Tax deductions for cleaners
For cleaners, a lot of the tax rules come down to who supplies the gear. Gloves, masks and a vacuum you pay for yourself can be claimed. The same items supplied by your employer cannot. And if you have no fixed workplace and clean at several sites each day, even the drive from home can be claimed.
This page sets out what you can and cannot claim as a cleaner in Australia, whether you clean offices, schools, hospitals, hotels, homes, industrial sites or windows, checked against the ATO's own occupation guide. Where a rule has a catch in it, we have said so rather than left it out. It is written for employees. If you work as a contractor on your own ABN or run a cleaning business, it does not cover you, and a business consultation is the better place to start.
Aevum Accounting is a CPA practice and registered tax agent in Balcatta, Perth, working with cleaners across Australia.
Approved by Ben De Rosa, CPA. Last checked against the ATO's guidance on 26 September 2026.
What cleaners can claim
Before any specific deduction, an expense has to clear all three of these. The ATO calls them the three golden rules.
1. You spent the money yourself and were not reimbursed. If your employer paid for it or paid you back, it is not your deduction.
2. The expense directly relates to earning your income. Not helpful to your career in general. Directly related to the job you are doing now.
3. You have a record to prove it. Usually a receipt.
If an expense was part work and part private, you can only claim the work-related portion. And you cannot claim at all if you have no records, or if someone else paid.
The short version, before the detail. These are the claims worth checking every year.
Usually deductible
A compulsory uniform with your employer's logo, if you pay for it.
Protective clothing such as cleaning aprons, smocks and non-slip shoes.
Washing your uniform, even if your employer supplied it.
Gloves, face masks, sanitiser and safety glasses you buy yourself.
A vacuum or steam cleaner you buy yourself, for the work share.
Cleaning products you buy only for work.
Driving from home if you have no fixed workplace and clean at several sites a day.
Driving with bulky equipment when there is no secure storage at work.
Driving between two jobs on the same day, and parking and tolls on work trips.
Overtime meals, but only with an overtime meal allowance under an award or agreement.
A working with children check you need to keep your current job.
A first aid course, if you are the designated first aid person.
The work share of your own phone.
Union fees, and training that relates to your cleaning work.
Not deductible, however it feels
Jeans, t-shirts, black pants and closed shoes, even if your employer requires them.
Prescription glasses and contact lenses.
The drive from home to your regular workplace, even for early or late shifts.
The drive to a full-day job site when your supervisor brings the equipment.
Food and drink on a normal shift, even with a meal allowance.
A toilet cleaning or cold work allowance. It is income, with nothing to claim against it.
Flu shots, tetanus boosters and other vaccinations.
Music streaming, audiobooks and podcasts you listen to while you clean.
Your drivers licence, even if the job requires it.
A working with children check for a new job, unless you come straight from child-related work.
Study for a different career, such as a nursing degree.
Fines, even ones you get while working.
Each of these is explained properly below.
From the 2026-27 income year, if you are an Australian resident earning a salary or wage, you get a standard deduction of up to $1,000 for work-related expenses. The ATO applies it automatically and you do not need receipts for it. It became law in June 2026 and starts with the 2026-27 return, which you lodge from July 2027. It does not apply to the 2025-26 return you are lodging now.
It is not a bonus on top of your normal claims. Any work-related expenses you claim reduce it dollar for dollar. Claim $600 of expenses and your standard deduction drops to $400, so you land on $1,000 either way, with more paperwork. If your work expenses are more than $1,000, you claim them the way you do now, and you need records for every dollar you claim, not just the part above $1,000. For most expenses, that means written evidence such as receipts.
Union fees and professional association memberships sit outside it. You can claim those on top of the full $1,000, as long as you keep the records. The same goes for deductions that are not work expenses, such as donations to charity, income protection premiums and your tax agent's fee.
For cleaners, it depends on what your employer supplies and how much you drive for work. If your employer supplies your uniform, gloves and equipment, washing your uniform may be all you claim. Buying your own vacuum, or driving between several sites each day, can take you past it. Keep your receipts until you know which side of the line you are on.
