We may have pre-filled your return with payment summary information provided to us. Check for any allowances you received that are not pre filled and ensure you add them.
This section is about payments from working such as:
- employment allowances
- tips, gratuities
- consultation fees
- payments for voluntary and other services
- all payments from which tax was not withheld, such as
- commissions, bonuses
- casual job income
- insurance payments (income protection, sickness and accident policies).
Employment allowances include:
- car and travel allowances, and reimbursements of car expenses
- award transport payments (paid under an industrial law or award that was in force on 29 October 1986)
- tool, clothing and laundry allowances
- dirt, height, site, first aid and risk allowances
- meal and entertainment allowances.
If you received a travel allowance paid under an industrial agreement, do not show it on your tax return if:
- you spent the whole amount on meal, accommodation and incidental costs of you sleeping away from home on the work trip
- it was not shown on your payment summary, and
- it does not exceed the Commissioner’s reasonable allowance amount.
You cannot claim deductions for the expenses that you paid for with that allowance.
If the travel allowance does not satisfy all of these conditions, include it as income.
If you received an award overtime meal allowance that was not more than $27.70 for each meal and it was not shown on your payment summary:
- do not include the allowance as income, and
- do not claim a deduction for the expenses.
If the overtime meal allowance does not satisfy all of these conditions, include it as income (and you can claim a deduction for your overtime meal expenses at 'other work-related expenses’).
Answering this question
You will need your payment summaries or comparable statements.
Completing your tax return
- Add up all of these payments.
- Enter the total at 'Total allowances'.
- Click on 'Save'.