Tradies leave more money on the table than almost any other line of work — usually because the receipts vanish, not because the claims aren't real. Here's the honest list.
Tools and equipment
Anything under $300 you can claim in full in the year you buy it. Over $300, you claim the drop in value over its life. Repairs, insurance on the tools and the interest on a tool finance deal are all claimable too.
The ute
You've got two ways: cents per kilometre (capped, no receipts needed, but you still need to show how you worked out the kays) or the logbook method, which claims a percentage of everything — fuel, rego, insurance, servicing, depreciation. For most full-time tradies the logbook wins by a long way.
Travel between two work sites in a day is deductible. The drive from home to your first site generally isn't, unless you're carrying bulky equipment that can't be left on site.
Clothing
- In: hi-vis, steel caps, hard hats, sunscreen and sunnies if you work outdoors, branded uniforms.
- Out: ordinary jeans, plain t-shirts, regular boots — even if you only wear them at work.
The ones people forget
- Licences, tickets and renewals (white card, high-risk work licences)
- Union or association fees
- Phone and internet — the work-use portion
- Home office hours if you do quotes and invoicing at the kitchen table
- Income protection insurance premiums
- Your accountant's fee from last year
What gets you audited
Round numbers with no receipts, 100% work use on a phone, and a ute logbook that starts on 1 July and stops on 3 July. Claim everything you're entitled to and nothing you're not — that's the whole game.
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Fees quoted before we start, registered agents, and no judgement about how far behind you are.
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