Everyday clothes, such as jeans, exercise pants and t-shirts, are private, even if your employer requires them and you only wear them at work. A claim has to be for protective clothing, occupation-specific clothing, a compulsory uniform, or a non-compulsory uniform your employer has registered on the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing. Clothing your employer provides or pays for is not claimable.
A compulsory uniform must be strictly and consistently enforced, and distinctly identify you as working for your employer. In the ATO's example, Mike, a cleaner at the local primary school, has to buy and wear shirts with the cleaning company's logo. He can claim the shirts, but not the black pants and closed shoes his employer's guidelines also require, because they are conventional clothes.
Protective clothing protects you from specific risks of injury or illness at work, such as cleaning aprons, non-slip shoes or smocks. Jeans, drill shirts, shorts, trousers, socks and closed shoes are not protective enough. In the ATO's example, Ryan, a construction cleaner, cannot claim the cotton pants and shirt he wears only at work, because they give only a small amount of protection. Once they rip and expose him to sharp materials, he starts wearing thick rubber gloves, a face mask, goggles and heavy-duty abrasion-resistant work trousers, which he can claim.
Washing claimable clothing can be worked out at $1 a load for work clothing only, or 50 cents a load if you mix in personal items. Dry cleaning and repairs are claimed at actual cost. Washing everyday clothes is private, even when they get stained at work. In the ATO's example, Jelani, a commercial office cleaner, gets her uniforms from her employer. She washes them twice a week for the 48 weeks she works, and claims $96.
Protective items such as safety glasses, gloves, face masks and sanitiser are deductible if they protect you from the real and likely risk of injury or illness at work, and so is repairing, replacing or cleaning them, unless your employer supplies them, pays for them or pays you back. In the ATO's example, Will, an airport cleaner, can claim the safety glasses, face mask and heavy-duty gloves he must wear to protect him from germs and chemicals when he cleans the restrooms, because his employer does not provide them.
Prescription glasses and contact lenses are private, even if you only wear them at work. Protective glasses, such as safety glasses, goggles and sunglasses, are claimable for their work use, if you wear them to reduce the real or likely risk of illness or injury at work. In the ATO's example, Ruby, a long-sighted cleaner, cannot claim her prescription glasses, but because she uses harsh cleaning chemicals, she can claim the safety glasses she wears over them.
Vaccinations against infectious diseases at work, such as a flu shot, are private. In the ATO's example, Roy cleans commercial building sites, often cuts himself on dirty building materials, and keeps his tetanus shots up to date. He cannot claim the cost of visiting his doctor for a tetanus booster.
You can claim tools and equipment you use to do your job as a cleaner, such as a vacuum or steam cleaner, for their work-related use, but not ones your employer or someone else supplies. An item costing $300 or less can be claimed in the year you buy it, if you use it mainly for work and it is not part of a set, or one of several identical or substantially identical items, costing more than $300 together. Above that, you claim its decline in value over its effective life.
In the ATO's example, Marlin, an employee domestic house cleaner, buys a $600 vacuum because his employer does not provide cleaning equipment. He takes it to clients' properties for work and uses it fortnightly at his family home, so he claims its decline in value for his work use only.
Repairs to your work tools and equipment, and insurance for them, are deductible for the work share.
Cleaning products you buy solely for your work are deductible, but not ones your employer provides or pays you back for. If you use a product for work and at home, you can only claim the work share.
Music streaming, CDs, audiobooks and podcasts are private, even if you listen to them while you clean.
The trip between home and your regular workplace is private, even if you live a long way away or work outside normal business hours. In the ATO's example, Keiran, a window cleaner, works on jobs that usually last one or several full days, and his supervisor transports the equipment, so his drives between home and each job site are private.
The ATO gives two limited cases where the trip between home and work can be claimed. One is shifting places of employment, where you have no fixed place of work and continually travel from one work site to another. In the ATO's example, Hyun, an office cleaner, works at several different locations each day and drives from home straight to his first job, so he can claim his car expenses between home and his workplaces.
