June 27, 2026

What Tax Deductions Can You Claim in Australia in 2026?

Quick answer

For your 2026 Australian tax return, you may be able to claim tax deductions for expenses that directly relate to earning your income, including working-from-home costs, phone and internet, car expenses, tools, equipment, uniforms, professional fees, self-education, donations, tax agent fees and some investment or rental property expenses.

The ATO explains the broad categories of deductions you can claim, but the short version is this: a tax deduction is not a wish. You generally need to have paid the expense yourself, not been reimbursed, have a clear connection to earning income, and keep records.

Tiny detail. Apparently important.

GoTax makes this process easier by stepping you through common deduction areas online and having your return checked by registered tax agents before lodgement.

Start your 2026 tax return online with GoTax

What is a tax deduction?

A tax deduction reduces your taxable income. It does not come back to you dollar-for-dollar as a refund.

Simple example:

Item	Amount
Income	$70,000
Eligible tax deductions	$2,000
Taxable income before offsets	$68,000

That means the ATO calculates your tax on the lower taxable income amount.

So yes, deductions matter. But no, buying a $1,000 laptop does not magically give you a $1,000 refund. If only tax worked like that. Sadly, it was designed by adults.

If you want a rough idea of how income and deductions may affect your position, use the GoTax Australian Tax Calculator.

The basic rules for claiming tax deductions

Before you claim anything, run it through these tests.

Rule	Plain English
You paid for it	You personally incurred the cost
You were not reimbursed	Your employer or someone else did not pay you back
It relates to earning income	The expense has a clear work or income-producing connection
You have evidence	You can prove the claim if asked

The ATO’s guidance on records you need to keep is blunt enough: if you claim a deduction, you need records.

A receipt, invoice, logbook, diary, bank record, written calculation or other supporting document can be the difference between “good claim” and “nice try”.

If your record-keeping is already giving you heartburn, read the GoTax guide to EOFY tax records for 2026.

Important 2026 warning: the $1,000 deduction does not apply yet

There has been plenty of noise about the proposed $1,000 standard deduction for work-related expenses.

For your 2026 tax return, do not rely on it.

The proposed standard deduction is intended for the 2026–27 income year, generally lodged in 2027, and it is not the rule for the 2025–26 income year. The ATO’s 2026 guidance confirms that the proposed standard deduction for work-related expenses does not apply to the 2026 tax return.

So for your 2026 return:

keep your receipts
keep your records
claim actual eligible deductions
do not assume headlines are tax law

Headlines are excellent at attracting clicks and terrible at preparing tax returns.

For more detail, read the GoTax guide: $1,000 Tax Deduction 2026 Return?

Common tax deductions Australians may be able to claim

The deductions available depend on your job, income type, records and circumstances. Here are the big categories.

1. Working from home expenses

If you worked from home during the 2025–26 income year, you may be able to claim working-from-home expenses.

The ATO’s working from home fixed rate method uses 70 cents per hour for the 2025–26 income year.

There are generally two methods:

Method	Best for
Fixed rate method	People who want a simpler hourly claim
Actual cost method	People with stronger records and higher actual costs

The fixed rate method covers certain running costs, including energy, internet, phone and stationery.

The trap? If you use the fixed rate method, you cannot separately claim expenses already covered by that rate.

So no, you cannot claim the fixed rate and then throw your entire internet bill on top like a tax lasagne.

Related GoTax guide: What Is the 2026 Working From Home Fixed Rate?

2. Phone and internet expenses

If you use your personal phone or internet for work, you may be able to claim the work-related portion.

You need a reasonable basis for the split.

Good evidence may include:

a four-week usage diary
phone bills showing work calls
internet use records
a sensible calculation of work vs private use

If you use your phone 30% for work and 70% for personal use, the work-related claim is generally based on that work portion.

Claiming 100% because “sometimes my boss texts me” is not a method. It is optimism with a calculator.

