Tax deductions for media professionals
In the media, a lot of the tax rules come down to how directly a cost connects to your work. A journalist who scans all the major Sydney papers each morning for her work can claim them. A newsreader who must dress professionally on air cannot claim her clothes, even with a clothing allowance.
This page sets out what you can and cannot claim as a journalist, reporter, news correspondent, camera operator, radio or television presenter, media assistant or other media 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 freelance or work on your own ABN, it does not cover you, and a business consultation is the better place to start. The ATO's performing artists guide also covers radio and television presenters, and it covers producers and film editors who use artistic rather than technical skills in a production. Our guide for performing artists is worth reading too.
Aevum Accounting is a CPA practice and registered tax agent in Balcatta, Perth, working with media professionals across Australia.
Approved by Ben De Rosa, CPA. Last checked against the ATO's guidance on 26 September 2026.
What media professionals 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 video camera, laptop or editing software you buy, for the work share.
A bag you need to carry your work laptop, phone and chargers.
Newspapers and magazines whose content is specific to your job.
Pay TV or streaming you must access for work, for the work content only.
The work share of your phone, data and internet.
Washing a compulsory logo uniform, even one your employer supplies.
Driving from home to meet a source and on to the office, or between two studios.
Parking, tolls and taxi fares on work trips, unless your employer pays you back.
Accommodation, meals and incidentals when work sends you away overnight.
Functions you must attend and work at, like a social pages reporter.
Overtime meals, but only with an overtime meal allowance under an award or agreement.
Courses and seminars that relate to your current job.
Union and professional association fees.
Not deductible, however it feels
Business clothes, even if you must look professional on air.
Hairdressing, cosmetics, and hair and skin care, even with a grooming allowance.
Prescription glasses and contact lenses, even to read a teleprompter.
The drive between home and your regular workplace, even if you live a long way away.
Parking at or near your regular workplace.
Newspapers you buy to keep up with trends in journalism.
Networking breakfasts and other functions where you do no work.
Food and drink in your normal working hours, even with a meal allowance.
Fines, even one you get while driving for work.
Study for a different job, such as a media assistant studying to become an investigative journalist.
Your drivers licence, even if the job requires one.
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 media professionals, it depends on what your employer supplies. If your camera, laptop and phone come from work, your own work expenses may sit well under $1,000. Equipment, a phone plan or newspapers you pay for yourself can take you past it. Keep your receipts until you know which side of the line you are on.
Your salary and wages go in your tax return, and so does every allowance on your income statement. An allowance does not give you a deduction by itself. One that pays you for an aspect of the job, such as a sub-editing allowance, is income with nothing to claim against it. One for certain expenses, such as meals when you travel for work, 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 example, Leonie, a television newsreader who must dress professionally on air, gets a $1,200 clothing allowance, shown on her income statement, and spends $1,840 on clothes to present in. She must declare the $1,200, but cannot claim the clothes, because they are conventional everyday clothing.
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.
Everyday clothing is private, even if your employer requires it and you only wear it at work. The ATO's own example is the business attire worn by media professionals.
You can claim what you pay to buy, hire, repair or replace protective clothing, occupation-specific clothing, a compulsory uniform your employer strictly and consistently enforces and that distinctly identifies you as working for them, or a non-compulsory uniform registered on the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing. Clothing your employer buys, repairs or replaces is not claimable.
In the ATO's example, Mike, a cameraman, must wear the logo polo shirts his television network provides, with plain black pants and enclosed shoes. He can claim laundering the shirts, but not the shirts themselves, which cost him nothing, or buying or cleaning the pants and shoes, which are conventional clothes.
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.
Hairdressing, 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. The ATO's performing artists guide, which also covers presenters, allows some costs for a role or costume, such as stage make-up, but treats other grooming as private too. If you think that applies to you, talk to us before you claim it.
Prescription glasses and contact lenses are private. In the ATO's example, Jo, a TV presenter who cannot read the teleprompter without contact lenses, still cannot claim them. Sunglasses, sunhats and sunscreen are claimable for their work use if you must work in the sun for extended periods and use them to protect yourself from a real and likely risk of illness or injury at work.
You can claim tools and equipment you use to do your job, such as a video camera, laptop and editing software, for their work-related use, but not items 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.
Repairs, insurance and hire of work equipment are deductible for the work share, unless your employer pays you back.
A bag or case is deductible to the extent you use it to carry work items, such as a laptop, documents or protective gear, if your job requires you to carry them. One costing $300 or less can be claimed in the year you buy it if you use it mainly for work, but only for the work share. In the ATO's example, Maria, a political reporter, uses a $565 bag only for her work laptop, phone and chargers, so she claims its decline in value over its effective life.
Newspapers, news services and magazines are generally private. You can claim one, or a professional publication, if there is a direct connection between your specific work duties and its content, and the content is specific to your job, not general.
In the ATO's examples, Fiona, a senior news journalist, can claim the major Sydney papers she scans each morning before work, because the research directly relates to her work. Judy, a gardening journalist, can claim the Saturday paper with its garden lift-out and her specialist gardening magazine, but not other daily papers she buys to keep up with trends in journalism.
Pay TV and streaming are generally private too, unless you are required to access them as part of your work duties, and then only for the content specific to earning your income.
