Tax Tips for Apprentices

Boost your tax refund with these tax deductions...

Uniforms & Protective Clothing
You can claim the cost of purchasing, washing and mending Uniforms that have your employer’s logo permanently attached. 

You can also claim the cost of purchasing Protective Clothing (e.g. Hard hats, Steel cap boots, concrete boots, high vis wear etc.).

You cannot claim a deduction for ordinary clothing. E.g. plain denim jeans, plain shirts. 

Motor Vehicle Expenses
If you’re travelling from site to site or store to store, or you’re required to run errands to collect supplies. You can claim the kilometres travelled.  

Home to work travel is not tax deductible unless you are carrying heavy or bulky tools or equipment that can’t be left in a safe place at work (e.g. Ladders, large tool boxes etc.) 

Keep a diary tracking your kilometres. 

Tools & Equipment
If you have had to purchase tools or equipment for work and the expense is under $300, you can claim it outright. If it’s over $300, you’ll need to spread the expense over a few years. 

Self Education

You can claim the cost of self education that is directly related to you earning your income and will improve your skills within your current role. 

This may include:
Course fees (Not HECS/HELP loans)
Text books
Stationery
Travel to your course and home
Study portion of Tools & Equipment (laptops, computers etc.)
Internet Use (Keep a one month logbook)
Home Office (Keep a one month logbook tracking your hours)

Other Work-Related Expenses
You may also be able to claim the following expenses:

• Tax Agent Fees

• Books or Publications that directly relate to improving your current role 

• Mobile Phone and/or Internet (Keep a one-month logbook tracking your work calls and work use) 

Need logbooks? All of our logbooks come with instructions and the calculations required to work out your work use percentage! You can find these inside your tax return. 

Our Tax Blogs -