Tax deductions for early childhood educators
For early childhood educators, the tax rules turn on small details. Renewing your working with children check can be claimed, and so can a new check when you move from one job working with children to another. A flu shot cannot, even if your centre requires it, and neither can child care for your own children.
This page sets out what you can and cannot claim as an early childhood educator, teacher or assistant in long day care, a kindergarten or preschool, or outside school hours care in Australia, checked against the ATO's current rules and examples. The ATO does not have a separate guide for early childhood educators, so where a rule is not clear for your job, we say so. Where a rule has a catch in it, we have said so rather than left it out. It is written for employees. If you are an early childhood teacher in a school, such as in kindergarten or pre-primary, see our guide for teachers. If you care for people who are elderly, ill or disabled, see our guide for support workers. If you are a family day care educator running your own business from home, or you work on your own ABN, start with a business consultation.
Aevum Accounting is a CPA practice and registered tax agent in Balcatta, Perth, working with early childhood educators across Australia.
Approved by Ben De Rosa, CPA. Last checked against the ATO's guidance on 26 September 2026.
What early childhood educators 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
Renewing your working with children check to keep working.
A new check, if your recent income is from continuous child-related work.
Renewing a teacher registration you need, if you are an early childhood teacher.
A compulsory uniform with your centre's logo, if you buy it yourself.
Washing a compulsory uniform, even one your employer supplies.
Smocks, aprons, gloves and other protective items you buy yourself.
Sunscreen, a sunhat and sunglasses, if you work outdoors for prolonged periods.
A first aid course, if you are a designated first aid person.
Courses and training that improve the skills you need in your current job.
Driving between two jobs on the same day, or from your centre to another workplace.
The work share of your phone and internet.
Working from home, at 70 cents per hour for 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Union and professional association fees.
Not deductible, however it feels
A check when you are new to child-related work, or back after a long break.
A first aid qualification or registration you need before you can be employed.
Flu shots and other vaccinations, even when your centre requires them.
Child care for your own children, even so you can go to work.
Everyday clothes and shoes, even when your centre requires them.
Gifts for the children in your care.
The drive between home and your centre, even for early or late shifts.
The drive from home to a relief shift at one centre for the day.
Parking at or near your regular workplace.
Study for a new job, like a teacher's aide studying to become a teacher.
Commonwealth supported course fees, even paid upfront, and study loan repayments.
Calls and texts about picking up shifts, if you are a casual.
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 early childhood educators, it depends on what your employer pays for. Washing a supplied uniform and renewing your working with children check may not come near $1,000. A course or conference you pay for yourself can take you past it. Keep your receipts until you know which side of the line you are on.
You can claim the cost of a working with children check if you are an existing employee who needs to get or renew one to keep earning income in your position. You can also claim it as a new employee, if your recent income is from continuous employment in a child-related field. If you are new to child-related work, or coming back after a long break, you cannot claim the first check for your new job. If your employer pays for it or pays you back, there is nothing to claim.
In the ATO's examples, Freda, a teacher, has worked at a range of schools on temporary contracts. Her last contract ended in March, and in May she accepted one at a different school, which had to apply for a check for her before she could start. She can claim the application fee she paid, because although she is new to that school, she has been continuously employed in child-related work. Catriona once worked as a cleaner in a school, but has not worked in child-related employment for an extended period, working as an office cleaner instead, and her check has expired. When she takes a new cleaning job with a school, she cannot claim the fee, because she needs the check to re-enter child-related work as a new employee.
In WA, the current fee for a Working with Children Check is $87 for paid employees. The card expires after three years, so you renew it before then if you keep working with children. The ATO's page does not deal with police checks, so talk to us before you claim one.
If you are an early childhood teacher, you can claim renewing a teacher registration or accreditation you need for your work, but not the initial cost if you needed it before you could be employed.
Everyday clothing is private, even if your centre requires it and you only wear it at work. The ATO calls this conventional clothing.
You can claim a compulsory uniform you pay for, such as a shirt with your centre's logo, if your employer makes it compulsory through a strictly enforced policy and it is distinctive enough that a casual observer can tell who you work for. Shoes count only if they are an essential part of that uniform and your uniform policy specifies their colour, style and type. A non-compulsory uniform counts only if your employer has registered it on the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing.
Protective clothing counts too, if it protects you from a real and likely risk of illness or injury from your work, and the ATO's examples include smocks, aprons and gloves. Face masks and sanitiser can be claimed if your duties expose you to a risk of illness or injury that is not remote or negligible, and you would be expected to use them. You cannot claim the cost of items your employer provides or pays for.
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, even if your employer supplied the uniform. Dry cleaning and repairs are claimed at actual cost.
Sunscreen, sunhats and sunglasses can be claimed if your duties keep you outdoors in the sun for prolonged periods and you wear them for protection. The ATO accepts sunscreen with an AUST L number on the label. In its example, Jackie, a teacher who must attend a weekly outdoor school sports afternoon, can claim all three. If you also use the hat or sunglasses privately, claim the work share only.
The ATO's general rule is that you can claim the work share of tools and equipment you use to do your work, if you pay for them and are not paid back. 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 a number of identical or almost identical items, costing more than $300 together. Above that, you claim its decline in value over its effective life.
The closest the ATO comes is its guide for teachers, which does not mention early childhood. It allows teaching aids such as stickers, paints, stationery, posters and maps, but not items for students' own needs, or gifts. In its example, Wanda, a primary school teacher, cannot claim the small Christmas gift she buys each student. Because the ATO has not said how this applies in early childhood, talk to us before you claim resources for your room.
