What Can Nurses Claim on Tax? 2025–26 Australian List

Sarah Nguyen is 31, a registered nurse based in Sydney earning $82,000 a year. She pays her AHPRA fee every year and dutifully claims it on her return. But until she ran her full deduction list through a calculator, she had no idea she was missing ANMF membership, laundry without receipts, CPD seminars, and her stethoscope — deductions that together total about $3,170 and produce a tax saving of ~$1,015 at 32% (30% tax plus the 2% Medicare levy).

This guide covers every deduction available to nurses and midwives in 2025–26, with the ATO's exact rules on what qualifies and the errors that trigger audits. Figures are from the ATO and apply to 2025–26 returns unless a different year is shown.

How much do nurses claim on tax on average?

$2,601. That is the average work-related expense claim by registered nurses who claimed one in 2023–24, the latest year the ATO has published. Of the 360,020 registered nurses who lodged a return, 95% claimed work expenses.

Average = total claimed ÷ nurses who claimed that item. Midwives averaged $2,406 and enrolled nurses $2,698. Source: ATO Taxation Statistics 2023–24, Individuals Table 14 (occupation 2544 Registered nurse, all incomes).

What can nurses claim on tax in 2025–26?

The ATO's occupation guide for nurses and midwives recognises eight primary deduction categories. To claim any of them, the expense must be directly connected to your income-earning activities, paid by you (not reimbursed by your employer), and substantiated with a receipt if your total work-related expenses exceed $300.

Source: ATO nurses and midwives occupation guide (ato.gov.au), verified May 2026.

AHPRA and ANMF Fees: Two Deductions Almost Every Nurse Misses One Of

The AHPRA annual registration fee is fully tax deductible as a professional registration required to practise. The ATO classifies it as a work-related expense under D5 'Other work-related expenses.' You claim it in the year you pay it. The renewal due by 31 May 2026 cost $193, up 4.25% from $185. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia announced the increase in September 2025, and the fee covers registration from 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2027. Most nurses paid it in the 2025–26 year. The amount can differ if you practise mainly in NSW, so use the figure on your renewal receipt.

Membership of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) or its state branch is also fully deductible under D5. Fees vary by state branch and work hours. In NSW, the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association charges registered nurses and midwives $33 a fortnight ($858 a year) in 2025 and 2026. Check your state branch's website for your figure. Both fees are claimed in full with no private-use apportionment required.

Can nurses claim scrubs and laundry?

Scrubs are deductible — but only when they pass the ATO's occupation-specific clothing test. Three conditions make scrubs deductible:

1. They carry your employer's logo or branding, or
2. They are distinctly clinical in nature (e.g. theatre scrubs that could not be worn as ordinary clothing), or
3. Your employer requires them as a condition of employment and they are not conventional clothing.

Plain-coloured scrubs with no logo and no written employer requirement are the grey area the ATO has flagged. If you are uncertain, ask your employer to confirm the uniform requirement in writing — this converts a questionable claim into a solid one.

Once scrubs qualify, you can claim purchase cost, repairs, and laundering. The ATO's laundry rate is $1 per load for work-only loads and $0.50 per load for mixed loads (scrubs washed with personal clothing). If your laundry claim is $150 or less, you don't need written evidence, only a record of how you worked it out, such as loads per week times weeks worked. That holds even when your total work expenses are over $300. Above $150, keep written evidence.

Source: ATO clothing, laundry and dry-cleaning expenses (ato.gov.au).

CPD and Self-Education: Every Relevant Course Is Deductible

Continuing professional development is fully deductible when it directly relates to your current nursing or midwifery role. This includes:

• Mandatory CPD hours required for your AHPRA registration renewal
• Clinical skill updates — medication management, IV therapy, wound care, triage
• Specialty conferences and nursing seminars (ICU, oncology, midwifery, mental health)
• Professional journals, medical reference books, and subscriptions relevant to your role
• Online study modules and e-learning platforms for clinical practice

In Sarah's example below, a medication management seminar cost $629, and a clinical reference book plus an online module cost $239. All are deductible when receipts are held. CPD costs often push total work-related expenses above the $300 no-receipt threshold, and then receipts are required for everything.

What Nurses Cannot Claim: ATO Audit Targets for Healthcare

The ATO's guidance for nurses lists these expenses as non-deductible, regardless of whether they feel work-related:

1. Home-to-work commute. Driving or using public transport from home to your hospital or clinic is private travel. Not deductible, even if you carry medical equipment. Travel between campuses or to home patients during your shift is deductible.
2. Childcare. Even when shift work forces you to use childcare, the cost is a private expense. Not deductible under any circumstances.
3. Meals during a shift. Ordinary shift meals are private. The exceptions are travel away from home overnight for work, and an overtime meal bought with an overtime meal allowance paid under your award or agreement and included in your income.
4. Vaccinations and health checks. COVID, flu, and hepatitis vaccinations — even if required by your employer — are not deductible. The ATO classifies these as private medical expenses.
5. Gym and fitness. Gym memberships, personal training, or fitness equipment are not deductible, even if physical fitness supports your nursing work.
6. HECS repayments. Repaying your nursing degree debt is not a work-related deduction.
7. Courses for a different career. Studying to become a doctor, physiotherapist, or to enter a different profession is not deductible against your nursing income.

Sarah's Numbers: A Sydney RN's Deduction Breakdown

Sarah earns $82,000 as a registered nurse in Sydney. Here is her optimised deduction claim for 2025–26, using the ATO's verified rates and amounts:

Illustrative. Sarah's taxable income: $82,000 − $3,172 = $78,828. At 32% (30% tax plus the 2% Medicare levy), estimated tax saving on her 2025–26 return: ~$1,015. Use the Velofy calculator to model your own figures.

Agency and travel nurses who work across several facilities often have larger travel claims than ward nurses. Their records need to show each trip between workplaces.

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Complete Nursing Deduction Reference: 28 Items Ranked by Dollar Value

Beyond Sarah's $3,172 example above, here are 28 deductions nurses and midwives can legitimately claim — ranked by typical dollar value at a representative $82,000 RN income (30% tax rate + 2% Medicare levy = 32% for 2025–26 and 2026–27). ATO labels map to the categories on your individual tax return.

Dollar values are typical 2025-26 figures based on retailer and association published prices. Tax savings assume a 30% tax rate + 2% Medicare levy. Rules checked against the ATO Nurses & Midwives guide.