Read the GoTax guide: Mobile Phone & Internet Tax Deductions

3. Car and vehicle expenses

You may be able to claim car expenses where the travel is directly connected to earning income.

Common deductible situations can include:

travelling between separate work locations
travelling from your regular workplace to a client site
carrying bulky tools or equipment where strict conditions are met
using your car for ABN or business income

Ordinary travel from home to work is usually private and not deductible.

For cars, the two common methods are:

Method	How it works
Cents per kilometre	Set rate per eligible work kilometre, capped at 5,000 km
Logbook method	Business-use percentage applied to actual car costs

The ATO’s cents per kilometre method uses 88 cents per kilometre for the 2025–26 income year.

The logbook method can produce a bigger deduction for high work-use vehicles, but only if the records are strong. A “vibe-based logbook” is not a logbook.

If your vehicle claim relates to ABN income, also read the GoTax ABN Tax Deductions Guide.

4. Tools, equipment and work items

You may be able to claim items you buy and use for work, including:

tools
computers
laptops
tablets
protective gear
work bags
technical equipment
stationery
software

The claim depends on the cost, how much you use the item for work, and whether it needs to be depreciated over time.

If an item is used partly for work and partly privately, only the work-related portion is deductible.

Example: if you buy a laptop and use it 60% for work and 40% privately, the deduction should generally be based on the work-related percentage.

This is exactly where GoTax helps. The system prompts you through common deduction categories so you do not have to remember every possible claim from memory.

Do your tax return online with GoTax

5. Uniforms, protective clothing and laundry

You may be able to claim clothing and laundry expenses where the clothing is:

occupation-specific
protective
a compulsory uniform
a distinctive uniform

The ATO’s guidance on clothing, laundry and dry-cleaning expenses confirms that normal clothing is usually not deductible, even if you wear it to work.

Black pants for hospitality? Usually private.

Steel-capped boots for a construction site? Much better chance.

Normal clothes do not become deductible because you wore them while being emotionally damaged by a staff meeting.

6. Self-education, training and seminars

You may be able to claim self-education expenses if the course directly relates to your current income-earning activities.

The ATO’s self-education expenses guidance says the education needs a sufficient connection to your current work activities.

Potential claims may include:

course fees
textbooks
stationery
conferences
professional seminars
work-related travel for training

The course needs to maintain or improve skills used in your current work. A course designed to get you a new job in a new field is usually a different problem.

Example:

Situation	Likely outcome
Nurse completes advanced clinical training related to current role	Potentially deductible
Office worker studies real estate to change careers	Usually not deductible against current employment income

7. Union fees and professional memberships

Union fees and professional association fees are commonly overlooked.

You may be able to claim:

union membership fees
professional body fees
registration fees
industry memberships
subscriptions directly connected to your work

This is one of those obvious deductions people forget because it is boring.

Boring still counts. The ATO does not require your deductions to be emotionally fulfilling.

8. Donations

You may be able to claim donations if the organisation is a deductible gift recipient and the donation meets the required conditions.

Generally:

the donation must be to an eligible deductible gift recipient
it must usually be $2 or more
you need evidence, usually a receipt

The ATO has guidance for deductions for donations, investments and managing your tax affairs, including gifts and donations.

Buying raffle tickets, fundraiser chocolates or charity auction items is different. That is usually not a donation for tax purposes because you received something in return.

Yes, even if the chocolate was terrible.

9. Tax agent fees and costs of managing tax affairs

You may be able to claim the cost of managing your tax affairs, including fees paid to a registered tax agent.

The ATO’s page on the cost of managing tax affairs confirms you can claim certain expenses you incur in managing your own tax affairs, including lodging through a registered agent.

This is one of the cleanest deductions, and yet people still miss it.

If you paid for tax return help last year, check whether it should be claimed in this year’s return.

GoTax makes this easy because the system steps you through common deduction areas instead of leaving you to remember tax labels like a human filing cabinet.

