Trying to magically make a tax return appear? Here’s what you can’t claim.
Ever wondered why you can claim for travel between work sites, but not to and from home? or why office clothes aren’t claimable on tax? We spoke to the Australian Tax Office’s Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson about some of the most common misconceptions about tax refunds.
Why can’t I claim for travel to and from work?
“It really goes back to that principle about when you’re on work it’s deductible, but when you’re getting to work it’s private,” Ms Anderson said.
If you think about the sort of golden rules that we apply … number one is that you’ve had to spend it and not been reimbursed, number two is that you incurred the expense in earning your income.
“Your boss doesn’t generally pay you until you’re actually at work. Sometimes there’s some limited circumstances when you might be … [at] work earlier, for example if you’ve got to move bulky tools or something like that, but generally your deductions should relate to your income and where you sort of choose to live. Your mode of transport in getting to work that’s a private issue, it’s not something that’s associated with you actually earning your income.”
However, the ATO will let you claim for travel between two places of work, as long as you don’t go home in between.