Tax deductions for gaming attendants and croupiers
For gaming attendants and croupiers, a lot of the tax rules come down to the dress code and the roster. A logo shirt you must wear counts as a uniform, so you can claim washing it, even when your employer supplies it. The black pants and black shoes you wear with it are everyday clothes, so they stay private. So does the drive to work, even for a weekend or early morning shift.
This page sets out what you can and cannot claim as a gaming attendant, croupier or other gaming employee in Australia, 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 on your own ABN or run your own business, start with a business consultation instead.
Aevum Accounting is a CPA practice and registered tax agent in Balcatta, Perth, working with gaming attendants and croupiers across Australia.
Approved by Ben De Rosa, CPA. Last checked against the ATO's guidance on 26 September 2026.
What gaming attendants and croupiers 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 buy it yourself.
Washing a compulsory uniform, even one your employer supplies.
Renewing your gaming or casino licence while you are working.
A first aid course, if you are the designated first aid person.
Gloves, face masks and sanitiser you pay for to protect yourself at work.
Overtime meals, but only with an overtime meal allowance under an award or agreement.
Driving between two jobs, or two casinos for the same employer, on the same day.
Parking and tolls on work trips, such as to a training venue.
Accommodation and meals when work sends you away overnight.
The work share of your phone and internet.
Courses and seminars that relate to your current job.
Union and professional association fees.
Not deductible, however it feels
Black pants, white shirts and plain black shoes, even when your employer requires them.
Haircuts, make-up, cosmetics and skin care, even with a grooming allowance.
Prescription glasses and contact lenses.
Your first gaming or casino licence, needed to get the job.
Food and drink on a normal shift, even a late night or early morning one.
The drive between home and work, even for weekend or early morning shifts.
Parking at the casino or venue where you regularly work.
A split shift or night shift allowance. It is income, with nothing to claim against it.
Phone use that is only talking to your manager about shifts or checking payslips.
Paid TV, streaming and music subscriptions, and watches.
Study for a different career, such as a hotel management degree.
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 gaming attendants and croupiers, it depends on what your employer supplies. If your uniform is provided and laundered for you, your own work expenses may sit well under $1,000. A TAFE course you pay for yourself, or overnight travel for training, can take you past it. Keep your receipts until you know which side of the line you are on.
Every allowance on your income statement goes in your tax return as income, but an allowance does not give you a deduction by itself. A night shift or split shift allowance compensates you for the conditions of the job, so there is nothing to claim against it. An allowance for certain expenses, such as overtime meals, or for special skills, such as a first aid certificate, can come with a deduction, but only for deductible expenses you actually have.
In the ATO's examples, Lydia, a gaming attendant at a club, gets $3.60 each time she works a split shift. She declares the total shown on her income statement, but cannot claim a deduction, because she has no deductible expenses. The allowance compensates her for the inconvenience. Bronwyn, a gaming attendant at a casino, gets 3 full uniforms with the casino's name and logo from her employer, and $10 a week to cover laundering them. She declares the allowance and claims the cost of laundering her uniform.
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. If your employer pays you back the exact amount you spent, that is a reimbursement. You do not declare it and you cannot claim the expense.
Cash tips are income too. The ATO lists cash tips and gratuities as work-related income you need to declare.
Everyday clothing is private, even if your employer requires it and you only wear it at work. The ATO's own example is the white button-up shirt and black pants worn by gaming attendants.
You can claim what you pay to buy, hire, repair or replace a compulsory uniform, one your employer strictly and consistently enforces and that distinctly identifies you as working for them, or a non-compulsory uniform your employer has registered on the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing. The ATO's gaming guide also lists occupation-specific clothing, like a chef's chequered pants. The ATO's newer general guidance on clothing adds protective clothing, which protects you from a real and likely risk of illness or injury at work. The gaming guide gives no example of it, so talk to us before you claim it. Clothing your employer buys, repairs or replaces is not claimable.
In the ATO's example, Mike's employer provides shirts embroidered with its logo, and also requires black pants and black shoes. He cannot claim the pants or shoes, because they are conventional clothing, or the shirts, because his employer provides them at no cost. He can claim washing the shirts, because they carry the logo and he must wear them at work.
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, and that includes a uniform your employer supplies. Dry-cleaning and repairs are claimed at actual cost. In the ATO's example, Ramesh, a gaming attendant at a casino, leaves his logo shirt and vest in a hamper after each shift for a professional cleaning company, and washes his own black pants at home. He cannot claim laundering or repairing any of these clothes, because the pants are conventional clothing and his employer launders and maintains the shirt and vest.
Haircuts, cosmetics, and hair and skin care products are private, even if you get a grooming allowance or your employer expects you to be well groomed. So are prescription glasses and contact lenses. Protective items, such as gloves, face masks or sanitiser, are claimable if they protect you from a real and likely risk of illness or injury at work, such as working close to customers, unless your employer supplies them, pays for them or pays you back.
You cannot claim the cost of getting your first licence, regulatory permit, card or certificate to get a job. The ATO's own example is a gaming licence. If you need one to get your job, you cannot claim the initial cost, but you can claim the cost of renewing it during the period you are working. The same goes for renewing any other licence, permit, card or certificate you need to keep doing your work, unless your employer pays for it or pays you back.
In WA, anyone employed at the casino in a casino-related activity must be licensed, in a key or non-key position. Under the Gaming and Wagering Commission's fee schedule from 1 January 2026, a non-key casino employee licence costs $343 to apply for, and a key or non-key licence costs $151 to renew. On the ATO's rule, the application to start the job is private, and the renewal is deductible. If you are not sure whether a cost is for getting the job or keeping it, talk to us before you claim it.
