Tax deductions for support workers and carers
Support work happens in clients' homes, in your car between them, and sometimes in an office or a care facility. The drive between two clients is usually deductible. The coffee you buy while you sit with a client is not.
This page sets out what you can and cannot claim as a community support worker or direct carer in Australia, checked against the ATO's own occupation guide. The ATO defines a direct carer as an employee who gives hands-on care to people who are elderly, ill or disabled. Where a rule has a catch in it, we have said so rather than left it out.
Aevum Accounting is a CPA practice and registered tax agent in Balcatta, Perth, working with support workers and carers 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
Driving between clients, or between two jobs on the same day.
Driving from home to clients and back, if you have no fixed place of work and continually travel between clients during the day.
Driving a client to the shops or an appointment, and parking on those trips.
A compulsory uniform with your employer's logo, if you pay for it.
Washing that uniform, at $1 a load, or 50 cents for a mixed load.
Non-slip shoes, gloves, face masks and sanitiser you buy yourself.
Equipment such as a stand assist tool. Outright at $300 or less, otherwise depreciated.
A first aid course, if you are the designated first aid person.
Study and training that improve the skills you use in your current role.
Phone, data and internet, for the work-related portion.
Union and professional association fees.
Overtime meals, but only with an overtime meal allowance under an award or agreement.
Working from home, at 70 cents per hour for 2024-25 and 2025-26, or actual costs.
Not deductible, however it feels
Jeans, t-shirts, running shoes, or black pants and shoes, even when required.
Coffee, lunch or movie tickets for you or a client on an outing.
Food and drink on a normal shift, even with a meal allowance.
Expenses on a sleepover shift, even with a sleepover allowance.
Meals when you stay overnight at a client's place.
Flu shots and vaccinations, even when your employer requires them.
Your drivers licence, even if the job requires one.
The drive between home and your regular workplace, even when you are on call.
Study for a different job, such as a Bachelor of Nursing.
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 written evidence for every dollar you claim, not just the part above $1,000.
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 support workers who drive between clients, the car claim is the one to watch. At 91 cents a kilometre for 2026-27, about 1,100 work kilometres adds up to $1,000 on its own. Keep your receipts until you know which side of the line you are on.
The drive between home and your regular workplace is private, even if you live a long way away, work early or weekend shifts, or are called in while on call.
You can claim driving directly between client visits for the same employer, between two separate jobs on the same day as long as neither is your home, and from home straight to an alternative workplace, such as a training centre for a work-related course.
If you have no fixed place of work and continually travel from one work site to another during the day, the ATO says you have shifting places of work, and the trips from home count too. In the ATO's example, Li, a community support worker, drives from home to different clients' homes each day and goes into the office a few days a week. She can claim the trips from home to her clients, between clients, from a client's home to the office, and even between home and the office.
In a general ATO example, a substitute teacher who works at one school each day cannot claim her trips between home and work, even though the school changes. If your day is usually one long shift at a single client's home, talk to us before you claim the drive there.
Carrying equipment only makes the trip between home and work deductible if it is essential, bulky enough that it can only be moved conveniently by car, and there is no secure storage at work. Taking it home by choice does not count.
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. The rate covers all your car expenses, and you still need to show how you worked out the kilometres.
Logbook. A 12-week logbook sets your work-use percentage, and you keep written evidence of all your car expenses.
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 is not deductible. Parking, tolls, taxis and ride-share on work trips are, unless your employer reimburses you.
In the ATO's example, Sharon, a community carer, drives her client from his home to the supermarket and back each week, and can claim the car expenses of helping him with his shopping. In another, Karyne, a disability support worker, can claim the parking she pays when she takes a client to physiotherapy.
You cannot claim what you spend on yourself or your client when you take them out, such as their coffee, lunch or movie ticket. In the ATO's examples, James, a personal care assistant, cannot claim the coffee and cake he buys himself when his client stops at a café, and Melanie, an activity worker, cannot claim her own costs when she joins a client at the cinema as part of her duties.
Everyday clothing, such as jeans, t-shirts and running shoes, is private, even if your employer requires it and you only wear it at work.
You can claim protective clothing, a compulsory uniform, or a non-compulsory uniform your employer has registered on the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing. In the ATO's example, Braeden can claim his compulsory purple polo shirt with the employer's logo, but not the black pants and closed black shoes he is also required to wear. Protective clothing includes non-slip shoes and aprons that protect your clothes. If your employer buys, repairs or replaces your clothing, you cannot claim those costs.
Laundry of 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 when your employer supplies the uniform. In the ATO's example, Sabrina, a home care worker, washes the logo polo shirts her employer provides twice a week in mixed loads for 40 weeks, and claims 2 × 40 × 50 cents, or $40.
Protective items you buy yourself, such as gloves, face masks, sanitiser, anti-bacterial spray and safety glasses, are deductible where they protect you from a real and likely risk of injury or illness at work, unless your employer supplies, pays for or reimburses them.
The work-related use of sunglasses, hats and sunscreen is deductible if you must work in the sun for extended periods and use them to protect yourself from a real risk at work, and that includes prescription sunglasses and anti-glare glasses. Other prescription glasses are private, and so are vaccinations, even when your employer requires them.
Equipment you buy for work is deductible for your work use. In the ATO's example, Hetty, a home care worker, claims the full $189 cost of a stand assist tool she takes from client to client, because it cost less than $300 and her employer did not reimburse her. An item you use mainly for work can be claimed outright at $300 or less, but the limit applies to a set, or to identical items, as a whole. Above it, you claim the decline in value over the item's effective life.
