Tax deductions for truck drivers
For truck drivers, a lot of the tax rules come down to where you sleep. Take your mandatory rest break in the cab and there is no accommodation to claim, but the shower at the truck stop can be. Get home the same day and your meals on the road are usually private.
This page sets out what you can and cannot claim as a local, short-haul or long-haul truck driver 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. Like the ATO's guide, it is written for employee truck drivers. It does not cover owner-drivers running their own business.
Aevum Accounting is a CPA practice and registered tax agent in Balcatta, Perth, working with truck drivers 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 on a long-haul run, when you take your mandatory rest break away from home.
A room on those runs, if you pay for it. Not if you sleep in the cab.
Showers, a sleeping bag and pillows, on your mandatory rest break away from home.
Overtime meals, but only with an overtime meal allowance under an award or agreement.
A compulsory uniform with your employer's logo, if you paid for it.
Steel-capped boots, hi-vis and other protective clothing, and washing them.
Sunglasses, including prescription sunglasses, if you work in the sun for extended periods.
The additional cost of a special licence or permit, such as a heavy vehicle permit.
Medicals your employer requires in your current job, such as an annual vision test.
Driving between two jobs, or two depots, on the same day.
Parking and tolls on work trips, unless your employer pays you back.
Logbooks, diaries and pens, and the work share of your phone.
Tools you use for the job, and washing your truck.
Union fees, and training that directly relates to your work as a truck driver.
Not deductible, however it feels
Accommodation when you sleep in your truck, or a room your employer provides.
Food on a normal shift, even with a meal allowance.
Meals on a same-day run, unless they are overtime meals.
The drive from home to your depot, even for early starts or a long commute.
Your drivers licence, including the renewal.
A pre-employment medical.
Jeans, t-shirts and running shoes, even if your employer requires them.
Music streaming, audiobooks and podcasts, even if they help with fatigue.
Seat covers for the truck.
Prescription glasses and contact lenses, other than prescription sunglasses.
Fines, including a fine for overloading your truck.
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 truck drivers, it depends on the driving you do. A local driver's boots and hi-vis laundry may not reach $1,000. A long-haul driver paying for meals, showers and rooms on the road 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, take your mandatory long rest break and sleep away from home. The ATO describes this as long-haul work, where a rest break of seven continuous hours or more is mandatory. It covers accommodation, meals, and incidentals such as a shower.
Sleep in your truck and there is no accommodation to claim, because you have not spent any money on it. The same goes for a room your employer provides or pays you back for. If you pay for a room yourself, you need written evidence, such as a receipt.
Showers on your rest break are claimable, and so are a sleeping bag and pillows you use on it, for the work-related use.
Meals on those runs are claimable if you pay for them. On a run where you get home the same day, they usually are not. In the ATO's example, a driver who carts cement from Sydney to Canberra and back in a day cannot claim his food and drink, because the trip is part of his normal working day. You can only claim one of each meal type in a 24-hour period, so not two dinners in one day.
A room your employer pays for does not rule out a meal claim. In the ATO's example, Joe rests at company-paid accommodation and buys his own dinner and breakfast. He can claim the meals because he had to sleep away from home for work, and he needs receipts for them because he had no travel allowance.
A travel allowance does not give you a deduction by itself. You claim what you actually spent, not the allowance.
If the allowance 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 separate reasonable amounts for truck drivers' meals, which apply wherever you travel in Australia. For 2025-26 they are $31.15 for breakfast, $35.55 for lunch and $61.30 for dinner, and new amounts are set each year. Each meal stands alone. You cannot pool them into a daily total or carry unspent breakfast money over to lunch, and some meals on the days you leave and get back may not count. Your work diary can show when you took your meal breaks.
For the 2025-26 return, if you receive a travel allowance and each meal you claim is within the reasonable amount, you do not need meal receipts. Claim more and you need written evidence for all your expenses, not just the part above. In the ATO's example, Glenn has a $40 daily allowance on his income statement, sleeps in his cab, and spends $25, $20 and $25 on meals, each under the reasonable amount, so he can claim the full $70 without having to keep all the receipts.
The truck driver amounts cover meals only. For 2025-26, accommodation and incidentals such as showers need written evidence, allowance or not. Even without receipts, you must be able to show you spent the money, for example with your work diary, proof you declared the allowance, and bank statements.
From 2026-27, travel allowance expenses you claim count against the $1,000 standard deduction. Keep your receipts.
Food and drink in your normal working hours is private, even with a meal allowance. Overtime meals are deductible only if you buy and eat the meal while working overtime, you receive an overtime meal allowance under an industrial law, award or agreement, it shows separately on your income statement, and you declare it as income. In the ATO's example, Carl gets a $20 award allowance on 30 overtime occasions and spends $15 each time, so he declares $600 and claims $450.
The reasonable amount is $38.65 for 2025-26 and $40 for 2026-27. For the 2025-26 return, if you spend 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. For 2026-27, keep your receipts.
An allowance for the conditions of the job, such as weekend and holiday shifts, is income with nothing to claim against it.
