The single biggest reason two people on the same income get back wildly different tax refunds is their occupation. A nurse, a truck driver and a content creator each work under different rules about uniforms, travel, tools, self-education and the home office — and the ATO publishes occupation-specific guidance precisely because what is deductible in one job is flatly denied in another. Claim a deduction that belongs to a different occupation and you invite an amendment; miss one that genuinely applies to yours and you simply overpay.

To make tax time easier, Trinity Accounting Practice has built a free, downloadable tax deduction checklist for almost every occupation we are asked about. Each one is a plain-English PDF listing what your job can typically claim, what the ATO commonly disallows, and the records to keep. Find your occupation below, download your checklist, and bring it to your tax appointment.

Prefer to browse them all in one place? Every checklist on this page also lives on our Checklists & Guides library, alongside our business, property and SMSF checklists.

Why a checklist for your specific job matters

A work-related deduction has to clear three tests no matter what you do for a living: you spent the money yourself and were not reimbursed, the expense directly relates to earning your income, and you have a record to prove it. What changes from job to job is what counts as “directly related”. Compulsory occupation-specific uniforms are deductible; plain clothes are not, even if your employer insists on them. Travel between two workplaces is usually claimable; the home-to-work commute is not. Tools, professional registration, union fees and self-education that maintains or improves the skills of your current role each turn on the facts of your actual occupation. That is why a generic list is never enough — and why the checklists below are split by job.

Find your occupation checklist

Click your occupation to open or download its free 2025–26 tax deduction checklist.

Healthcare & allied health

  • Aged care workers — PPE, uniforms, manual handling training, police checks and travel between clients.
  • Dentists — AHPRA registration, ADA membership, indemnity insurance, equipment, loupes and CPD.
  • Doctors & GPs — AHPRA registration, indemnity, medical equipment, RACGP / RACP fees and CPD.
  • Nurses & midwives — AHPRA registration, ANMF fees, stethoscopes, uniforms and CPD.
  • Paramedics — AHPRA registration, advanced life support training, PPE, uniforms and union fees.
  • Pharmacists — AHPRA registration, PSA / PPA membership, indemnity, CPD and S8 training.
  • Physiotherapists & allied health — APA / AHPA fees, equipment, indemnity insurance, CPD and uniforms.
  • Veterinarians — veterinary registration, AVA membership, surgical instruments, indemnity, CPD and farm-visit travel.

Trades & construction

  • Tradies (general) — tools, hi-vis, steel-cap boots, white card, union fees, vehicle expenses and sun protection.
  • Carpenters — hand and power tools, white card, hi-vis, sun protection and CFMEU fees.
  • Electricians — tools, test instruments, licence renewals, ETU fees, hi-vis and renewables training.
  • Mechanics — tools, tool box, diagnostic equipment, coveralls, safety gear and brand training.
  • Plumbers — tools, plumbing and gas licences, safety gear, vehicle expenses and MPA fees.

Transport & logistics

  • Truck drivers — meal allowances, HR / MC licences, sleeping cab gear, hi-vis, medicals and fatigue diary.
  • Rideshare & food delivery drivers — vehicle expenses, phone, insulated bag and GST registration (Uber, DoorDash, Menulog).
  • Pilots — CASA licence renewals, Class 1 medicals, headsets, simulator training, AFAP / AIPA fees and layover incidentals.
  • Cabin crew — compulsory uniform, grooming, gym membership, hotel incidentals on layovers and international roaming.
  • Maritime crew & seafarers — Master / Cox’n licences, STCW courses, uniform, safety gear, MUA fees and sun protection.

Emergency services & defence

  • Police officers — operational uniform, fitness training, firearms licence renewals, PANSW / Federation fees and CPD.
  • Firefighters — station uniform, protective gear, fitness training, FBEU / UFU fees and hazmat training.
  • Defence Force (ADF) — compulsory uniform, mess dress, fitness equipment, field gear, service courses and DFWA fees.
  • Security guards — Class 1 / 2 licence renewals, uniform, first aid, crowd control training and shift travel.

Hospitality, beauty & personal care

  • Chefs & cooks — knives, chef whites, food safety / RSA courses, non-slip shoes and union fees.
  • Hospitality workers — uniform, non-slip shoes, RSA / RCG, barista training and union fees (waiters, bar staff, baristas).
  • Hairdressers & barbers — scissors, clippers, products, apron, industry training and public liability insurance.
  • Beauty therapists & nail technicians — products, equipment, APAN / ANTA fees, lash / brow / dermal training and insurance.
  • Personal trainers & fitness instructors — gym membership, equipment, public liability, music streaming and Fitness Australia fees.
  • Cleaners — chemicals, vacuum / polisher equipment, PPE, vehicle costs between clients and chemical handling courses.

Education & childcare

  • Teachers — classroom resources, AITSL fees, AEU / IEU membership, excursions, postgraduate study and WWCC.
  • Childcare & early childhood educators — WWCC, first aid, Cert III / Diploma study, teaching aids and ECA membership.

