Tradies and Taxes: What You Can Actually Claim

Tax time can be a headache, especially when you’re busy on the tools. The upside? If you know what you’re entitled to, you can cut your taxable income and keep more of your hard-earned money. But with so many rules floating around, it’s easy to get confused about what’s fair game when it comes to tradies taxes, and what the ATO will reject.

Let’s break it down simply: here’s what tradies across Australia can actually claim when tax season rolls around.

Tools and Gear

If you’ve forked out for tools, equipment or gadgets you rely on for your trade, you’re usually in luck.

• Instant claims: If the tool (or set) costs under $300, you can generally claim the whole amount in the year you buy it.

• Bigger purchases: Over $300? You can still claim, but you’ll spread it out over the “working life” of the item.

Think drills, nail guns, pipe cutters, welding masks, even laptops or tablets you use for quotes and invoices. Repairs, servicing and insurance on those tools also count.

⚠️ Heads up: If your boss bought the tool or reimbursed you, you can’t claim it. It needs to come out of your own pocket.

Clothing and Safety Gear

The ATO is picky here. Not every item of clothing you wear to work makes the cut.

You can claim:

• Steel-capped boots, hard hats, safety goggles, hi-vis shirts, gloves and any other gear designed to keep you safe.

• Branded uniforms or compulsory workwear (if your company requires it and you pay for it yourself).

You can’t claim:

• Regular jeans, shorts, polos or sneakers — even if you only wear them on site.

Laundry tip: Washing or dry-cleaning protective gear and uniforms can also be claimed. Keep in mind you’ll need to show how you calculated the costs, especially if it’s over $150 for the year.

Getting Around as Tradies

Driving is part of the job for most tradies — whether it’s carting materials, bouncing between sites or picking up supplies. But not all trips qualify.

• Not claimable: Your everyday commute from home to your usual workplace.

• Claimable: Trips between sites, runs to the hardware store, or hauling bulky equipment you can’t leave at work.

You’ve got two ways to crunch the numbers:

1. Cents-per-kilometre method – keep track of your work kilometres and claim at the set rate (currently 88c per km, capped at 5,000km).

2. Logbook method – record your driving for at least 12 weeks and claim the work-related percentage of all car costs (fuel, rego, servicing, insurance).

Parking and tolls for work travel are fine to claim. Fines? Forget it — the ATO won’t touch them.

Upskilling and Courses

If you’re adding to your skills in your current trade, you can usually claim course fees, textbooks and even the travel costs to get there.

Examples:

• An electrician doing a refresher on new safety standards.

• A carpenter learning CAD software to help with quoting.

What you can’t claim: the cost of training that qualifies you for a completely new career. It has to connect to the work you’re already doing.

Other Deductions Tradies Often Miss

• Union fees and memberships to trade associations.

• Licence renewals (but not the cost of getting your first licence).

• Phone and internet — if you use your personal device for calls, emails or quotes, you can claim a work-related percentage.

• Home office costs if you handle admin or paperwork from home.

• First aid courses if you’re the designated first-aider on site.

• Insurance for your ute, van or tools, as long as it relates to your work.

What’s Off the Table

To save you time (and a potential audit), here are common no-go zones:

• Standard clothes like jeans, hoodies and sneakers.

• Your driver’s licence.

• Everyday lunches and coffees.

• Entertainment — shouting beers for the crew doesn’t count.

• Anything your employer reimbursed you for.

Staying Organised

Tax time for tradies doesn’t have to be a mad scramble.

• Keep receipts: paper or digital — the ATO accepts both.

• Use apps: the ATO’s myDeductions app, or even just photos on your phone, make life easier.

• Record small stuff: under $10 expenses can still be claimed, but note them down.

• Plan purchases: if you know you’ll need a new drill or boots soon, buying before June 30 lets you claim it that year.

Wrapping Up

Claiming tax deductions isn’t about gaming the system — it’s about making sure you’re not out of pocket for genuine work expenses. Stick to the golden rules: the expense must relate directly to your work, you must have paid for it yourself, and you need a record to back it up.

When in doubt, check the ATO’s tradie guide, speak to a financial adviser or chat with a tax agent. A little effort now can mean a bigger return later — and that’s cash better spent on your next set of tools, not left with the taxman.

Any advice is general in nature only and has been prepared without considering your needs, objectives or financial situation. Before acting on it, you should consider its appropriateness for you, having regard to those factors. Before making any decision about whether to acquire a financial product, you should obtain the Product Disclosure Statement.