The other is carrying equipment that is essential to your duties and so bulky it can only be moved conveniently by vehicle, when there is no secure storage for it at work. Carrying it by choice is not enough. In a separate ATO example, an industrial cleaner, also named Marlin, tows his pressure cleaners, walk-behind floor scrubber and other machinery to each job in an enclosed trailer. His employer has no secure storage, so he can claim his car expenses.
You can also claim driving directly between two separate jobs on the same day, as long as neither is your home, to and from another workplace for the same employer on the same day, and from home straight to an alternative workplace.
Cents per kilometre. 88 cents per kilometre for 2024-25 and 2025-26, and 91 cents for 2026-27, capped at 5,000 work kilometres per car per year. You still need a record of how you worked out the kilometres. The alternative is a 12-week logbook and your actual costs.
If your car is salary packaged under a novated lease, you cannot claim its running costs, because it is usually your employer that leases the car and makes it available to you. You can still claim work-related parking and tolls you pay yourself.
Parking at or near your regular workplace, and tolls between home and work, are private. Parking and tolls on work trips are deductible, unless your employer pays you back. In the ATO's example, Pam, a cleaner in a high-rise accommodation building in Melbourne, works at several locations each day and drives between jobs. She can claim the parking she pays for at the building, because her employer does not pay her back and she keeps each receipt. A taxi or ride-share from your regular workplace to another work location is deductible too. Fines never are.
Every allowance on your income statement goes in your return as income, but an allowance does not give you a deduction by itself. A toilet cleaning or cold work allowance compensates you for an unpleasant, special or dangerous part of the job, so there is nothing to claim against it. A laundry allowance, or one for a first aid certificate, can come with a deduction, but only for deductible expenses you actually have.
In the ATO's examples, Janelle, a cleaner in a meat processing plant, is paid an extra 55 cents an hour for cleaning areas kept below 0 degrees Celsius. She declares it, but cannot claim against it. Benji works for a commercial cleaning company that pays an $850 cleaning equipment allowance instead of supplying equipment. He declares the $850, and when his vacuum breaks down and he buys a new one for $1,200, he claims its decline in value.
An allowance that shows only on your payslips, such as an overtime meal or travel allowance, does not need declaring if you spend all of it on deductible expenses and do not claim them. The allowance must also be within the ATO's reasonable amount. A reimbursement of the exact amount you spent is not declared, and you cannot claim the expense.
Food, drink and snacks during your normal working hours are private, even if you receive a meal allowance. Overtime meals are deductible only if you buy and eat the meal while working overtime, you receive a separate overtime meal allowance under an industrial law, award or agreement, not one folded into your salary and wages, and you declare it as income, even if it shows only on your payslips. In the ATO's example, Carl, who cleans holiday homes over summer, gets a $20 overtime meal allowance under the award for each of 20 overtime shifts. He generally spends $15 on a meal, so he declares the $400 allowance and claims $300.
The reasonable amount is $38.65 for 2025-26 and $40 for 2026-27. If your claim is no more than that, you do not need receipts, but you must still be able to show what you spent and how you worked it out.
If your job needs a working with children check, the ATO's general guidance lets you claim its cost if you are an existing employee who needs to get or renew one to keep earning income in your job. A new employee can only claim an initial check if their recent income is from continuous employment in a child-related field. In the ATO's example, Catriona once cleaned at a school, then spent an extended period as an office cleaner. She cannot claim the application fee when she takes a new cleaning job with a school, because the time that has passed and her work in other fields break the connection to her income.
Neither the cleaners guide nor the ATO's working with children check page deals with police clearances, so talk to us before you claim one.
Your drivers licence is private, to get or to renew, even if the job requires it. A first aid course is deductible if you are a designated first aid person and need the training to assist in emergency work situations, unless your employer pays for it or pays you back.
Phone, data and internet costs are deductible for the work-related use of your own phone or devices, but not a phone your employer provides and pays for. In the ATO's example, Sebastian finds from his itemised account that 30 of his 300 calls over 4 weeks, or 10%, were for work, so he claims 10% of his $49 monthly plan for the 10.6 months he works, $51.94. Keep your bills and a record of how you worked out your work use.
