Are you about to submit your tax return? You might want to double check what clothing expenses you are claiming, or you could be paying back a whole lot more.
With 6.3 million Australians lodging clothes and laundry claims last year, this tax time the Australian Tax Office (ATO) is paying special attention to them. Totalling $1.8 billion, it was a 20 per cent increase over the past five years.
ATO assistant commissioner Kath Anderson said common mistakes include ineligible clothing, claiming for something without having spent the money, and not being able to explain the basis of how the claim was calculated. And it seems the common idea you can claim a standard deduction of $150, without spending money on appropriate clothing and laundry, is a myth.
“Over 1.6 million taxpayers claim a deduction of exactly $150. We expect many of these claims to be legitimate but the results of our random audits show that people are making mistakes,” Ms Anderson said.”
Note: the ATO is very strict about what can and can’t be claimed such as bartenders black trousers and white shirts, business attire without logo’s – for a more boring look at what can and can’t be claimed follow the link to the ATO website