A first aid course is deductible if you are a designated first aid person and need the training to assist in emergencies at work, unless your employer pays for it or pays you back. It is not deductible if you had to have a first aid qualification before you could be employed. In the ATO's example, Leanne, a flight attendant, must hold a first aid qualification as she may need to give first aid in an emergency, and she can claim a first aid course. The ATO has not said how its rules apply to refreshers, such as CPR or anaphylaxis training, that you keep current when you are not the designated first aid person, so talk to us before you claim one.
Vaccinations are private, even if your employer requires them. In the ATO's example, Penelope, a personal carer whose employer requires a yearly flu vaccination, cannot claim it.
Child care for your own children is private too, including before and after school care. The ATO says it puts you in a position to earn your income, rather than being part of earning it.
Self-education is deductible if it maintains or improves the specific skills or knowledge you need in your current job, or is likely to increase your income from it. It is not if it only relates to your job in a general way, or lets you get a new job.
The ATO has no early childhood example, but two others show where the line sits. Bevan, an enrolled nurse, can claim a Bachelor of Nursing to become a registered nurse, because it improves the skills he needs as an enrolled nurse and is likely to increase his income. Wendy, a teacher's aide at a primary school, cannot claim a Bachelor of Education, because becoming a teacher would significantly change her work and the degree leads to a new job. Whether your Diploma or degree sits on Bevan's side or Wendy's depends on your role, so talk to us before you claim it.
You cannot claim fees your employer pays. Commonwealth supported fees are not deductible, whether paid upfront or through HECS-HELP. Fees for a full fee-paying place at a university or other higher education institution can be, including fees paid with a FEE-HELP loan. Repayments of study loans, including VET Student Loans, never are.
Seminars, conferences and training courses that maintain or increase the skills you need in your current job are deductible, including registration, fares and, if you stay away overnight, accommodation and meals, unless your employer pays. If the trip is mainly private, only direct costs such as registration count.
Union and professional association fees are deductible, and they sit outside the $1,000 standard deduction.
The trip between home and your regular workplace is private, even if you live a long way away, work early or late shifts, or make the trip more than once a day.
You can claim driving directly between two separate jobs on the same day, as long as neither is your home, from your regular workplace to another workplace, and from home straight to an alternative place of work, such as a training venue. A second centre you work at on a regular roster is a regular place of work too, so the trip from home to it is private.
In the ATO's example, Chloe, a substitute teacher sent to different schools, cannot claim her trips between home and work, because she only ever works at one location for the day. If you do relief shifts at one centre a day, your trips are private for the same reason.
There are narrow exceptions, such as carrying bulky equipment essential to your work when there is no secure storage for it at work and you do not carry it by choice, or having no fixed place of work and regularly working at more than one site before going home. If you think one applies, talk to us before you claim it.
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.
Parking at or near your regular workplace, and tolls between home and work, are private. Parking and tolls on work trips are deductible.
Phone, data and internet costs are deductible for the work-related use of your own phone or devices, but not a phone someone else supplies or bills someone else pays. Personal calls and texts are private, and so are calls and texts about whether there is work for you, if you are a casual. Keep your bills and a record of how you worked out your work use. A continuous 4-week record that represents your work use can be applied to the rest of the year, allowing for anyone else in your household who uses your home internet.
Working from home counts only if you do your employment duties there, not just minimal tasks such as occasionally checking emails, and it adds to your running costs. Planning or documentation you do at home for your centre can count if it meets that test. The fixed rate method is 70 cents per work hour for 2024-25 and 2025-26, with a record of your actual hours for the whole year, not an estimate, and at least one record for each running expense the rate includes. The rate covers energy, phone, internet, stationery and computer consumables, so you cannot claim those separately.
For the 2025-26 return you are lodging now: receipts for everything you claim, a record of your hours if you work from home, kilometre records or a logbook for car claims, and your income statement. 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. The ATO's current guidance is that if you use its per-load rates for laundry, you 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 working with children check?
Yes, if you need to get or renew it to keep earning income in your current job, or you start a new job and your recent income is from continuous child-related work. In the ATO's example, a teacher moving to a new school between temporary contracts can claim her new check. You cannot claim it if you are new to child-related work or coming back after a long break, or if your employer pays for it.
Can I claim my uniform and washing it?
A compulsory uniform that identifies your employer, such as a shirt with your centre's logo, yes, if you paid for it. You can claim washing it at $1 a load, or 50 cents for a mixed load, even if your employer supplied it. Everyday clothes and shoes are private, even when your centre requires them.
Can I claim things I buy for my room?
The ATO has not said how its rules apply in an early childhood room. Its guide for teachers allows teaching aids, such as stickers, paints and stationery, but not gifts for students or things students need for their own use. Talk to us before you claim resources you buy for your room.
Can I claim my first aid course?
Yes, if you are a designated first aid person who needs the training for emergencies at work, and your employer does not pay for it. Not if you needed the qualification before you could be employed. For a refresher you keep current when you are not the designated first aid person, talk to us before you claim it.
Is my Diploma or degree deductible?
It can be, if it maintains or improves the skills you need in your current job, or is likely to increase your income from it. Study that leads to a new job is not, like the ATO's example of a teacher's aide studying to become a teacher. The ATO has no early childhood example, so talk to us before you claim it. Commonwealth supported course fees and study loan repayments are never deductible.
How does the $1,000 standard deduction work for early childhood educators?
From the 2026-27 return, you get up to $1,000 automatically, with no receipts needed. Any work expenses you claim reduce it, including your working with children check and washing your uniform, 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 and professional association fees go on top either way.
Do you work with early childhood educators 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 early childhood educators yet, 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 teachers, support workers and nurses and midwives.