Travel and meals
You can’t normally claim the cost of
the daily commute to and from work.
The only exception to that rule is if you
have to carry bulky equipment (such
as inflatable exercise balls, or other
exercise equipment) to and from work
because there is no secure place of
storage for them at your workplace.
You can claim the cost of travelling
between two workplaces, such as
between two gyms or two personal
training appointments. This includes
public transport and taxi costs.
If you plan to use your own car for
work purposes, you can either claim a
set rate of 66 cents per kilometre for
all work journeys, or you can claim the
actual expenses incurred. If you choose
the latter, you’ll need to keep receipts
for all costs (including road tolls and
parking fees) and also keep a logbook
of all your journeys for a 12 week period.
Just because you’re in the fitness or
sporting industry, doesn’t mean you can
claim for the cost of attending sporting
events. So, if you’re a tennis coach, you
can’t claim for the cost of tickets to the
Australian Open. If, however, you’re
coaching one of the players in the Open,
you can claim the costs of attending.
When it comes to claiming meals, you
can only do so if the expense is incurred
due to your being away for work. The
same applies to accommodation and
incidental expenses.
Work-related clothing
You can claim a deduction for clothing that
you’re required to wear as a uniform to
work that has the logo of the gym, facility or
sporting club where you work on it.
Unfortunately, you can’t claim a deduction
for the cost of purchasing or cleaning a plain
uniform or conventional clothing you wear
to work, even if your employer tells you to
wear them. So, general exercise clothing like
tracksuits, shorts, tank tops, running shoes,
socks, t-shirts and so on, can’t be claimed.
There’s good news, though, if you deliver
outdoor training sessions, because you can
claim the cost of sun protection gear such
as sunglasses, hats and sunscreen. Slip,
slop, slap, claim.
Buying fitness equipment
You can claim an immediate deduction for
any work equipment that costs less than
$300. If the item costs more than $300,
then you can write off the cost over the
expected life of the assets. That could
include weight sets, TRX, kettlebells,
treadmills, exercise bikes, and other
personal training equipment.
Remember, if you also use the
equipment for personal use, you’ll need to
apportion the cost between work use and
personal use. You can only claim the work-
related element.
If you own your own fitness business
(rather than being employed by somebody
else), you can write off items of equipment
costing up to $20,000 each immediately
(rather than writing off the cost over the
expected life of the asset). As well as fitness
equipment, you can use the same tax break
to write-off any other capital assets used in
your business, including:
• TV sets and other equipment to build the
ambience in your fitness area
• Furniture for break-out or rest areas
• Office furniture and equipment, like
desks, chairs and cabinets
• Technology such as laptops, desktop
computers, phones and tablets
• Motor vehicles.
You can’t normally claim the cost of the daily commute, but
you can claim the cost of travelling between two workplaces,
such as between two gyms or PT appointments
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