Your drivers licence is not deductible, even the renewal, and even though the job requires it. The additional cost of a special licence or condition you need for your work is. In the ATO's example, Raymond, a short-haul driver, pays $45 a year to renew his licence and $73 to apply for a heavy vehicle permit, and can claim only the $73.
You cannot claim the cost of getting your initial licence or permit to get a job, but you can claim the additional cost to renew a special licence or condition you need for your duties.
In WA the licence renewal fee is the same for every licence class, so renewing a heavy vehicle licence usually adds nothing you can claim.
A compulsory medical your employer requires in your current job, such as an annual vision test, is deductible. A pre-employment medical to show you are fit to drive is not.
Everyday clothes are private, even if your employer requires them. The ATO says truck drivers do not wear occupation-specific clothing, so a claim has to be for protective clothing, a compulsory uniform, or a non-compulsory uniform registered on the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing.
In the ATO's examples, James can claim his compulsory company shirts with an embroidered logo, but not the jeans or running shoes he wears. Laura unloads with a forklift at depots that require steel-capped boots, and can claim the boots. A hi-vis jacket is protective too.
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. In the ATO's example, Josh washes his hi-vis shirts separately twice a week for 48 weeks and claims $96.
Sunglasses, hats and sunscreen are deductible if you work in the sun for extended periods and use them against a real and likely risk of illness or injury, including prescription sunglasses. If you also wear them privately, claim the work share only. Ordinary prescription glasses and contact lenses are private.
The trip between home and your depot is private, even if you live a long way away or start early, and being on call does not change it. You can claim driving directly between two jobs on the same day, between depots for the same employer, and from home to a depot that is not your regular one to fill in for another driver. In the ATO's example, Avery can claim the drive from the bread factory to her second employer's depot, but not the drives from and to home.
Carrying your own tools only makes the commute deductible if they are essential and bulky, there is no secure storage at work, and you are not carrying them by choice.
A taxi, ride-share or public transport fare is deductible if you travel from your truck back to the depot because you have reached your maximum driving hours, unless your employer pays you back.
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.
Logbook. A 12-week logbook establishes your work-use percentage, and you keep evidence of the actual costs.
Parking and tolls on work trips are deductible, unless your employer pays you back. Parking at or near your regular workplace, and tolls between home and work, are not. Fines never are, including a fine for overloading your truck.
Phone and data costs are deductible for the work-related use of your own phone, worked out over a representative period, such as one month's itemised bill, and applied to the year. 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. Calls to family and friends are private, even when you are away.
Logbooks, diaries and pens you use for work are deductible. So are tools you use for the job, for the work share: outright if one costs $300 or less, you use it mainly for work, and it is not part of a set or group of identical items costing more than $300, and otherwise over its effective life. Tools your employer supplies are not.
Washing your truck is deductible, unless your employer reimburses you. Seat covers are private, and so are music streaming, audiobooks and podcasts, even if they help with fatigue.
Union fees are deductible. So is training that directly relates to your work as a truck driver and maintains or improves your skills, or is likely to increase your income from your current job. In the ATO's example, Frances claims a three-day heavy vehicle defensive driving course in Sydney, with her travel, meals, incidentals and accommodation. A course that only relates to your job in a general way, or is to get a different job, is not deductible, and neither are study loan repayments.
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, kilometre records or a logbook for car claims, and, for runs away from home, records that show 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 for every work-related expense you 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 accommodation if I sleep in my truck?
No. If you sleep in your truck, you have not spent any money on accommodation, so there is nothing to claim. You can still claim meals you pay for on the run, showers on your mandatory rest break, and a sleeping bag and pillows for the work-related use.
Do I need receipts for meals on the road?
For the 2025-26 return, not if you receive a travel allowance and each meal is within the ATO's truck driver amounts: $31.15 for breakfast, $35.55 for lunch and $61.30 for dinner. With no travel allowance, you need receipts for every meal. Accommodation and showers need written evidence either way.
Can I claim my licence and medicals?
Not your drivers licence, even the renewal. The additional cost of a special licence or permit you need for your duties, yes. In WA the licence renewal fee is the same for every licence class, so renewing a heavy vehicle licence usually adds nothing you can claim. A medical your employer requires in your current job is deductible. A pre-employment medical is not.
Can I claim the drive to the depot?
Usually not. Home to your regular depot is private, even with early starts or a long drive. You can claim driving between two jobs on the same day, between depots for the same employer, and from home to a different depot to fill in for another driver.
Can I claim my boots and hi-vis?
Yes, if you buy them yourself and they protect you from specific risks of injury at work, and you can claim washing them too. Jeans, t-shirts and running shoes are not claimable, even if your employer requires them.
How does the $1,000 standard deduction work for truck drivers?
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 truck drivers 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 truck drivers, but two are relevant to you. Your Route to a Better Refund: The Bus Driver's Guide (episode 17) is the closest, because bus drivers share several of the rules on this page. 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.
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 bus drivers, FIFO and mining workers and tradies.