Self-education is deductible if it directly relates to your current job as a cleaner and either maintains or improves the skills and knowledge you need for it, or is likely to increase your income from it. It is not deductible if it only relates to your job in a general way, or helps you get a new job. In the ATO's example, Trung, a part-time cleaner studying a Bachelor of Nursing, cannot claim his study costs, because he is working to support his study, not studying to build his skills or income as a cleaner. HECS-HELP fees and study loan repayments are not deductible.
Seminars, conferences and training courses that relate to your work as a cleaner are deductible, including fares and, if you must stay away overnight, accommodation and meals, unless your employer pays. In the ATO's example, Gary's employer does not pay him back, so he claims the full $650 for a workshop on effective systems for keeping homes clean and healthy.
Union and professional association fees are deductible, and if they are on your income statement, that is your evidence.
For the 2025-26 return you are lodging now: receipts for everything you claim, your income statement and payslips, which show your allowances, kilometre records or a logbook for car claims, and a record of how you worked out your phone work use. Two shortcuts still apply this year. If your total work-related expenses, other than car, travel allowance and overtime meal allowance claims, are $300 or less, you can claim them without receipts. If your laundry claim, not counting dry cleaning, is $150 or less, you do not need written evidence of it. In both cases you still have to be able to show that you spent the money and how you worked out the figure.
From 2026-27, those shortcuts end for everyone. If you claim more than the standard deduction, you need written evidence, such as receipts, for your work-related expenses. Some exceptions continue, including travel allowance and overtime meal allowance claims within the ATO's reasonable amounts, and car claims at cents per kilometre. For those, you still need records that show how you worked out the claim. For laundry worked out at the ATO's per-load rates, its current guidance is to keep a record of how many loads you washed, whether each was a work-only or mixed load, and evidence that you paid for the laundry.
The ATO's myDeductions tool in their app is a reasonable way to keep records through the year. We cannot access it directly, but you can export from it and send it to us. A shared Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox folder works just as well.
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Can I claim my uniform and shoes?
A compulsory uniform with your employer's logo, yes, if you paid for it, and washing it too. Protective clothing, such as cleaning aprons, smocks and non-slip shoes, can be claimed as well. Jeans, t-shirts, black pants and closed shoes are private, even if your employer requires them.
Can I claim my vacuum or steam cleaner?
Yes, if you buy it yourself, but not one your employer supplies. One costing $300 or less that you use mainly for work can be claimed in the year you buy it. Above $300, you claim its decline in value over its effective life. Either way, if you also use it at home, you can only claim the work share.
Can I claim the drive between cleaning jobs?
Driving directly between two jobs, or between workplaces for the same employer, on the same day, yes. You can claim the drive from home too if you have no fixed workplace and clean at several sites each day, or you must carry essential, bulky equipment and there is no secure storage for it at work. Otherwise, the drive from home to your regular workplace is private.
I clean on my own ABN. Is this page for me?
Only for work you do as an employee. This page does not cover work you do as a contractor on your own ABN, or running your own cleaning business. For that, a business consultation is the better place to start.
How does the $1,000 standard deduction work for cleaners?
From the 2026-27 return, you get up to $1,000 automatically, with no receipts needed. Any work expenses you claim reduce it, including car expenses and the decline in value of a vacuum, so it helps most when your work expenses are under $1,000. If they are over, claim them as normal and keep records for every dollar. Your union fees go on top either way.
Do you work with cleaners outside Perth?
Yes. We are based in Balcatta and we work with clients across Australia, by email or online appointment. See our pricing page for how the two options differ, or book an appointment.
There is no episode of the Aevum Accounting Podcast just for cleaners, but two are relevant to you. The Thousand Dollar Deduction (episode 54) explains the new standard deduction, and its written companion is The $1,000 Instant Tax Deduction: What It's Actually Worth. Your Tax Return, Your Way: Email or Appointment (episode 51) helps you choose how to lodge with us, and its companion is Email or Appointment.
We are a CPA practice and registered tax agent, TPB registration 26302591. You can check our credentials, meet the team, or book an appointment.
Also worth reading: tax accountants Perth for how we work with individuals, and our guides for hospitality workers, security guards and support workers.