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WORKFORCE
Deductive reasoning
myDeductions is part of the ATO’ s mission to make tax simple. We want to ensure that taxpayers are claiming everything they’ re entitled to – no more, no less.
Generally, if you are unsure whether you can claim an expense, you can follow our three golden rules:
• You must have spent the money yourself and can’ t have been reimbursed
• The expense must be related to your work
• You must have a record of the purchase to prove it.
There are, however, some key areas of work-related expenses that constantly cause confusion for university staff, namely deductions relating to car, travel, clothing and self-education expenses.
Here are some basic tips to help you work out which deductions you can claim.
CAR EXPENSES You typically can’ t claim car deductions on trips between your home and work unless:
• Your home was a base of employment and you travelled to a different workplace to work for the same employer
• You regularly worked at more than one site each day before returning home
• You had to use your car to carry bulky tools.
Tax season has just come to an end for most; here are some tips, tools and deductions to make next year’ s easier.
By Graham Whyte
Tax time can be a time of dread for many of you university staff members, as you try to sift through boxes of receipts to work out what deductions you can claim on your return.
You aren’ t alone. In fact, university staff are among the top claimers of work-related expenses, data from the Australian Taxation Office shows. The nature of your work means you typically will have many expenses to claim on your return, and that means many receipts to keep track of throughout the year.
To simplify the process, the Tax Office has developed a tool within its ATO App called myDeductions, which lets you track your expenses throughout the year and, come tax time, lets you upload them all and prefill your return. More than 40,000 people uploaded their deductions through the tool this tax season.
Within the tool, you simply input the cost of your expense, the date and a brief description, and select the deduction type. From there, you can also snap a photo of your receipt to ensure you keep a record that’ s saved on your phone.
TRAVEL EXPENSES If your employer requires you to travel overnight, you may be able to claim some associated costs, like accommodation, meals, petrol and parking. If you claim, you should be able to show:
• Travel was for work purposes
• You were away from home overnight
• You spent the money.
Receiving a travel allowance does not automatically entitle you to a travel expense deduction. You still need to show that your employer required you to be away from home overnight and that you spent the money.
CLOTHING EXPENSES You cannot claim the cost of purchasing or laundering plain clothing such as black pants or white shirts, even if your employer requires you to wear them; however, you may be entitled to claim a deduction for work clothing if it is:
• Distinctive; for example, it features your employer’ s name or logo
• A compulsory uniform or is registered with AusIndustry
• Protective
• Occupation-specific and would not be worn outside of the workplace.
You can also claim the cost of laundering these items but you must use a reasonable basis to calculate your expenses.
SELF-EDUCATION EXPENSES You may be able to claim a deduction for work-related education expenses if your studies directly relate to your current job, such as upgrading your qualifications or improving specific skills.
You cannot, however, claim courses that relate only to your employment in a general way, or that you are undertaking to obtain new employment. ■
Graham Whyte is ATO assistant commissioner. Find out more about work-related expenses at ato. gov. au / deductions.
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