone else
• public transport – including taxi fares
• bridge and road tolls
• parking fees
• short-term car hire.

Generally, the cost of normal trips between home and work is a private expense for which you cannot claim an income tax deduction. However, as an employee there are certain situations where you may be able to claim deductions for travel between your home and workplace.

The cost of using your own car for work – including travel to attend meetings, training courses, picks up supplies and drivingbetween or around job sites. It is usually best to keep a diary record of the number of kilometers you travel during the year for work purposes.

The cost of using your car to travel between your home and work – only if following apply:

• Transporting bulky tools and equipment.
  • The equipment is used for work and it is essential to transport it to and from work, and
  • there is no secure storage area at your workplace.
• Travelling directly between 2 separate workplaces.
  • from your normal workplace to an alternative workplace, while you are still on duty, and back to your normal workplace or directly home
  • from your home to an alternative workplace, and then to your normal workplace or directly home – for example, if you travel to a client’s premises to work there for the day
• Shifting workplaces – you regularly work at more than one location each day before returning home

The cost of parking, tolls, taxis and public transport – if you are required to travel to attend seminars, meeting and training courses not held at your usual place of work or to travel between job sites

Work-related daily travel expenses you cannot claim

Unless you meet the conditions outlined in Work-related travel expenses you can claim, generally the cost of normal trips between home and work is a private expense you cannot claim a deduction for, even if:

• you work outside normal business hours – for example, working weekends or overtime
• you are on call
• you do minor tasks, such as picking up a timesheet on the way to work or home
• you live a long distance from work
• there is no public transport available so you use a car.

Note: You cannot claim a deduction for the cost of:

• travelling to another workplace for a social function
• any fines you receive, such as speeding or parking infringements.

You cannot claim a deduction for car expenses – if your employer or any other person provides a car for you and you do not pay for any of the running costs.

You cannot claim a deduction for any expenses you incur for the direct operation of a car that your employer provides and that you or your relatives use privately at any time, even if the expenses are work related. Such expenses form part of the valuation of the car for fringe benefits tax purposes.

The cost of actual expenses – for vehicles other than cars such as motorcycle or vehicle that has a carrying capacity of one tone or more (panel vans, utility trucks). Actual expenses include:

• fuel and oil
• repairs and servicing
• interest on a car loan
• lease payments
• insurance
• registration.

If you use your vehicle for both work and private purposes, you can use a diary to show how much of your expenses relate to each. Remember to keep receipts for your actual expenses – this includes for fuel and oil costs. Bank statements and credit card transaction receipts are not sufficient evidence for fuel and oil purchases, you need to keep your actual receipts.

The cost of travel expenses when you are required to stay away overnight to perform work – travel expenses include:

• meals
• accommodation
• incidental expenses
• travel costs between home and the worksite, such as
  • vehicle expenses
  • airfares
  • bus fares
  • train fares
  • ferry fares
  • taxi fares.

Overnight travel expenses you cannot claim

You cannot claim a deduction for the travel expenses you incur if:

• your employer reimburses your expenses (this is different to receiving a travel allowance)
• you get a job that results in you having to incur overnight travel expenses because you choose not to relocate
• you live away from your usual home to perform your work.

If you live away from home to perform your work, you may receive a living-away-from-home allowance from your employer. A living-away-from-home allowance is paid to cover your additional accommodation and meal costs when you are temporarily required to live away from your usual place of residence in order to perform your duties of employment.

Award transport payments (fares allowance)

You can claim a deduction for expenses covered by award transport payments only if the expenses are for deductible work-related travel.

The costs you incur when you buy, rent, repair or clean your work clothing. Deductible work clothing includes:

• compulsory uniforms and corporate wardrobes – identifies you as an employee of an organization
• a single item of distinctive clothing such as a jumper, shirt or tie with the employer’s logo if it is compulsory for you to wear it
• a non-compulsory corporate uniform if your employer has registered the design with AusIndustry
• protective clothing – protects you from the rick of illness or injury, or prevents damages to your conventional clothes caused by your work (fire-resistant clothing, sun-protection clothing, safety coloured vests, rubber boots, gloves, overalls or heavy duty shirts and trousers)

The cost of laundry expenses – including washing, drying and ironing your deductible work clothing such as laundromat expenses and the actual cost of dry-cleaning.

The cost of attending a self-education course that is related to your current work activities is deductible. Self-education could include a formal course or attendance at a seminar. The course must maintain or improve the specific skills or knowledge you need in your current employment, or result in, or be likely to result in, an increase in your income from your current employment.

The cost of study-related is also deductible:

• textbooks
• course fees
• stationery
• internet access
• student union fees
• travel expenses to and from the place of education
• decline in value (depreciation) of equipment you use in your study, such as a computer.

You can only claim the decline in value based on how much you use the equipment for study purposes. For example, if you use your computer half for private purposes and half for study purposes, you can only claim half the decline in value.

