Getting your deductions right this tax time

When completing your tax return this year, it is important you only claim the work-related expenses you are entitled to.

You should only claim a deduction for things you paid for with your own money to help you earn your income. The ATO often sees people who fail to separate private expenses from legitimate work-related ones.

For example, flight attendants are entitled to claim what for most people would be a private expense - the cost of buying rehydrating moisturiser due to the harsh environment of aircraft cabins. One flight attendant however tried to claim for a 40 inch LCD television costing $1,966. The attendant was not able to explain how the TV was related to work.

With around $16 billion in work-related expenses being claimed each year, the ATO pays close attention to claims to make sure they are legitimate. For the 2011-12 income year, work-related expenses will remain an area of focus.

The ATO has a focus on occupations with a pattern of large and/or rising claims, as well as claims which do not fit the pattern for a particular occupation.

For example, this year we are writing to around 90,000 people employed in the following occupations:

• plumbers
• information technology managers
• defence force non-commissioned officers.

We have found people in these groups are at higher risk of making mistakes with their work-related expenses due to the types of deductions they are entitled to claim, so this year we have created new guides to help these occupations get their claims right.

Get your claim right the first time

The following general tips will help you work out the work-related expenses you are entitled to.

• You must have incurred the expense in the year you are claiming it.
• The expense must be work-related and not private and if the expense has been reimbursed by your employer it cannot be claimed.
• Receiving an allowance from your employer does not automatically entitle you to a deduction.
• If your claims total more than $300 you need to keep records.
• You can also use records other than paper receipts. A full list of accepted records is available on the ATO website.

Need more information?

To help people get it right there are occupation-specific guides on the ATO website that explain in more detail the claims you can and cannot make. This includes new guides specifically for people employed as plumbers, information technology managers and defence force non-commissioned officers, to help them maintain accurate records throughout the year and get their claims right at tax time.

There are also several work-related expense calculators available at www.ato.gov.au/calculators

More information, including copies of the occupation guides can be found on the ATO website at www.ato.gov.au/occupations or by calling 13 28 61.