Tax Deductions for School Teachers Checklist

To be tax deductible, expenses must be actually incurred and must be directly connected with your income earning activity. If an expense has joint business and personal purposes, only the business-related portion may be claimed as a tax deduction. Receipts are essential to prove an expense was incurred.

• Motor vehicle expenses, but only if between separate workplaces, attending conferences, etc within working hours, or you carry bulky tools or equipment to and from school
• Travel expenses
• Clothing expenses, providing the claimed clothing is compulsory, or it is a registered non-compulsory uniform, or it is occupation specific or protective
• Sun protection products if applicable
• Self-education expenses
• Equipment purchase, rental or depreciation
• Excursions, school trips and camps
• First Aid training courses, providing you are the designated First Aid person
• Home office or study
• Overtime meal expenses, providing you received an overtime meal allowance from your employer paid under an industrial award
• Parking fees and tolls
• Books, video, recorded material – deduction as purchased or depreciation as a professional library
• Seminars, conferences and training courses
• Teaching aids and rewards
• Technical or professional publications and reference materials
• Telephone calls
• Telephone rental, if you are on call or regularly required to telephone your employer or students while you are away from school
• Union and professional association fees
• The cost of purchase, repairs and batteries of a dedicated stopwatch

If you have a lot of receipts, you may summarise them for us. Just remember to keep your receipts for five years. If you are unsure whether an expense is deductible, provide us with the details. We will then let you know if you can make a claim.