Self-education expenses you cannot claim

You cannot claim a deduction for your self-education expenses that do not have a sufficient connection to your current employment even though they:

• might be generally related to it
• enable you to get a new job.
• You cannot claim a deduction for a pre-vocational course such as a pre-apprenticeship in building construction.
• You cannot claim a deduction for the initial cost of obtaining your state regulatory body work permits or certificates. These include ‘cards’ required to work on building sites, occupational health and safety certificates or other regulatory permits.
• You can claim a deduction for any renewal fees for regulatory permits, certificates, or ‘cards’ as discussed above.
• Note: If your employer pays for the course fees outright, or reimburses you upon your completion of your course, you are not entitled to claim a deduction for your course fees.

You can claim a deduction for overtime meal expenses

• you received a genuine overtime meal allowance from your employer that was paid under an industrial law, award or agreement
• you have included the amount of the meal allowance as income at item 2 on your income tax return, and
• if your claim was more than the reasonable allowance amount, you have written evidence, such as receipts or diary entries, that shows the cost of the meals.

You can claim a deduction for the cost of work-related phone calls you make, including calls from mobile phones.

You can also claim a deduction for your phone rental if you can show you were on call or you had to call your employer or clients regularly while you were away from your workplace.

You can only claim the work-related portion of your phone rental costs and calls if you also used your phone for private purposes.

You can only claim a deduction for the work-related portion you have not been reimbursed for by your employer.

You can claim a deduction for union and professional association fees. If the amount you paid is shown on your payment summary, you can use it to prove your claim.

You can claim a deduction for a levy paid in certain circumstances – for example, to protect the interests of members and their jobs.

You can claim an immediate deduction for personal protective equipment you use on the job that costs $300 or less. This includes equipment such as:

• safety helmets
• ear muffs
• harnesses
• face masks
• goggles
• safety glasses
• breathing masks.

You cannot claim an immediate deduction for protective equipment costing more than $300 that you use for more than a year. You can claim a deduction for its decline in value (depreciation).

Note: A deduction is not allowable for the cost of prescription glasses or contact lenses, as the expense relates to a personal medical condition.

You can claim a deduction for these items if the nature of your work requires you to work in the sun for all or part of the day and you use these items to protect yourself from the sun while at work.

You can claim an immediate deduction for the full purchase price of each tool or piece of equipment that:

• you use for your work as an employee
• costs you $300 or less
• was not one of a number of identical or substantially identical tools you started to hold in the income year that cost more than $300
• was not part of a set of tools that you started to hold in the income year that cost more than $300 (see example 17).

If the tool or piece of equipment costs more than $300, you cannot claim an immediate deduction for the full purchase price. However, you can claim a deduction for its decline in value (depreciation). Your claim for depreciation applies to the whole amount, not just the amount over $300.

If you use the tool or piece of equipment partly for private purposes, the amount you can claim depends on the amount of time you use the tool or equipment for work purposes. For example, if you own a power tool which you use half for work purposes and half for private purposes, you can only claim half the decline in value.

You can also claim the work-related cost of repairing and insuring your tools and equipment, and any interest charges you incur on money you borrowed to purchase these items.

Note: If you are a new apprentice and you received government funded tools through your employer, you cannot claim a deduction for the costs or decline in value of those tools.

You can claim a deduction, called a capital allowance, for the decline in value of equipment used for work. If the equipment is also used for private purposes, you cannot claim a deduction for that part of the decline in value. Generally, the amount of your deduction depends on the effective life of the equipment. You cannot claim a deduction if the equipment is supplied by your employer or any other person.

If you purchased equipment costing $300 or less and you use it mainly for work, you can claim an immediate deduction for the work-related portion of the cost.

You cannot claim an immediate deduction if:

• the equipment is part of a set that you buy in the same income year and the total cost of the set is more than $300 (the set rule), or
• the equipment is one of a number of identical or substantially identical items you buy in an income year and the total cost of the items is more than $300 (the multiples rule).

Equipment for which you may be able to claim a capital allowance includes:

• answering machines, telephones, facsimile machines, mobile phones, pagers and other telecommunications equipment
• tools and equipment.

You can claim a deduction for the cost of first aid training courses if you, as a designated first aid person, are required to undertake first aid training to assist in emergency work situations.

You can claim the cost of interest on money borrowed to purchase work-related equipment. If the equipment was also used for private purposes, you cannot claim a deduction for that part of the interest.

You can claim a deduction for the cost of renewing your licenses and certificates that relate to your work, but not your driver’s license. You cannot claim the cost of getting your initial license or certificate.

You can claim a deduction for the cost of attending seminars, conferences and training courses that are sufficiently connected to your work activities.

You can claim a deduction for the cost of street directories, logbooks, diaries, pens and other stationery to the extent that you use them for work.

You can claim a deduction for the cost of journals, periodicals and magazines that have a content sufficiently connected to your employment as a building worker – for example, a building supervisor can claim a deduction for the cost of the magazine.