Sparky – Electrician Tax Deductions

You can claim a deduction for the cost of transporting bulky tools and equipment between home and work if:

  • you need to use them at work
  • there is no secure area for storing them at your workplace.

You can claim a deduction for the cost of trips between worksites on the same day – this includes travelling between:

  • different worksites for the same employer, or
  • separate places of employment.

You can claim the cost of trips between home and work if you regularly work at many sites each day before returning home.

You cannot claim a deduction for the cost of normal trips between home and work, even if:

  • you used a car because there was no public transport near where you worked
  • you worked outside normal business hours – for example, shift work or overtime
  • you were on call
  • you used your own vehicle to travel from home to work to collect a work vehicle.

You can claim a deduction for all expenses you incur if your vehicle is not a car – for example, a van or ute with a carrying capacity of more than one tonne. Those records may include receipts for:

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

If you use your vehicle for work and private use, you can use a diary to show how much of those expenses relate to business and personal use of the vehicle.

The cost you incur of car parking, bridge and road tolls, public transport including taxis and bus fares – when attending seminars, meetings or training.

You can claim a deduction for the full amount of your travel expenses where:

  • your employer requires you to travel to a worksite for a short period to perform work, and
  • it would be unreasonable to expect you to return home each day, which means you must stay at or near that worksite while performing that work.

Travel expenses include:

  • meals, accommodation and incidental expenses
  • car, air, bus, train, ferry and taxi fares between home and the site.

Overnight travel expenses you cannot claim

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

  • your employer reimburses your expenses
  • you get a job that results in you having to incur travel expenses because you choose not to relocate, or
  • you live away from your usual home to perform your work.

Keeping records of your overnight travel expenses

Expenses for which you do not have to keep records

You can claim a deduction for the full amount of your travel expenses without keeping all your records if:

  • you received a travel allowance that could reasonably be expected to cover your accommodation, meals or expenses incidental to the travel (a token amount paid as a travel allowance is not accepted as reasonably covering such costs), and
  • your travel expenses were equal to or less than the reasonable allowance amount we set.

Expenses for which you must keep records

If you are claiming more than the reasonable allowance amount, you must keep records to show the full amount you spent, not just the amount over the limit. These records include:

  • a travel diary if your travel is six or more nights in a row – that is, a document that shows the dates, places, times and duration of your activities and travel
  • invoices, receipts or other documents showing your travel expense details. If it is too difficult to get a receipt for a meal you purchased – for example, if you purchase a meal from a vending machine – you can keep diary entries as your proof of purchase.

If you do not receive a travel allowance, you must keep all of your records.

You can claim a deduction for protective equipment you use on the job that costs $300 or less – this includes equipment such as helmets, harnesses and goggles. You cannot claim a deduction for protective equipment costing more than $300 that is used over a longer period.

You can claim a deduction for the decline in value for protective equipment costing more than $300.

Examples of protective clothing include:

  • fire-resistant and sun-protection clothing
  • safety-coloured vests
  • rubber boots
  • steel-capped boots, gloves, overalls, heavy-duty shirts and trousers that are designed to protect the wearer from risk of injury at work.

Jeans, drill shirts and trousers that are not designed to protect the wearer are not considered to be protective clothing.

You can claim the decline in value on your tools and equipment. The amount you can claim depends on the amount of time you use them for work purposes – for example, if you own a power tool which you use half for business purposes and half for private purposes, you can claim only half the decline in value.

You can claim that part of the cost of a tool or piece of equipment, based on how much you used it for work purposes, if it either:

  • does not form part of a set and it cost $300 or less
  • forms part of a set and the set cost $300 or less.

You can also claim the work-related cost of repairing and insuring your tools and equipment

You can claim the interest charges you incurred on money you borrowed to purchase these items.

You can claim a deduction for sunglasses, sunhats and sunscreen items if you:

  • have to work in the sun for all or part of the day
  • use these items to protect yourself from the sun while at work.

You can claim a deduction for the cost you incur to run a home office (running costs) – if you maintained an office at home where you carried out tasks for work. These costs include cost of heating, cooling, lightings, cost of repairing your home office furniture and fittings.

You cannot claim a deduction for occupancy costs unless your office is considered as a place of business. These costs include rates, mortgages rent, or house insurance premiums. If your income is pay to you as an employee, you are generally not able to claim theses costs.

You can claim a deduction for overtime meal expenses if you:

  • received an overtime meal allowance under an industrial award for working overtime
  • purchased a meal when you worked overtime.

If your overtime meal allowance is already included in your normal salary or wage (not included as a separate allowance on your payment summary), you cannot claim a deduction for it.

Records you must keep

You must keep records of your work-related expenses, and these can be:

  • receipts, or other written evidence of your expenses, including receipts for depreciating assets you have purchased
  • diary entries you make to record your small expenses ($10 or less) totalling no more than $200, or expenses you cannot get any kind of evidence for, regardless of the amount
  • itemised phone accounts on which work-related calls can be identified
  • a diary you have created to work out how much you use your equipment, home office and phone for business purposes over a representative four-week period
  • payment summaries showing items such as overtime meal allowances.