Add your expenses

How to add your expenses and records in the myDeductions tool if you are an employee, sole trader or both.

On this page

• What expenses to record
• Employee and general records
• Business records
• Common issues with adding expenses

Watch: How to add an expense using myDeductions

What expenses to record

What expenses you record and how depend on whether you chose to use the myDeductions tool for your records as:

• an employee (or for your general records)
• a sole trader
• both an employee (or for your general records) and as a sole trader.

Employee and general records

Use myDeductions to record the following expenses:

• car expenses (work or self-education)
• work-related travel
• work-related uniform
• work-related self-education
• other work-related expenses
• gifts or donations
• cost of managing tax affairs
• interest deductions
• dividend deductions
• other deductions.

If you aren't sure, you can also select the option Decide later.

If you are claiming deduction types not listed here, you will need to enter them directly into your tax return.

Business records

If you are a sole trader, you can record the following deduction types:

• repairs and maintenance
• motor vehicle expenses
• all other expenses.

You should only record income in myDeductions if you’re a sole trader with simple tax affairs – that is, you don't have primary production business or personal services income. Only record your business income.

Common issues with adding expenses

Common issues with adding expenses are:

• 100% claimable expenses
• Cost of managing tax affairs
• If you make a mistake

100% claimable expenses

If your expense was for both work and private purposes, you can only claim a deduction for the work-related portion. At question 'Is this 100% claimable?' switch this to off. Then enter either a dollar value or percentage share for the amount of the expense that you are entitled to claim.

Watch: How to claim the work-related part of your expenses using myDeductions

Cost of managing tax affairs

In myDeductions, you can record the cost of managing tax affairs (COMTA) expenses as:

• Litigation costs
• Other expenses incurred in managing your tax affairs
• Decide later.

Before 1 July 2018, all COMTA expenses incurred were recorded as one expense type. The update to myDeductions on 1 July 2018 allowed COMTA expenses to be recorded as either:

• litigation costs
• other expenses incurred in managing your tax affairs.

There is another field in your tax return – ATO interest. However, this is not included in myDeductions as we pre-fill this information into your tax return directly from our systems.

If you make a mistake

If you make a mistake, you can delete any recorded expense, as long as you haven't already uploaded it. Delete your expense by opening the record and selecting the Delete button.

If you have already uploaded the data when you realise there is a mistake, you can't change that year's information within myDeductions. Instead, change the data in your myTax return before you submit.

Continue to Add your trips