Tax deductions for pilots
A pilot's job runs on paperwork: a current licence, an aviation medical and, for many, a passport. Renewing your licence while you work as a pilot is deductible. Getting your first one to land the job is not, and your passport never is.
This page sets out what you can and cannot claim as a pilot 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 pilots employed by airlines, charter and other operators. If you fly as a contractor through your own business, it does not cover you, and our business consultation is the place to start.
Aevum Accounting is a CPA practice and registered tax agent in Balcatta, Perth, working with pilots across Australia.
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
Meals, accommodation and incidentals when work keeps you away from home overnight.
Overtime meals, but only with an overtime meal allowance under an award or agreement.
Renewing your pilot licence while you work as a pilot.
Aviation medicals the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) requires, and assessments your employer requires.
Loss of licence insurance that pays regular amounts to replace lost earnings.
Visa application fees when your job takes you into a country.
A compulsory uniform you pay for, and washing and dry-cleaning it.
Sunglasses and anti-glare glasses that protect your eyes from glare while you fly.
Rehydrating moisturisers and hair conditioners, for the work share.
Luggage you buy and use for work.
The work share of your phone, and an overseas SIM card you need for work.
Driving from the airport to your employer's office or a training centre.
Courses and conferences linked to your current job, and union fees.
Not deductible, however it feels
Your first pilot licence, or a cadetship, to land a job as a pilot.
A pre-employment medical, even if the job offer depends on it.
Your drivers licence and passport, even if your employer requires them.
The drive between home and the airport, even when you are on call.
Travel, accommodation and meals between home and your usual sign-on point.
Parking at or near the airport you regularly work from.
Meals on a same-day return trip, even with a meal allowance.
Business attire, and clothes bought to look like a passenger when paxing.
Prescription glasses, contact lenses and grooming such as haircuts.
Watches, including chronographs, even if your uniform requires one.
Flight simulator games and phone holders for the aircraft.
Fines, including a fine from CASA.
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.
For pilots, it depends on what your employer covers. If it supplies your uniform and pays for your rooms and meals away, your own expenses may sit well under $1,000. Pay for your own medicals, licence renewals and overnight meals, and you can pass it. Keep your receipts until you know which side of the line you are on.
You can claim overnight travel expenses when your work requires you to travel and sleep away from home overnight: the accommodation, meals and incidentals you pay for yourself. A long mandatory rest break of seven hours or more, which you must take to sleep during your shift, can count as overnight too.
There is nothing to claim for a room or meals your employer provides, costs paid back to you, or a trip where you fly interstate and come home the same day.
Food and drink in your normal working hours is private, even with a meal allowance. In the ATO's example, Prashant flies from Sydney to Melbourne and back in one shift, with no overnight stay or long mandatory rest break, so the meal he buys at Melbourne airport is private.
Travel between home and your usual sign-on point is private too. In the ATO's example, Jason lives in Sydney and signs on in Newcastle, so he cannot claim travel, accommodation or meals between the two.
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.
Allowances are income, but an allowance does not give you a deduction by itself. A night-time operations or location allowance has nothing to claim against it, and neither does the duty allowance Archie gets in the ATO's example for loading and unloading freight. Wendy, in another, declares her laundry allowance and claims the cost of washing her compulsory uniform.
A travel allowance works the same way. You claim what you actually spent, not the allowance. If it is on your income statement, you declare it as income. If it is not on your income statement, does not exceed the ATO's reasonable amount, and you spent all of it on deductible travel costs, you can leave it out, but then you cannot claim those costs.
The ATO sets reasonable amounts each year. They vary with your salary and where you travel, and overseas they cover meals and incidentals only. Overseas accommodation always needs written evidence.
If you receive a travel allowance and claim no more than the reasonable amount, you do not need written evidence for your other travel expenses, but you must be able to show you spent the money and how you worked out your claim. Claim more and you need receipts for everything, not just the part above.
In the ATO's example, Jermaine is based at Perth airport and flies to Singapore and back 27 times a year, with a night each time in accommodation his employer provides. His allowance for meals and incidentals shows on his income statement as $3,645, or $135 a trip. He spends around $107 a trip, with each meal and his incidentals under the reasonable amounts, so he declares $3,645 and claims $2,889 without receipts.
Overseas trips of six or more nights in a row normally need a travel diary. Airline crew are excused from it if the allowance covers their travel as crew, the travel is mainly outside Australia, and the claim is no more than the allowance.
From 2026-27, travel allowance expenses you claim count against the $1,000 standard deduction, and the reasonable amount exception still applies.
The cost of your initial licence, permit, card or certificate to get a job is not deductible. The cost to get or renew one you need to keep doing your current job is. So you cannot claim your first pilot licence, but you can claim renewing it while you work as a pilot. The ATO's pilot guide does not name particular ratings, endorsements or cards, such as your aviation security identification card, so talk to us before you claim one. Your drivers licence and passport are private, even if your employer requires them, but visa application fees are generally claimable when you must enter a country for your job.
Medicals you need for the health assessment that goes with renewing your work licences are deductible, including the regular aviation medicals CASA requires and the travel to and from the medical practitioner. So are assessments your employer requires in your current job, such as the $150 annual hearing test Jackie claims in the ATO's example. A pre-employment medical is not, so Elisabeth, offered a pilot job, cannot claim the $185 eyesight test and $195 hearing test she must pass first. Vaccinations are private, even when they protect you at work.
Fines are never deductible, including a CASA fine for not recording all the required information in the flight technical log.
Loss of licence insurance is deductible where payments under the policy would be income, such as regular payments to replace lost earnings, but not where it pays a one-off amount, or your employer pays or reimburses the premium. In the ATO's example, Roy's employer pays him a $2,005 allowance towards a $1,950 policy with regular payments. He declares the $2,005 and claims the $1,950.
