Australian Defence Force members - claiming work-related expenses

Allowances

The following allowances are commonly received by Defence Force members to recognise expenses that you may incur in doing your job. Income tax applies to these allowances and, depending on your individual circumstances, you may be able to claim a deduction for expenses, for:

• flying allowance
• language proficiency allowance
• special action forces allowance
• uniform maintenance allowance
• vehicle allowance.

The following allowances are commonly received by Defence Force members for work that may be considered special or dangerous, in recognition of holding special skills, or to compensate for working conditions. Income tax applies to these allowances but you cannot claim a deduction for:

• arduous conditions allowance
• clearance diving allowance
• common duties allowance
• district allowance
• diving allowance
• field allowance
• flight duties allowance
• hard-lying allowance
• isolated establishment allowance
• parachutist allowance
• post allowance
• seagoing allowance
• service allowance
• special Royal Navy allowance
• submarine escape training facility allowance
• submarine service allowance
• trainee's dependant allowance
• trainee leaders allowance
• unpredictable explosives allowance.

If an allowance is included as a separate amount on your payment summary, include it as income at item 2 on your tax return.

Remember, you cannot automatically claim a deduction just because you received an allowance.