Teacher

You can claim a percentage of the running costs of your home office if you have to work from home, including depreciation of office equipment, work-related phone calls and internet access charges, and electricity for heating, cooling and lighting costs.

If you are required to purchase equipment for your work and it costs more than $300, you can claim a deduction for this cost spread over a number of years (depreciation).

If you keep a diary of your home office usage, you can calculate your claim quickly using the home office expenses calculator.

You generally can’t claim the cost of rates, mortgage interest, rent and insurance.

You can claim a deduction for self-education expenses if your
course relates directly to your current job (eg a course in dealing with special needs children).

You can’t claim a deduction if your study or seminar is only related in a general way or is designed to help you get a new job (eg you can’t claim the cost of study to enable you to move from being a teacher’s aid to being a teacher).

You can claim for the cost of buying, hiring, mending or cleaning certain uniforms that are unique to your job, or protective clothing that your employer requires you to wear.

You can’t claim a deduction for the cost of buying or cleaning plain clothing worn at work, even if your employer tells you to wear it (eg sports clothing).

As long as the expense relates to your employment, you can claim a deduction for the cost of:

• Phone and internet usage
• Excursions, school trips and camps
• First aid courses
• Seminars and conferences
• Protective equipment such as sunglasses, sunhats and
• Teaching aids
• Technical or professional publications
• Union and professional association fees.

You can’t claim a deduction for the cost of:

• Gifts you purchased for students
• Meeting students’ personal expenses – for example, paying for lunch, excursions or school books.