Start your 2026 GoTax return

10. Income protection insurance

You may be able to claim premiums for income protection insurance where the policy protects your income, such as salary and wages.

The ATO explains this in its guidance on income protection insurance.

The annoying part is that not every insurance policy is treated the same way. Policies covering capital, trauma, life insurance or total and permanent disability may not be deductible in the same way.

Translation: check the policy before claiming it. Insurance documents are boring, but so are ATO adjustments.

11. Investment expenses

If you earn investment income, you may be able to claim certain expenses related to that income.

This can include some expenses connected to:

interest income
dividends
managed funds
investment advice relating to existing investments
account-keeping fees
tax records for investment income

The key is connection. The expense must relate to earning assessable investment income, not just building wealth generally.

Investment deductions can get technical quickly. That is the polite way of saying “don’t freestyle this section”.

12. Rental property expenses

If you own a rental property, you may be able to claim expenses such as:

loan interest
council rates
insurance
property management fees
repairs
depreciation
capital works
advertising for tenants

But rental claims are not automatic.

Private use, mixed use, holiday homes, short-term accommodation, refinancing, redraws and repairs vs improvements can all change the result.

Rental properties are one of the ATO’s favourite places to find errors. Not because the ATO is bored. Because the errors are everywhere.

If your refund position depends heavily on deductions, read the GoTax Tax Refund 2026 page before you assume the refund is locked in.

13. ABN, contractor and sole trader deductions

If you earn income under an ABN, your deductions are usually handled differently from employee work-related deductions.

ABN holders may be able to claim business expenses directly related to earning ABN income, including:

tools and equipment
software
business phone and internet
advertising
vehicle expenses
home office expenses
insurance
accounting and bookkeeping costs
training related to business income
bank fees
startup costs

For ABN income, the real game is simple:

Income minus deductible business expenses equals taxable profit.

Miss expenses, and your profit goes up.

When profit goes up, tax usually follows along like an unwanted cousin.

Read the GoTax ABN Tax Deductions Guide if you are a contractor, freelancer, sole trader, rideshare driver or small business operator.

What can’t you claim?

Some claims fail because they are private, unsupported, reimbursed or just not connected closely enough to income.

Common non-deductible expenses include:

Expense	Why it is risky or not deductible
Normal clothes	Usually private, even if worn to work
Home-to-work travel	Usually private commuting
Reimbursed expenses	You did not bear the final cost
Private phone use	Not connected to earning income
Entertainment	Often private or specifically denied
Fines and penalties	Generally not deductible
Family holiday with “some emails”	Nice try
Guesswork claims	No records, no joy

The easiest way to avoid bad claims is to ask one basic question:

Would this expense exist because of my income-producing activity, and can I prove it?

If the answer is weak, the deduction is weak.

What records should you keep?

For most deductions, keep records showing:

what you bought
when you bought it
who you paid
how much you paid
how it relates to your income
how you calculated any work-related percentage

Useful records include:

receipts
invoices
bank statements
logbooks
diaries
payslips
payment summaries
employer letters
screenshots
app records
written calculations

Digital records are fine if they are clear and complete.

The ATO has a dedicated guide on records you need to keep, and GoTax has a practical version here: EOFY Tax Records 2026.

The obvious way to maximise deductions

Here is the simple version.

Do not start with “What can I get away with?”

Start with:

What did I spend?
Was it connected to earning income?
What part was work-related?
Can I prove it?
Did I include it in my return?

That is the whole game.

Most taxpayers do not miss deductions because the law is too hard. They miss deductions because their records are scattered across email, gloveboxes, screenshots, faded receipts and blind hope.

GoTax fixes the process.

You enter your income. You work through deduction prompts. Your return is checked by registered tax agents before lodgement.

Simple. Structured. Much better than panic-scrolling ATO pages at midnight.

