The best deductions are the ones you set up before 30 June — not the ones you remember in July.
Pick one to filter the checklist to your line of work. The 8 common deductions below apply to every PAYG employee.
Multiple jobs? Print one checklist per role. The 8 common deductions apply across all PAYG employment in Australia.
Eight items every PAYG employee should check. Items 1–6: bulk of missed claims. Items 7–8: under-the-radar.
ATO fixed rate covers power, internet, phone, stationery — 70¢/hr for 2025–26 (2026–27 rate not yet confirmed by the ATO).
Fees to your union, industry body, or association tied to your current role.
Courses, CPD, conferences, textbooks for your CURRENT role — not opening a new career.
Donations ≥ $2 to Deductible Gift Recipients are claimed at your marginal rate. Verify at abr.business.gov.au.
Cents-per-km: up to 5,000 km at 91¢/km for 2026–27 (88¢/km on 2025–26 returns), no log needed. Log-book method unlocks higher claims via 12-wk diary.
Under $300 each: full deduction this year. Over $300: depreciate under Division 40.
Personal contributions claimed as a deduction. s290-170 Notice must reach your fund BEFORE you lodge. Counts toward the $32,500 concessional cap (2026–27).
Income protection held OUTSIDE super is deductible. Life, trauma, TPD are not.
Pick a profession above to filter. Without a pick, all six show.
Print or save as PDF, then hand it over. A structured checklist beats trying to remember every item.
The ATO fixed rate was 70¢ an hour for 2025–26. The ATO hasn't published the 2026–27 rate yet. At 70¢, 16 hours a week for 48 weeks is about $537. The claim needs a record of every hour you work from home, kept as you go. An end-of-year estimate isn't accepted.
No. Since 1 March 2023, the fixed-rate method has needed a record of every hour worked from home. Estimates ("I work from home most Tuesdays") aren't accepted. The record can be a spreadsheet, a calendar app, timesheets or handwritten notes, but it must be kept as you work, not reconstructed afterwards. The fixed rate (70¢ an hour for 2025–26) covers electricity, gas, internet, phone, stationery and computer consumables.
The Australian financial year ends at midnight on 30 June 2027. Any deductible expense must be PAID by 30 June 2027 to count for the 2026–27 return — the date you incurred the expense, not the date you submit it for reimbursement. Personal super contributions you plan to claim must reach your fund by 30 June 2027. BPAY and bank transfers can take a few business days, so check your fund's cut-off and pay well before then. Once 30 June passes, the only EOFY deductions you can still capture are ones you already paid.
Items under $300 each are immediately deductible in the year of purchase. A $250 monitor or a $180 ergonomic chair component is fully claimable on your 2026–27 return. Items over $300 each must be depreciated under Division 40 — typically over 3 years for electronics, 10 years for furniture. The $300 threshold applies per item, not in total: you can claim 10 different $250 items in the same year, but a single $600 chair must be depreciated.
It depends on the claim. If your work-related claims total $300 or less, you don't need receipts, but you must be able to show how you worked out the amount. Laundry of work clothing: up to $150 without receipts, at $1 a load for work clothes only or 50¢ a load if mixed with other washing. Vehicle: the cents-per-km method covers up to 5,000 km without a logbook; above that, use the logbook method. Once your work-related claims total more than $300, you need receipts (paper or digital), invoices or annual statements. Keep records for 5 years from the date you lodge.
The checklist tells you what to claim. The Velofy Tax Calculator shows what each claim returns at your bracket on 2025–26 rates (16/30/37/45% plus Medicare). For 2026–27 the bottom rate is 15%.
Open Tax Calculator Read the EOFY tax checklist