Everyday clothes are private, even if your employer requires them. For pilots, that includes general business attire, and clothes bought to look like a passenger when paxing, that is, travelling as a passenger for work. A compulsory uniform, strictly enforced and identifying you with your employer, is claimable if you pay for it. Jackson, in the ATO's example, cannot claim the logo uniform his employer provides, but could if he had paid for it himself without being reimbursed.
Prescription glasses and contact lenses are private. Sunglasses and anti-glare glasses, prescription sunglasses included, are claimable for their work use when you wear them to reduce a real and likely risk of illness or injury at work. Alicia, in the ATO's example, regularly flies during the day and can claim her sunglasses because they protect her eyes from the sun's glare. You can claim sunscreen only if you must work in the sun for extended periods. The ATO's pilot guide does not say when flying meets that test, so talk to us before you claim it.
Grooming is private, even if your employer expects you to be well groomed. The exception is rehydrating moisturisers and hair conditioners that combat the abnormal drying of skin and hair in a pressurised aircraft, for the work-related portion.
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 dry cleaning at its actual cost. In the ATO's examples, Callum claims $96 for washing his uniform as its own load twice a week for 48 weeks, and $400 for dry-cleaning his jacket four times a year.
Luggage you buy and use for work is deductible. If it costs $300 or less and you use it only for work, you claim the whole cost in the year you buy it. Above $300, you claim its decline in value over its effective life. If you also use it privately, claim only the work share. In the ATO's example, Anjelica claims the full $250 for luggage she uses only for overnight work travel.
Phone, data and internet costs are deductible for the work-related use of your own phone or devices, such as being contactable when on call. Keep your bills and a record of how you worked out your work use. In the ATO's example, Liam, an international pilot who must stay contactable, can claim a SIM card he buys overseas, split if he also calls his family on it.
Watches, chronographs included, are private even if your uniform requires one, and smart watches usually are too. Flight simulator games and phone holders for the aircraft are private as well. The ATO's pilot guide does not deal with headsets or tablets you buy yourself, so talk to us before you claim them.
The trip between home and your regular workplace is private, even if you live a long way away or work outside normal business hours. Being on call or on standby does not change that, even when your employer calls you in from home. Carrying equipment rarely helps, because items in your luggage are private and flight manuals, printed or electronic, are not bulky. In the ATO's example, Jonah's licence, medical certificate, torch, pens and passport are essential but not bulky, so his travel to Melbourne airport is private.
You can claim driving between workplaces on the same day, such as from the airport to a training centre, and from home directly to a training centre. In the ATO's example, Mary, a charter pilot, cannot claim the drive from home to the airport. When she has to go to her employer's office after her last flight of the month, she can claim the drive from the airport to the office and then home.
Parking at or near your regular workplace, and tolls between home and work, are private. Parking and tolls on work trips are deductible.
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.
Self-education is deductible if it directly relates to your job as a pilot and 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 job or change jobs.
In the ATO's examples, Marcus, a domestic pilot, pays for an interstate aircraft conversion course so he can fly his airline's international aircraft and earn more. He can claim it, plus his accommodation and meals while away overnight. Claire cannot claim her cadetship with a regional airline, because it will help her get a job as a pilot. Fees under HECS-HELP and study loan repayments are not deductible.
Seminars, conferences and training courses that relate to your work are deductible, including fares, registration and, if you stay away overnight, accommodation and meals. Union and professional association fees are deductible too, and your income statement can be your evidence if it shows them.
For the 2025-26 return you are lodging now: receipts for everything you claim, except where the allowance rules above say otherwise, your income statement, written evidence for overseas accommodation, kilometre records or a logbook for car claims, and records that show when you were away and what you spent. Two shortcuts still apply this year. If your total work-related expenses, other than car, travel 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 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 at the ATO's per-load rates, its current guidance is to keep a record of how many loads you washed, whether each was work-only or mixed, and evidence that you paid for it.
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 CASA medical?
Yes. The regular aviation medicals the Civil Aviation Safety Authority requires for your licence are deductible, and so is the travel to and from the medical practitioner. A pre-employment medical is not, even if the job depends on it.
Can I claim my pilot licence?
Not the cost of your first licence to land a job as a pilot. You can claim renewing it while you are working as a pilot. For ratings and endorsements, which the ATO's guide does not name, talk to us before you claim.
Can I claim meals on a layover?
Yes, if your work requires you to sleep away from home overnight, which can include a long mandatory rest break to sleep, and you pay for the meals yourself. Meals on a same-day return trip are private, even with a meal allowance.
Do I need receipts for meals on overseas trips?
Not if you receive a travel allowance and your meals and incidentals are within the ATO's reasonable amounts, although you must be able to show how you worked out your claim. Overseas accommodation always needs written evidence, and six or more nights in a row needs a travel diary unless you are airline crew claiming no more than your allowance.
Can I claim loss of licence insurance?
Yes, if payments under the policy would be income, such as regular payments to replace lost earnings. Not if it pays a one-off amount, or your employer pays or reimburses the premium. If your employer pays you an allowance for it, declare the allowance and claim what you paid.
How does the $1,000 standard deduction work for pilots?
From the 2026-27 return, you get up to $1,000 automatically, with no receipts needed. Any work expenses you claim reduce it, including travel allowance expenses, so it helps most when yours 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 pilots 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 pilots, but three 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.
For higher earners, Division 293: The Tax Bill That Arrives After You've Already Paid Your Tax (episode 55) explains the extra tax on super contributions, and The Medicare Levy, the Surcharge, and the Cover That Doesn't Count (episode 56) covers the Medicare levy surcharge.
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 flight attendants, FIFO and mining workers and Defence Force members.