Tax Tips for Engineers
PLAN your ways on how to manage these tax deductions...
Uniforms & Laundry
You can claim the cost of purchasing, washing and mending Uniforms that have your employer’s logo permanently attached.
You cannot claim a deduction for ordinary clothing. E.g. plain black pants, or black shoes.
Protective Clothing
You can claim the cost of purchasing, washing and mending protective wear.
Examples of protective wear:
Boots
Hard Hats
High Vis Clothing
You can also claim sun protection if you have to work outside in the sun for long periods of time, this may include:
Hats
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
Motor Vehicle Expenses
You can claim work-related travel e.g. travelling from your workplace to a site, travelling from one site to another, attending meetings that are outside your workplace, travelling to conferences or seminars that are directly related to your current role.
You can also claim car expenses for travelling from one job directly to a second job.
Home to work travel is not tax deductible.
Keep a diary tracking your kilometres. If you think you will go over 5,000kms keep a 12-week consecutive logbook and all receipts for any car expenses e.g. Rego & Insurance, Repairs, Fuel etc.
Tools & Equipment
If you have had to purchase tools or equipment for work and the expense is under $300, you can claim it outright. If it’s over $300, you’ll need to spread the expense over a few years.
Home Office
If you work from home, and you work from a designated office. Keep a one-month logbook to claim home office running expenses which include:
Electricity
Gas
Heating
Lighting
You can also claim:
Computers & Laptops (using the same rule as tools and equipment)
Mobile Phone use (Keep a one-month logbook)
Internet Use (Keep a one-month logbook)
Printers & Printer Ink
Stationery, Diaries etc.
Other Work-Related Expenses
You may also be able to claim the following expenses:
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Tax Agent Fees
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Income Protection Insurance
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Union Fees
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Registration Renewals
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Special Licenses to operate plant or equipment
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Medical exams for licence renewals
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Books or Publications that directly relate to improving your current role
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Stationery
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Accommodation & Overnight travel expenses if you’re required to travel overnight
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Mobile Phone and/or Internet (Keep a one-month logbook tracking your work calls and work use)
Need logbooks? All of our logbooks come with instructions and the calculations required to work out your work use percentage! You can find these inside your tax return.
Our Tax Blogs -
What can Engineers claim on their Tax Return?
Tax Returns - Claiming Home Office
Can I Claim Boots on my Tax Return?
Our Tax Videos -