Phone, data and internet costs are deductible for the work-related use of your own phone or devices. In the ATO's example, Sebastian uses his mobile to contact sources, his editor and colleagues. His itemised bill shows 240 of his 300 calls over 4 weeks, or 80%, are for work, so on a $69 a month plan over the 10.6 months he works, he claims $585.12.
Keep your bills and a record of how you worked out your work use. A phone your employer provides and pays for is not claimable, and calls to family and friends are private, even when you travel for work.
Working from home counts only for the extra running costs it causes. The fixed rate method is 70 cents per work hour for 2024-25 and 2025-26, with a record of your actual hours, and it covers your phone and internet, so you cannot also claim those separately. Coffee, tea and milk are private.
The trip between home and your regular workplace is private, even if you live a long way away.
You can claim driving directly between separate jobs on the same day, as long as neither is your home, such as from a newspaper job to a second job as a TV presenter. You can also claim driving to and from an alternative workplace for the same employer on the same day, such as to interview a source away from your workplace or between two TV studios, and from home to an alternative workplace, such as to meet a source before going on to the office.
The ATO allows narrow exceptions for the trip from home: carrying bulky equipment that is essential to your duties when there is no secure storage for it at work, and having shifting places of work, where you have no fixed workplace and continually travel from one work site to another. If you think one applies to you, talk to us before you claim it.
In the ATO's example, Ron, a journalist, drives his own car to sources, the library and training, and declares the $1,600 car allowance his employer pays at 50 cents a kilometre for 3,200 kilometres. He then claims $2,816 from his own trip records at the 2024-25 rate of 88 cents a kilometre, not the allowance amount.
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, tolls, and taxi, ride-share and public transport fares on work trips are deductible, unless your employer pays you back. Fines never are, even one you get while driving for work. Your drivers licence is not deductible either, to get or to renew, even if you must have it for your job.
You can claim accommodation, meals and incidentals when your work requires you to travel and sleep away from home overnight, but not meals on a same-day trip, or a room or meals your employer provides or pays you back for.
In the ATO's example, Beth, a foreign news correspondent, pays her own accommodation, meals and incidentals when she travels from Sydney to London for a three-day meeting. Her travel allowance is on her income statement, so she declares it and claims what she spent. Because she spent more than the ATO's reasonable amounts, she must keep all her receipts.
If you receive a travel allowance and your claim is within the reasonable amount, you do not need 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, not just the part above. From 2026-27, travel allowance expenses you claim count against the $1,000 standard deduction, and the reasonable amount exception still applies.
A social function is deductible only if you are required to attend and perform work duties there. In the ATO's examples, Edwina, a social pages reporter, can claim the cost of functions she must attend for her articles, because she works the entire time. Rachael cannot claim a quarterly breakfast held for media professionals to meet socially and network. Functions where you do no work are private, and so is getting to and from them. If you travel to a function you work at, talk to us before you claim it.
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. 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.
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 your current job. It is not deductible if it only relates to your job in a general way, or helps you get a new job or change jobs. In the ATO's example, Cyrus, a media assistant on a breakfast show, cannot claim study to become an investigative journalist, because it has no direct connection to his current role and would lead to a new job. If your study is deductible, you can claim costs such as course fees, textbooks and stationery, but not fees under HECS-HELP or study loan repayments.
Seminars, conferences and training courses that relate to your work are deductible, including fares and registration and, if you stay away overnight, accommodation and meals, unless your employer pays. In the ATO's example, Emilia, who reports on health emergencies, can claim a weekend seminar on emergency communications, because she pays for it and is not paid back.
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 pays you back. Union and professional association fees are deductible, and your income statement can be your proof.
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, a record of how you worked out your phone, internet and equipment work use, and a record of your hours if you work from home. 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 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 the clothes I wear on air?
Not if they are everyday clothes, even if you must dress professionally on air or get a clothing allowance. In the ATO's example, a newsreader must declare her $1,200 clothing allowance, but cannot claim the $1,840 she spends on clothes to present in. You can claim washing a compulsory uniform with your employer's logo, even one your employer supplies.
Can I claim hair and make-up for appearing on camera?
No. The ATO treats hairdressing, cosmetics, and hair and skin care products as private for media professionals, even with a grooming allowance or an employer who expects you to be well groomed. If a cost relates to a role or costume, talk to us before you claim it.
Can I claim newspapers, subscriptions and streaming services?
Only where the content is directly connected to your work duties and specific to your job. In the ATO's example, a gardening journalist can claim her specialist gardening magazine, but not other papers she buys to keep up with trends in journalism. Pay TV and streaming are claimable only if you are required to access them for your work, and only for the work-related content.
I freelance on my own ABN. Is this page for me?
No. This page is written for employees, so it does not cover you if you freelance, work as a contractor on your own ABN or run your own media business. A business consultation is the better place to start.
How does the $1,000 standard deduction work for media professionals?
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 phone and internet, 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 media professionals 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 media professionals yet, but one is 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.
This page is written for employees. If you freelance on your own ABN, The Consultant's Tax Trap: PSI and the ATO Traffic Light System (episode 42) covers the personal services income rules, which can apply when your income comes mainly from your own skills or efforts, and its companion is The Consultant's Tax Trap. For advice on your own business, book a business consultation.
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 performing artists, office workers and IT professionals.