Most tradies leave money on the table at tax time — not through dodgy claims, but by forgetting legitimate ones or not having the receipt to back them up. Here is a plain-English checklist of what you can usually claim, and the record-keeping that turns "I think I bought that" into a solid deduction.
The deductions tradies commonly miss
- Tools & equipment — claimed in full under the write-off threshold, or depreciated if pricier.
- Vehicle & travel — the work-use portion of fuel, servicing, rego, insurance and depreciation (logbook or cents-per-km).
- Phone & internet — the work-use percentage of your bills.
- Protective clothing & workwear — hi-vis, steel caps, sun protection, branded uniforms.
- Licences & registrations — trade licences, white card, association or union fees.
- Insurance — public liability, tool insurance, income protection.
- Training — courses and tickets that relate to your current trade.
- Accounting & software — your accountant's fees and the business tools you pay for.
- Home office — a portion of costs if you do your quoting and admin from home.
The bit that trips everyone up: records
A deduction is only as good as the proof behind it. The ATO can ask you to substantiate any claim, so the difference between claiming confidently and claiming nervously is your records:
- Keep every receipt and tax invoice — digitally, so they don't fade in the ute.
- Log work-use apportioning — a vehicle logbook, a reasonable phone-use percentage.
- Make sure you actually paid and weren't reimbursed for it.
Tradies who track expenses through the year claim more and stress less than the ones digging through a shoebox the night before their return is due.
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Open the free toolFrequently asked questions
Common deductions include tools and equipment, protective clothing and workwear, vehicle and travel for work, phone and internet (work-use portion), union or association fees, licences and registrations, insurance, training related to your trade, and accounting fees. The rule is it must be a genuine work expense, you must have paid for it yourself, and you must have a record.
Yes. Tools and equipment used for work are deductible. Items under the instant asset write-off threshold can generally be claimed in full the year you buy them; more expensive gear is depreciated over time. Keep the receipts either way — no receipt, no claim.
You can claim the work-related portion of running a vehicle — fuel, servicing, rego, insurance and depreciation — using either the cents-per-kilometre method or a logbook. A logbook usually gives a bigger, more accurate claim if you do serious work kilometres, but you have to keep it properly.
You generally need a receipt or tax invoice for each expense, records of any work-use apportioning (like a vehicle logbook or phone-use estimate), and you need to have paid for it yourself and not been reimbursed. The ATO can ask you to substantiate claims, so keep everything — digitally is easiest.
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