Phone, data and internet costs are deductible for the work-related portion. In the ATO's example, Isabella, a disability support worker, finds that 96 of her 240 calls over four weeks, or 40%, are for work, such as calls to clients and her supervisor, so she claims 40% of her $70 monthly plan for the 11 months she worked, or $308. You need your bills and a four-week record of your work use. For the 2025-26 return, if your work use is incidental and your claim is $50 or less, you do not need to keep bills, but you do need to be able to show how you worked out the claim.
Personal calls are private. So are calls and texts about whether there is work for you, if you are a casual.
Working from home is deductible when it adds to your running costs. In the ATO's example, Ronaldo, a community support worker, writes reports and answers emails in a room at home he only uses for work. He can claim the extra running costs, but not occupancy costs such as rent or mortgage interest, because his employer gives him a place to do that work. The fixed rate method is 70 cents per work hour for 2024-25 and 2025-26, and covers energy, phone, internet, stationery and computer consumables, so you cannot claim those separately. You need a record of every hour you actually work from home, not an estimate, and a bill for each type of expense the rate covers.
A first aid course is deductible if you are a designated first aid person and need the training to help in emergencies at work, unless your employer pays or reimburses it. If you had to hold the qualification before you could be employed, it is not deductible, because the ATO treats it as a cost of starting work. The ATO's guide for carers does not deal separately with CPR or refresher courses, so check with us before you claim one.
Training courses, seminars and conferences for your work are deductible, including fares and registration, plus accommodation and meals if you stay away overnight, unless your employer pays or reimburses them.
Study is deductible if, when you pay for it, it maintains or improves the skills you need in your current job, or is likely to increase your income from it. The ATO's examples include a Certificate IV in Individual Support for a disability support worker and a Certificate IV in Ageing Support for an aged care worker. A care assistant studying a Bachelor of Nursing to become a registered nurse cannot claim it, because it is not relevant to her current duties and leads to a new job. Study loan repayments are never deductible, and neither are fees you incur under HECS-HELP.
Your drivers licence is private, even if you must hold one. The extra cost of a special licence your duties need is deductible, unless your employer pays or reimburses it. In the ATO's example, Tina, an aged care worker who drives the bus on residents' day trips, can claim renewing her heavy vehicle permit.
The ATO's guide for carers does not mention police checks or worker screening checks, so talk to us before you claim one. Under the ATO's general rule, you can claim a working with children check you need to keep earning in your current job, but a new employee can only claim the first check if they come from continuous work in a child-related field.
Union and professional association fees are deductible, and your income statement is your evidence if the amount is on it.
Food and drink during a normal shift is not deductible, even if you receive a meal allowance. In the ATO's example, Phillip, a disability support worker, cannot claim the breakfast he buys between a sleepover shift and a day shift.
Overtime meals are deductible only if you buy and eat the meal while working overtime and receive an overtime meal allowance under an industrial law, award or agreement, shown separately on your income statement and included in your return. In the ATO's example, Jeff, a community support worker, declares his $13.29 allowance and claims the $19.50 he spent on his meal. The reasonable amount is $38.65 for 2025-26 and $40 for 2026-27. For the 2025-26 return, if you claim that much or less you do not need receipts, though you must be able to show how you worked out the claim. Claim more and you need receipts for all of it.
You cannot claim expenses during a sleepover shift, even with a sleepover allowance, because the allowance compensates you for the inconvenience of spending the night at a client's home, not for extra costs. Staying overnight at a client's place is not travelling for work, so meals there are not deductible. If you live at the facility where you work, board and lodging is private too.
Allowances on your income statement are income, and do not give you a deduction by themselves. In the ATO's examples, Bill declares his on-call allowance and has nothing to claim against it, while Beth declares her $265 uniform allowance and claims the $290 she spent on her compulsory uniform. A reimbursement is not income, and you cannot claim the expense it covers.
If you work for a public benevolent institution that is not a hospital, your salary packaging cap is $30,000 grossed up ($15,900 of pre-tax salary), plus $5,000 grossed up for meal entertainment ($2,650 of pre-tax salary).
From 1 April 2027, work-related items such as phones, laptops, protective clothing and tools of trade will no longer be exempt from FBT when salary packaged. This became law in June 2026.
For the 2025-26 return you are lodging now: receipts for everything you claim, kilometre records or a logbook for car claims, a record of your hours if you work from home, and your income statement. 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 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 for every work-related expense you 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 incurred the laundry expenses.
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 drive to my first client and home from my last?
If you have no fixed place of work and continually travel from client to client during the day, usually yes. If you have a regular workplace, such as an aged care home, the drive from home to there is private. If your day is one long shift at one client's home, talk to us first.
Can I claim my uniform?
Yes, if it is a compulsory uniform that identifies your employer, such as a logo polo shirt, and you paid for it. You can claim washing it even if your employer supplied it. Black pants, jeans and running shoes are not deductible.
Can I claim a coffee or lunch while I am out with a client?
No. Food, drink and entertainment for you or your client are private, even when joining in is part of your job. Driving a client to the shops or an appointment, and parking on those trips, can be claimed.
Can I claim my first aid course or police check?
A first aid course, only if you are the designated first aid person, need the training for emergencies at work, did not need the qualification to get the job, and your employer does not pay for or reimburse it. The ATO's guide for carers does not mention police checks or worker screening checks, so talk to us before you claim one.
How does the $1,000 standard deduction work for support workers and carers?
From the 2026-27 return, you get up to $1,000 automatically, with no receipts needed. Any work expenses you claim reduce it. If you drive a lot between clients, your car claim alone may pass $1,000, and then you claim as normal and keep records for every dollar. Union fees go on top either way.
Do you work with support workers and carers 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.
Three episodes of the Aevum Accounting Podcast 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.
If you salary package, listen to FBT Power Plays: The Boss-Level Guide to Salary Packaging (episode 30).
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 nurses and midwives, paramedics and teachers.