From 2026-27, a licence renewal is not on the ATO's list of work expenses that sit outside the $1,000 standard deduction, so talk to us before you claim it on top of the $1,000.
A first aid course is deductible if you are a designated first aid person and need it to assist in emergency work situations, unless your employer pays for it or reimburses you.
Food, drink and snacks during your normal working hours are private, even if you receive a meal allowance. In the ATO's example, Hong, a croupier at a casino that operates 24 hours a day, works the late night or early morning shift. She cannot claim the coffee and sandwich or hot meal she buys on her meal break.
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, a croupier, works overtime 30 times in the year and gets a $20 overtime meal allowance under the award each time, shown as $600 on his income statement. He generally buys and eats a $15 meal during the overtime, so he declares $600 and claims $450.
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.
The trip between home and your regular workplace is private, even if you live a long way away or work weekend or early morning shifts.
You can claim driving directly between two separate jobs on the same day, as long as neither is your home. In the ATO's example, Clare travels straight from her lunchtime shift at a cafe to the casino where she works as a croupier. She can claim that trip, but not the trips between home and either job. You can also claim driving between two workplaces for the same employer on the same day, such as between 2 casinos, and from home straight to an alternative workplace, such as your employer's head office for a meeting.
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, unless your employer pays you back. In the ATO's example, Hyun cannot claim parking at the casino where he works, but he can claim the parking he pays for at a training facility when he drives there from the casino for mandatory training. A taxi, ride-share or public transport fare is deductible when you travel for work, such as from your regular workplace to another work location, unless your employer pays you back.
If your work requires you to travel and sleep away from home overnight, such as interstate for a training course, you can claim the accommodation, meals and incidentals you pay for, but not what your employer provides or pays you back for. With a travel allowance, a claim within the ATO's reasonable amount needs no receipts, except for overseas accommodation, but you must still be able to show you spent the money. Claim more and you need receipts for all of it. From 2026-27, travel allowance expenses you claim count against the $1,000 standard deduction, and the reasonable amount exception still applies.
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, or costs your employer pays you back for. Calls to family and friends are private.
Using your phone just to sort out your shifts does not count. The ATO says a casual cannot claim calls or texts when an employer asks them to work, or when they check on work availability. Its gaming attendant summary also rules out phone and internet use where the only work use is talking to your manager about your shifts, or checking your payslips.
In the ATO's example, Suni uses her home computer and internet to access her workplace portal and read emails from management. Her diary shows 10% of her internet time is for work, so she claims $120 of her $1,200 yearly bill. If anyone else used the connection, she would have to reduce her claim. Keep your bills and a record of how you worked out your work use.
Paid television, streaming and music subscriptions are private, and so are watches and child care.
Self-education is deductible if it directly relates to your current job and either maintains or improves the skills and knowledge you need for your current duties, or is likely to increase your income from that job. 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 examples, Sebastian, a gaming attendant at a casino, enrols in a Certificate IV in Hospitality specialising in gaming at TAFE, and his employer tells him he will be promoted to gaming supervisor when he finishes. He can claim the course, because it will lead to an increase in income from his current job. Ramesh, who works the roulette and blackjack tables at a casino that is also a hotel, cannot claim his Bachelor of Business (Hotel Management), because it has no connection with his current job. Study loan repayments are never deductible, and neither are fees under HECS-HELP.
Seminars, conferences and training courses that relate to your work are deductible, including fares, registration and, if you stay overnight, accommodation and meals, unless your employer pays. In the ATO's example, Priya, a gaming attendant at an RSL club, can claim a seminar about customer engagement, because it maintains or improves her knowledge for her current job.
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 and internet 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 washing it?
You can claim a compulsory uniform with your employer's logo if you buy it yourself, and washing it, even if your employer supplies it. If your employer has it professionally cleaned for you, there is nothing to claim. Black pants, white shirts and plain black shoes are everyday clothes, so they are private, even when your employer requires them.
Can I claim my gaming or casino licence?
Not the first one you need to get the job. The ATO uses a gaming licence as its example: you cannot claim the initial cost, but you can claim the cost of renewing it during the period you are working. If your employer pays for it or pays you back, there is nothing to claim.
Can I claim meals on a late night or overtime shift?
Not on a normal shift, even a late night or early morning one. Overtime meals are the exception, if you buy and eat the meal while working overtime and get an overtime meal allowance under an award or agreement, which you declare as income.
Can I claim the drive to work?
Usually not. The trip between home and your regular workplace is private, even for weekend or early morning shifts. You can claim driving directly between two jobs on the same day, between two casinos for the same employer on the same day, or from home straight to an alternative workplace, such as head office for a meeting.
Do I have to declare my allowances and tips?
Yes. Every allowance on your income statement goes in your return as income, including a split shift or night shift allowance, with nothing to claim against those two. The ATO also lists cash tips and gratuities as income you need to declare. If you are not sure whether your tips are already in your pay, talk to us before you lodge.
How does the $1,000 standard deduction work for gaming attendants and croupiers?
From the 2026-27 return, you get up to $1,000 automatically, with no receipts needed. Any work expenses you claim reduce it, including 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 fees go on top either way.
Do you work with gaming attendants and croupiers 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 gaming attendants and croupiers 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 hospitality workers, security guards and retail workers.