Tax Deductions for Tradies

Tradies Tax Deduction - what can you claim?

At Gotax, we have completed tax returns for all types of Tradies, from Plumbers to Electricians to Builders. We’ve seen them all.

We know you’d rather be at the pub with your mates than doing your tax return and trust us, we want to get you back to the pub faster than you can say “Tools Down”.

One question Tradies ask us on a regular basis is “What can I claim?” – well, have no fear! We provide a list of the common tax deductions Tradies can claim below, so have a read then go back to the pub and tell all your friends!

• Tools and Equipment
  Things to note about claiming back tools:
  It’s a common misconception that if you spend money on tools for work you get it all back when you do your tax return, unfortunately, this isn’t the case (see our blog $1,000 on tools for more info on this)

When it comes to claiming back tools, if you have spent $300 or less on tools or equipment you can claim the full amount back on your tax return.
If you have spent over $300 on tools or equipment you can only claim back a percentage of the amount spent over several years depending on the item (Annoying right? Unfortunately, that’s the law).

• Protective Clothing
  Protective clothing may include things like Steel cap boots, hard hats, high vis wear etc.

• Sun Protection
  If you’re out in the sun for long periods of time at work you can claim back the cost of any sun hats, sunscreen or sunglasses you’ve needed to purchase.

• Work clothing
  If your boss makes you wear a shirt or shorts with the company’s logo on it, you can claim back the cost of purchasing your workwear.

• Laundry/Cleaning
  Yep, if you have workwear like the above example you can claim back the cost of washing your clothes! You gotta get something good out of doing the laundry right?

• Mobile Phone
  If you need to make any calls or send texts for work then you can claim back a percentage of your monthly bill. Alternatively, you can go through your bill and highlight how many calls and texts were made for work and claim the following amounts:

.75c for work calls made from your mobile
.10c for work texts sent from your mobile 

• Car Expenses

There may be occasions where you need to drive down to the tool shop or run some errands while at work or, you may need to transport large bulky tools from home to work. If this is something you need to do, then you can claim the KM’s travelled or the car expenses (depending on how many KM’s travelled – our e-tax system will help you work out which is the best option to claim)

• Training/Courses
  If your boss has sent you off to do some extra training e.g. excavation course/licence specifically related to your job you can claim back the cost of the course or workshop. Just remember that you had to pay for this yourself and not be reimbursed by your boss.

Before you claim back a tax deduction:

The ATO have 3 golden rules for claiming back tax deductions:

1. You need to spend the money yourself and not be reimbursed

2. It must be directly related to earning your income

3. You need to have records to prove it e.g. receipts and logbooks

Declaring all your income

You may do some work on the weekends or holidays to earn a little bit of extra money. If you do this and take cash for the jobs, make sure you declare this as income in your tax return. The cost for not declaring all income received and evading tax may heavily outweigh the cash jobs you did throughout the year. Keep it honest Tradies.

Keep all records to tax deductions

As mentioned above, if you do spend the money and you want to claim it back, you need to keep the records to prove it!

We suggest taking a photo of any receipts or invoices, email them to yourself and save in a ‘TAX’ folder. You can check out other awesome ways to keep your records here.

Use the GoTax Deduction Grabber App to record your receipts.  Just scan the QR code to take you to the download area.

Why is Gotax Online the perfect option for Tradies?

Well, you may be doing the tax return yourself, but at Gotax Online, we know that you don’t have much time on your hands and we know that doing your tax is confusing. With our state-of-the-art etax software we have taken these issues into consideration, you will be guided through a simple and easy process while completing your etax return and if you have any questions (which you won’t - we are just that good) our Live Chat is available to help you out.

So, whether you are on the worksite, at the pub or at home in your undies strumming your Guitar Hero guitar – we’ve got your back. We’d hate to keep you away from the fun stuff for too long.

Looking for cashbook software that's simple and easy to handle all your tradies records...

ecashbooks will take care of you.

Tradies! Are you claiming all of your tax deductions?

Never miss a tax deduction again and lodge your tax return with ease!

Confidently complete your tax return online with GoTax, we will review and check it before we lodge for you!

Quick Income Tax Return $10, Income Tax Return with the lot $49

and if it’s your first time, you can do it for FREE!

 Note that the information provided is general in nature and subject to change, please contact one of our professionals who can evaluate your circumstances and provide more accurate advice to your current situation.