Start your GoTax return online

Quick deduction checklist

Before you finalise your 2026 tax return, check whether you have:

working-from-home hours
phone and internet records
car kilometre or logbook records
tool and equipment receipts
software and subscription costs
union fees
professional membership fees
self-education costs
donation receipts
tax agent fees from last year
rental property expenses
investment expense records
ABN income and expenses
income protection insurance records
records for anything unusual

If you cannot prove it, pause before claiming it.

The ATO tends to be less charmed by “I’m pretty sure” than people expect.

Frequently asked questions

What tax deductions can I claim in 2026?

You may be able to claim expenses directly related to earning your income, including working-from-home costs, phone and internet, car expenses, uniforms, protective clothing, tools, equipment, self-education, union fees, professional memberships, donations, tax agent fees and some investment or rental property expenses.

Does the $1,000 standard deduction apply to my 2026 tax return?

No. The proposed $1,000 standard deduction does not apply to your 2026 tax return. Your 2026 return covers the year ending 30 June 2026, so the normal deduction and record-keeping rules still apply. For more detail, read the GoTax article on the $1,000 tax deduction and the 2026 return.

Do I need receipts for tax deductions?

Usually, yes. You need records to support your deduction claims. Depending on the type of claim, this may include receipts, invoices, logbooks, diary entries, bank records or written calculations.

Can I claim working from home expenses?

Yes, if you incurred eligible expenses while performing work from home. You may be able to use the fixed rate method or actual cost method, depending on your records and circumstances.

Can I claim my phone bill?

You may be able to claim the work-related portion of your phone bill if you use your phone for work and have a reasonable basis for calculating the work-use percentage. The GoTax Mobile Phone & Internet Tax Deductions guide explains this in more detail.

Can I claim my internet?

You may be able to claim the work-related portion of internet costs. If you use the working-from-home fixed rate method, internet is included in the rate and generally cannot be claimed separately.

Can I claim my car expenses?

You may be able to claim car expenses for work-related travel, but ordinary travel between home and work is usually private. Depending on the situation, you may use the cents per kilometre method or logbook method.

Can I claim uniforms?

You may be able to claim compulsory uniforms, occupation-specific clothing or protective clothing. Normal clothing is usually not deductible, even if you wear it to work.

Can I claim self-education expenses?

You may be able to claim self-education if the course directly relates to your current work and helps maintain or improve the skills used in that work.

Can I claim donations?

You may be able to claim donations of $2 or more if they were made to an eligible deductible gift recipient and you have the required evidence.

Can I claim tax agent fees?

Yes. Tax agent fees and some costs of managing tax affairs may be deductible. These are commonly missed, which is frankly rude to such a tidy little deduction.

Can ABN holders claim more deductions?

ABN holders may be able to claim business expenses directly related to earning ABN income. The rules are different from employee deductions, so business records matter. Read the GoTax ABN Tax Deductions Guide if you earn income under an ABN.

What happens if I claim something incorrectly?

The ATO may adjust your return, reduce your refund, charge interest or penalties, or ask for supporting records. If you are unsure, it is better to get it checked before lodgement.

Does GoTax check my deductions?

Yes. GoTax guides you through common deduction categories and your return is reviewed by registered tax agents before lodgement.

Start your 2026 tax return with GoTax

Tax deductions are not about being aggressive.

They are about being complete, accurate and organised.

GoTax helps you claim what you are entitled to, avoid common mistakes and finalise your tax return online without needing an accountant appointment, paperwork pile, or nervous breakdown over a shoebox of receipts.

Start your 2026 tax return online

About the Author

Written by Mark Walmsley, Chartered Accountant and Registered Tax Agent.

GoTax helps Australians complete their tax returns online, with returns checked by registered tax agents before lodgement.

General Information Disclaimer

This article provides general information only and does not take into account your personal circumstances. Tax law can change and deduction eligibility depends on your income, occupation, records and specific facts. If you are unsure, seek advice from a registered tax agent.

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