AUSTRALIA · TAX RETURNS · CHECKED 19 OCTOBER 2026
Tax deductions for cleaners and hostel housekeepers
Cleaning supplies you buy for your job and protective gloves can be relevant. Keep receipts, and distinguish travel between cleaning sites from your first and last commute.
Expenses to check for your work
Uniforms and protective clothing
Compulsory distinctive uniforms, registered optional uniforms, occupation-specific clothing or protection against a real work hazard. Ordinary black trousers, everyday shoes and office clothes do not qualify just because work requires them.
Read the official guidanceWashing eligible work clothing
Only washing, drying or cleaning clothing that itself qualifies. Keep a calculation of your actual eligible loads or cleaning bills; there is no automatic $150 claim.
Read the official guidanceTools, equipment and supplies
Claim the work-use portion. Equipment may need depreciation rather than a full purchase-price deduction. Enter only this year’s allowable amount, not the full price of an expensive laptop or tool set.
Read the official guidanceTravel while doing your job
Travel between workplaces or clients may qualify. Your ordinary journey from home to work normally does not. Car claims need the correct method and records; do not add petrol on top of a cents-per-kilometre claim.
Read the official guidanceWork phone and internet
Use bills and a reasonable work/private usage record. Include only work use and avoid claiming costs already included in a working-from-home fixed-rate claim.
Read the official guidanceWhat to leave out
Do not claim chemicals supplied by the employer, reimbursed purchases or an ordinary driver licence.
Keep the evidence with your calculation
Keep invoices and a note of the work purpose. Where an item also has private use, record how you calculated the work share. Do not duplicate an expense between jobs or include costs paid back to you.
Official guidance for these claims