AUSTRALIA · TAX RETURNS · CHECKED 19 OCTOBER 2026
Tax deductions for teachers and education staff
Classroom resources and teaching equipment you fund yourself may qualify. An excursion expense needs a genuine employment connection; separate personal holiday costs.
Expenses to check for your work
Tools, 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 guidanceTraining for your current work
Training must maintain or improve skills used in your existing work, or be sufficiently connected to increasing income in it. Study that qualifies you for a new occupation is generally excluded.
Read the official guidanceUnion and professional fees
Eligible annual union or professional membership costs connected with your current work. Enter the amount you paid, excluding reimbursement.
Read the official guidanceWorking from home
Use an eligible actual-cost or fixed-rate method and the required hours/expense records. Do not duplicate phone, internet, energy or stationery already covered by your chosen method.
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 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 guidanceWhat to leave out
Your children’s education, private books and training for a new career are excluded.
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