This is general information only. A tax deduction generally needs to be paid by you, not reimbursed, directly connected to earning your income, and supported by records. Check the ATO clothing, laundry and dry-cleaning guidance or ask a registered tax agent before lodging.
Four categories, one test
Work clothing generally falls into one of four groups: protective clothing, occupation-specific clothing, compulsory uniforms and everything else. The first three can be claimable. The fourth is private, however much of your working life you spend wearing it.
The test is not how hard the clothing works or how quickly a site destroys it. It is whether the item has a character that separates it from ordinary clothing, either because it protects you from a real risk, identifies your occupation, or is a uniform your employer requires.
Protective clothing
This is where most tradie claims sit. Items bought to protect you from injury or from the conditions of the work are generally deductible where you paid for them yourself.
Typical examples include steel-capped boots, high-visibility shirts and vests, hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, hearing protection, respirators and masks, fire-resistant clothing and heavy-duty work trousers designed for the risk rather than for general wear. Sun protection for outdoor work, including sunscreen and protective hats, generally belongs here too.
Occupation-specific and compulsory uniforms
Occupation-specific clothing is distinctive to a particular trade or calling and would not reasonably be worn outside it. The category is narrower than it sounds and most trades do not have one.
A compulsory uniform is a set your employer requires you to wear and which identifies you as working for them, typically through a permanently attached logo. Where wearing it is genuinely compulsory under an enforced policy, the cost of buying and maintaining it can be claimable.
A shirt in the company colours that you are encouraged but not required to wear generally does not qualify, and neither does a plain shirt you bought to match.
Why ordinary clothing stays out
Jeans, plain t-shirts, ordinary shorts, everyday footwear and general workwear without a protective character are treated as private, even when you only ever wear them to work and even when the job ruins them.
This is the single most common correction we make to a tradie return. The spend is real, but the expense is private in character, so it does not become deductible through frequency of use.
Laundry, repairs and replacement
Where the clothing itself is claimable, washing, drying and dry-cleaning it can generally be claimed too. Laundering ordinary clothing is not deductible, because the underlying item is not.
Laundry is usually worked out using a reasonable rate per load, with the rate depending on whether the load is only work clothing or mixed with private items. Modest claims can be made without written evidence, but you still need a reasonable basis for the figure, so a note of how many loads a week is worth keeping.
Repairs to claimable work clothing, and replacing worn-out protective items, generally follow the same treatment as the original purchase.
Records to keep
- Receipts for boots, high-vis, safety gear and uniform items.
- Your employer uniform policy, if a compulsory uniform is claimed.
- A note of how many work loads you wash each week.
- Whether each load is work-only or mixed with private clothing.
- Details of any clothing allowance or reimbursement received.
- Receipts for dry-cleaning and repairs to claimable items.
Common questions
Can I claim jeans and t-shirts I only wear to work?
Generally no. Ordinary clothing is private in character regardless of how often it is worn for work or how quickly the job wears it out.
Can I claim steel-capped boots?
Generally yes, where you bought them yourself and they protect you from a genuine risk of your work. Keep the receipt.
Do I need receipts for laundry?
Modest laundry claims can generally be made without written evidence, but you still need a reasonable basis for the amount. A simple record of loads per week supports the figure.
My boss gives me branded shirts. Can I claim them?
If your employer supplies them at no cost to you, there is no expense to claim. Where you buy them yourself and wearing them is genuinely compulsory, the cost may be claimable.
Can I claim sunscreen?
Sun protection for genuinely outdoor work is generally claimable where you paid for it. Keep the receipts and claim the work-related portion.
Want your clothing claim done properly?
We will sort the protective items from the private ones and claim the laundry that goes with them, so the figure holds up.
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