A Tax Guide for Teachers
This guide provides a general overview of tax deductions and other financial considerations for you as a teachers, based on information from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and our professional expertise.
To claim a deduction for any work-related expense, it must meet the following three conditions:
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You must have spent the money yourself and were not reimbursed.
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The expense must directly relate to you earning your income.
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You must have a record, like a receipt, to prove the expense.
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The ATO's myDeductions tool in their app is a great way to keep track of your receipts and expenses throughout the year. While we don't have direct access to this app, you can easily export your records and email them to us, or bring them to your appointment. A shared Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox folder is also a great way to store your records throughout the year for easy access.
You cannot claim the cost of normal trips between home and work. This includes travel for parent-teacher interviews or other work outside normal hours.
You can claim the cost of using a car you own when you drive:
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Directly between separate jobs on the same day, like from your teaching job to a second job as a tutor.
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To and from an alternative workplace for the same employer, such as driving from your regular school to another school to moderate exams.
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From your home directly to an alternative workplace, like travelling to a venue for a work-related training course.
A special rule allows you to claim travel between home and work if you have to carry bulky tools or equipment that are essential for your job, and there is no secure place to store them at work.
Methods for Claiming Car Expenses:
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Cents per Kilometre Method: You can claim a set rate for each business kilometre, up to a maximum of 5,000 km per car per year. This rate covers all your running costs, including fuel, insurance, and servicing. You cannot claim those costs separately. For many teachers, this is the most straightforward method.
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Logbook Method: This method allows you to claim the business-use percentage of all your actual car running costs, including petrol, insurance, servicing, and depreciation. You must keep a logbook for a continuous 12-week period to determine your work-related percentage.
Important: If you have a leased or salary-packaged car, you cannot claim these car expenses, as the costs are already claimed through your employer.
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As a teacher, it is understood that a significant amount of your work, such as marking student assignments, preparing lessons, and creating teaching materials, is often completed outside of school hours at home. You can claim a deduction for the additional running expenses you incur as a result of this work.
The most common way to calculate this deduction is by using the revised fixed-rate method.
Fixed-Rate Method
This method allows you to claim a set rate for every hour you work from home. To use it, you must be incurring additional running expenses as a result of working from home.
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What the rate covers: This rate covers your total additional expenses for energy (electricity and gas), internet, mobile and home phone usage, and stationery and computer consumables. You cannot claim these costs separately if you use this method.
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What you can claim separately: In addition to the hourly rate, you can make separate claims for the decline in value (depreciation) of work-related equipment, such as computers, printers, and office furniture.
Record-Keeping is Essential To claim using this method, the ATO requires you to keep:
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A record of all the hours you worked from home for the entire income year (e.g., a diary, timesheet, or roster).
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Evidence that you paid for the expenses covered by the rate. This means keeping at least one bill for your electricity, internet, or phone, or a receipt for stationery.
What you still cannot claim: You cannot claim:
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Coffee, tea, milk, and other general household items, even if your employer provides these at work.
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Costs that relate to your children's education, such as online learning subscriptions or their equipment.
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The decline in value of items provided to you by your employer, such as a laptop or phone.
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Any items or expenses your employer pays for or reimburses you for.
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You can claim expenses for self-education, conferences, seminars, and training courses if the study directly relates to your current role as a teacher and either:
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Maintains or improves the skills and knowledge you need for your duties.
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Is likely to result in an increase in your income from your current employment.
A good example is a course on working with children with special learning needs. You cannot claim a course that is only generally related or designed to get you a new job.
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You can claim the cost of buying, hiring, repairing, or cleaning a compulsory uniform that is explicitly required by your school's policy. You cannot claim the cost of conventional clothing, such as business attire or sportswear, even if you are required to wear it for work.
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Excursions, school trips, and camps.
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Teaching aids.
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Union and professional association fees, Teachers Registration.
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Technical or professional publications.
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First aid courses, if you are the designated first aid officer.
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Phone and internet costs, with records showing your work-related use.
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As a WA Department of Education employee, you have access to salary packaging, which is administered by Smartsalary. This allows you to pay for certain expenses with your pre-tax salary, which can reduce your taxable income and increase your take-home pay.
Unlike some other sectors, teachers are generally limited to packaging items such as a novated car lease or other specific benefits like superannuation contributions and portable electronic devices.
A novated lease is a type of fringe benefit. It will appear as a "Reportable Fringe Benefit Amount" on your income statement. This amount is added to your taxable income to calculate your repayment income for government programs, which can have significant implications for your compulsory HELP (HECS) debt repayments.
We strongly recommend getting in contact to find out more about your specific circumstances. We can help you understand the full impact and ensure any salary packaging is structured effectively for you.
You can call us on (08) 6117 9219, or send us an email at reception@aevumaccounting.com.au
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