Work clothes you can and can’t claim on your tax return

If you have to spend your own money as part of your employment, you might be entitled to a tax deduction.

However, when you make a claim it’s important to remember the tax office’s three golden rules.

One, you must have spent the money yourself and weren’t reimbursed – so you cannot claim that taxi fare the boss paid you back for!

Two, it must be directly related to earning your income – so unless you are an outdoor worker and you wear your new sunglasses on the job, you won’t be able to claim them. Lastly, keep your receipts – you need a record to prove it!

Work clothing

Some workers can claim a deduction for work clothing that they purchased themselves. But there are a few conditions. Your claim must be for either:

• a unique and distinctive uniform (e.g., it has your employers logo embroidered or screen printed on it, is a compulsory uniform or is registered with AusIndustry);
• occupation-specific items that you would not wear outside your workplace (think chef’s chequered pants and hat);
• protective clothing to avoid injury from your work activities (e.g., Hi-Vis Shirts with logo, steel-capped boots for some tradies or non-slip shoes for a nurse).

One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to claim a deduction for plain clothing they bought for work without the company logo.

This means you can’t claim things like a business suit or black pants and white shirts, even if your employer makes you wear them or you only wear them for work unless you have the logo embroidered or printed on the garments.

And remember, for claims under $150 you are not required to keep records but you do need to be able to show how you calculated your claim.

Cleaning of work clothing

The ATO considers a reasonable basis for working out your claim for laundry (washing, drying and ironing) is $1 per load if it is made up of only work-related clothing, or 50c per load if you include other laundry items.

Dry-cleaning expenses

You can claim the cost of dry-cleaning work-related clothing. If your total claim for work-related expenses exceeds $300 – not including car, meal allowance, award transport payments allowance and travel allowance expenses – you must have written evidence to substantiate your claim.

Remember to keep your receipts to prove your claims.

More Info…

For more information check out the ATO website