Teachers and Education Professionals – Personal Tax Deductions and Allowances
As a teacher, you might be surprised at the the number of tax deductions and personal allowances that you could be entitled to claim for when you complete your tax return.
Uniforms and Work Clothing
- The cost of buying work clothing (provided it has your schools logo on it)
- Laundry or dry cleaning costs of your work uniform
- The cost of buying protective equipment for use at school or on excursions. This could include outdoor clothing such as gloves, gumboots, protective jacket, sunglasses and sun-hat . Also consider clothing purchased to protect you/your ordinary clothes from damage during certain classes/activities e.g. science laboratory coats or protective over-clothing to protect from paint.
Work Related Equipment
- As a teacher you may purchase equipment for use at work. For example a bag to carry your books and documents to school, laptop bag, stopwatch etc.
- If you use your car to visit clients, travel between different places of work, to attend meetings, conferences and events or to collect materials or supplies you maybe able to claim for this
- If you take work related equipment or machinery from your home to your place of work, include this in your travel expenses
- You can claim for the cost of using public transport, taxis and parking if you attend conferences, events or expos related to your job
- If you use the car or other forms of transport for excursions, art/sporting events or for after school meetings this can also be included
Work related travel expenses
- As a teacher you may purchase equipment for use at work. For example a bag to carry your books and documents to school, laptop bag, stopwatch etc.
Meals and Accommodation
- If you work overtime you can claim for the cost of purchasing meals (provided you have been given a meals allowance by your employer)
- If you go to a work related meeting, event or expo you and you are able to claim reasonable accommodation and food expenses as well as travel (see above )
Training & Education Expenses
- If you complete a work related training course you would be able to claim for the course costs, as well as the cost of travelling to and from the study location and meals/ accommodation if you need to stay overnight. This could be a short course or professional development
- If you decide to do a self education course offered by a recognised university or TAFE you would be entitled to claim for study expenses. You can also claim for the cost of travelling to and from your course, course textbooks and equipment.
- Work related phone calls, text messages, internet usage & laptop use
- The cost of maintaining a home office for work purposes (a space where you do lesson planning & marking for example)
- Purchasing work related magazines, journals, newspapers or books for teaching purposes or professional development
- The cost of memberships to associations or unions
- The cost of organising and attending school excursions (however this does not include social functions or activities)
Other Work Related Expenses
- Work related phone calls, text messages, internet usage & laptop use
- The cost of maintaining a home office for work purposes (a space where you do lesson planning & marking for example)
- Purchasing work related magazines, journals, newspapers or books for teaching purposes or professional development
- The cost of memberships to associations or unions
- The cost of organising and attending school excursions (however this does not include social functions or activities)
Other general work related expenses
These are not specific to teachers, however you may have incurred some of these expenses during the tax year:
- Accountants fees & the cost of travelling to see your accountant or tax agent
- Bank fees for investment accounts
- Most types of donations are tax deductible
- The cost of income protection or sickness and accident insurance premiums
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