Professional & office-based

  • Lawyers — practising certificate, indemnity, CLE, LexisNexis / Westlaw, court attire and law society fees.
  • Engineers — Engineers Australia membership, CPEng fees, CAD software, Standards subscriptions, PPE and CPD.
  • Architects — ARB fees, AIA membership, AutoCAD / Revit, drawing equipment, drone for site work and CPD.
  • IT professionals & software developers — laptops, software, AWS / GitHub, certifications, home office and high-speed internet.
  • Bookkeepers — BAS Agent registration, indemnity, Xero / MYOB subscriptions, IPA / ICB fees and CPD.
  • Financial planners & mortgage brokers — ASIC fees, FASEA / RG146, FAAA / MFAA membership, indemnity and CPD.
  • Real estate agents — vehicle expenses, phone, REI / REINSW fees, licence renewals, marketing and CoreLogic / Domain subscriptions.
  • Insurance agents & sales reps — vehicle expenses, phone, licence renewals, NIBA / AFA membership and CPD.
  • Call centre workers — headset, home-office setup, phone, internet and uniform (especially for WFH staff).
  • Office & admin workers — home office equipment, computer, software, CPD and conference fees.

Creative & media

Retail, farming & resources

  • Retail employees — uniform with logo, non-slip shoes, union fees, travel between stores and self-education.
  • Farm & agricultural workers — boots, sun protection, hand tools, animal handling gear, vehicle and chemical handling courses.
  • Miners — PPE, hard hat, boots, mine site inductions and CFMEU fees.

Don’t see your exact occupation? The general rules below apply to every employee, and you are welcome to ask the Trinity team about your specific role.

Not an employee? Start with these instead

If you work for yourself or earn business income, two general checklists will serve you better than an occupation list:

The deductions almost every worker can claim

Whatever your job, this short checklist covers the categories that apply across most occupations:

  • Working from home. Either the fixed-rate method (a set cents-per-hour rate covering energy, phone, internet and stationery, with a record of hours worked) or the actual-cost method. You cannot use both for the same costs.
  • Phone and internet (work portion). Claim the business-use percentage, and keep a representative four-week record showing how you worked it out.
  • Self-education and professional development that maintains or improves the skills of your current role — courses, conferences, professional journals.
  • Union fees, professional memberships and registrations required for your work.
  • Tools, equipment and devices used for work — immediately if $300 or less, otherwise depreciated over their effective life.
  • Work-related car travel between jobs or to clients (not the home-to-work commute) — using the cents-per-kilometre or logbook method.
  • Occupation-specific clothing — compulsory uniforms, protective gear and the laundry of those items.

What you generally cannot claim

  • The normal commute between home and your regular workplace.
  • Plain or conventional clothing, even if your employer requires a particular look.
  • Anything you were reimbursed for by your employer.
  • Private-use portions of phones, internet, cars and devices.
  • Self-education for a different career you are hoping to move into.

Get your records right before you claim

Every deduction on these checklists depends on substantiation. As a rule you need written evidence for total work claims over $300, a logbook or kilometre diary for car claims, and a record of hours for working-from-home. Keep these for the required period — for most taxpayers that means holding records for five years from lodgement. If you are also approaching 30 June, browse the rest of our Checklists & Guides library for the record-keeping and end-of-year checklists that go with your return.

A Trinity insight from 22 years in practice

The occupation deductions people miss are almost never the big, obvious ones — they are the small recurring costs that feel too minor to bother with. A nurse’s annual AHPRA registration. A tradie’s $40 of consumables a fortnight. A content creator’s monthly editing subscription. Individually they look trivial; across a full year, and especially across the right occupation, they routinely add several hundred dollars to a refund. The clients who get the most back are not the ones with the cleverest claims — they are the ones who kept a tidy record all year and matched it to the rules for the job they actually do. That is exactly what these checklists are for.

What this means for you

  • Download your occupation checklist above — the deductions that apply to your job are different from your colleague’s in another field.
  • Layer the general categories (home office, phone, self-education) on top of the occupation-specific ones.
  • Apportion private use and keep the working behind every percentage.
  • Hold your records for five years — no record generally means no deduction if the ATO asks.
  • If your role is more complex — multiple income sources, an ABN on the side, or a salary-packaged car — get it reviewed before lodging.

How Trinity can help

Trinity Accounting Practice prepares individual tax returns for workers across Sydney from our Beverly Hills office. As a registered tax agent, we match your claims to the ATO’s current occupation guidance, make sure nothing deductible is left on the table, and keep your return defensible if it is ever reviewed. Download your checklist, tick off what applies, and bring it in — we will take it from there.

Book a tax return appointment with the Trinity team →

General advice only. This article contains general information current as at June 2026 and does not constitute tax, financial or legal advice. It does not take into account your personal circumstances, objectives or needs. Before acting on any information in this article, you should consider its appropriateness to your situation and seek professional advice from Trinity Accounting Practice or another qualified adviser. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.


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