Tradies can claim tools and equipment, vehicle and travel costs between job sites, protective clothing and its laundering, licences and tickets, phone and internet used for work, union and association fees, self-education related to the trade, and home office costs for genuine administrative work. The two biggest missed claims we see are the deduction for tools bought over several years and the correct method for vehicle expenses.
Tools and equipment
Anything you buy to do the job is deductible. Items under $300 can generally be claimed in full immediately. More expensive items are depreciated over their effective life — unless you are running through a business that qualifies for the instant asset write-off, in which case eligible assets can be written off immediately. That threshold has moved repeatedly in recent years, so confirm the current limit for the year you are claiming rather than relying on a figure you remember.
This includes repairs to tools, insurance on them, and the cost of a lockable toolbox or trailer used to secure them.
Vehicle and travel — where the real money is
This is the largest deduction for most tradies and the one most often handled badly. There are two methods.
Cents per kilometre is simpler: a set rate per work kilometre up to a capped number of kilometres per year, with no receipts required but a reasonable basis for the estimate. The rate is set by the ATO and updated annually.
The logbook method requires a 12-week logbook establishing your work-use percentage, which is then valid for five years. You claim that percentage of all running costs — fuel, insurance, registration, servicing, tyres, interest on the loan, and depreciation.
For a tradie doing serious kilometres in a ute, the logbook method is very often worth substantially more. The 12 weeks of effort is a genuinely good hourly rate.
The critical distinction: travel between job sites is deductible. Travel from home to a regular workplace is not — unless you are carrying bulky tools that cannot be securely stored at the site, which is a real and commonly available exception for tradies.
Clothing and laundry
Protective gear is deductible: steel caps, hi-vis, hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, and sun protection if you work outdoors. So is a uniform carrying your employer’s logo.
Ordinary clothing is not, even if you only wear it to work and it gets destroyed. Plain jeans and a plain shirt are not deductible.
Laundering deductible work clothing can be claimed at a reasonable rate per load without receipts, up to a modest annual threshold above which written evidence is needed.
Licences, tickets and training
White card, high-risk work licences, trade licences, renewals and the training courses required to maintain them are all deductible. So is self-education that maintains or improves skills in your current trade.
What is not deductible is training to move into a different occupation. A licence that lets you do your current job better qualifies; a course to change careers does not.
Phone, internet and home office
Claim the work-related percentage, and be prepared to justify it. A four-week representative record of usage is the standard basis. Claiming 100% of a personal phone is a reliable way to attract attention.
If you do quoting, invoicing and scheduling from home, home office running costs are deductible at a fixed rate per hour worked, provided you keep a record of hours. Note that as an employee you generally cannot claim occupancy costs like rent, mortgage interest or rates.
What the ATO knocks back
From returns we have seen amended: claiming the full purchase price of a ute used substantially for private travel; claiming ordinary work clothing; claiming home-to-work travel without the bulky tools exception applying; round-number estimates with no records behind them; and claiming tools that were reimbursed by an employer.
The pattern is consistent. The ATO is not looking for perfection, it is looking for a basis. A defensible claim with a record behind it survives review. A confident guess does not.
Quick answers
Up to $300 in total work-related expenses can be claimed without receipts, though you must still have actually incurred the cost and be able to explain how you calculated it. Laundry of deductible work clothing can be claimed at a set rate per load up to a modest annual threshold. Vehicle expenses under the cents-per-kilometre method do not require receipts but do require a reasonable basis for the kilometres claimed.
Generally no — home to a regular workplace is private travel. The main exception for tradies is where you carry bulky tools or equipment that cannot be securely stored at the worksite, in which case the trip can become deductible. Travel between job sites during the day is deductible.
You can claim the work-related portion of running costs, not the full purchase price outright unless the vehicle qualifies under an instant asset write-off through a business. Use either the cents-per-kilometre method or a 12-week logbook. The logbook method is usually worth more for tradies doing significant kilometres.
Yes. Protective clothing including steel-capped boots, hi-vis, hard hats, safety glasses and sun protection for outdoor work is deductible, as is laundering it. Ordinary clothing such as plain jeans is not deductible even if worn only for work.
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