Why this matters more when you work for yourself
When an agency employed you, tax mostly happened to you. Now it is a job you do. Every dollar you legitimately claim is a dollar of income you are not taxed on, and for a one-person support business the deductions add up fast because so much of the work runs on your own car, your own phone and your own home. The catch is that the claim only holds if you can show it was for work and you kept the record. Guessing in July does not survive a question from the ATO.
A quick word on what "deductible" means, because it trips people up. You are not getting the money back. A deduction lowers the income you pay tax on, so the benefit is the tax you would have paid on that amount, not the amount itself. And you can only ever claim the work-use portion. A phone used half for clients and half for family is a half-claim, not a full one.
The expenses support workers most often ask about
These are the categories that come up again and again for independent support workers. Treat the list as a map of where to look, then check each one against your own circumstances.
Car and travel between clients
This is usually the biggest one. Travel between clients during your working day is generally deductible. The ordinary trip from home to your first client, and from your last client back home, generally is not, because that counts as private travel. The ATO gives two methods: a set rate for every business kilometre, backed by a logbook of the trips, or the logbook method that works out your car's business-use percentage and applies it to actual running costs. You pick one, and either way you need the records to back it.
Phone and internet
You take bookings, message plan managers and write notes on your phone, so a portion of the bill is a work expense. The portion has to be reasonable and based on actual work use, which usually means keeping a representative record for a period rather than claiming the whole bill.
Home office
The admin side of the job, invoicing, notes, scheduling, has to happen somewhere, and if that is a space at home you may be able to claim running costs for the hours you work there. The ATO sets out the specific methods and what each requires, so this is one to check the current rules on before you claim.
Insurance
Public liability and professional indemnity premiums you carry to do the work are generally deductible business expenses. If you are weighing up cover in the first place, we cover that in a separate guide to insurance for independent support workers.
Training and professional development
Courses, first aid renewals, manual handling, and other training that maintains or improves the skills you use in your current work are commonly claimable. Training to move into a different line of work generally is not.
Equipment, PPE and consumables
Gloves, masks, and small items you buy to do the job are typically deductible. Larger equipment may need to be claimed over time rather than all at once, depending on cost and the current rules.
Other running costs
Bank fees on a business account, the cost of software you use to run the business, association or membership fees, and the fee you pay a registered tax agent to prepare your return are all worth checking against your own situation.
ABN, GST and the threshold
Working for yourself as a support worker generally means holding an ABN and lodging your income as business income. GST is a separate question: you are required to register once your turnover reaches the registration threshold, and it is optional below it. The threshold and how it applies are set by the ATO and worth confirming for the current year rather than assumed, because being over it and not registered is a problem you want to avoid.
The part that actually decides your claim: records
Deductions are not won at tax time. They are won across the year, in whether you kept the evidence. The ATO generally expects you to hold records for five years, and for most of these categories that means:
- Receipts or invoices for what you bought
- A logbook or trip record for car travel
- A record showing the work-use share for things split between work and private life, like your phone or home office
The workers who dread tax time are almost always the ones reconstructing a year from memory and a glovebox of faded receipts. The ones who find it easy captured each expense and each trip when it happened. This is mundane, and it is the whole game.
It is also where keeping your business admin in one place pays off. Sparks Scribe, which we build, is not accounting software and does not lodge your return, but it does keep the raw material tidy as you go: a Receipt Vault for the expense photos, a kilometre log for the trips, and expenses itemised on the invoices you send, so at tax time you or your accountant are reading records, not rebuilding them.
Frequently asked questions
What can a sole trader support worker claim on tax?
Expenses that directly relate to earning your income, claimed at the work-use share: car travel between clients, part of your phone and internet, a home office used for admin, insurance premiums, professional development, and equipment such as PPE. You cannot claim home-to-first-client travel or private-use portions. Confirm your own case with the ATO or a registered tax agent.
Can I claim the kilometres I drive between clients?
Travel between clients during the working day is generally deductible, using either the set rate per business kilometre with a logbook, or the logbook method on actual car costs. Home to your first client and last client to home are usually private and not claimable. Record every work trip.
Do I need an ABN and do I have to register for GST?
Operating as a sole trader generally means having an ABN. GST registration is required once turnover reaches the registration threshold and optional below it. Check the current threshold at ato.gov.au or with a registered tax agent.
What records do I need to keep?
Evidence for everything you claim: receipts or invoices, a car logbook or trip record, and a record of the work-use share for split expenses. The ATO generally expects records to be kept for five years. Capturing them as you go is what makes the claim hold up.