What can teachers claim on tax?
Alright everyone, face the front and pay attention, because it’s time to teach you about tax deductions for a teacher’s Tax Return.
Here is some tax deductible expense homework you should read on top of this checklist. Don’t leave any of your expenses behind (trust us, you really want to include everything). If you save every little bit, and deduct everything you’re entitled to, the return can be massive. What are the details though, and what are you taxed against?
What qualifies your tax deduction?
There are three main requirements that qualify as an expense for tax deductions (it’s that easy), which is calculated against your income:
- You must have spent the money and not have been reimbursed
- It must be related to your job
- You must have a record to prove it
What constitutes an expense as “related” to your job you might ask?
Here’s a definition of your taxable income, and a list of teacher tax deductions.
What is your taxable income
Your taxable income is money generated from your employer or your work. Your taxable income also includes:
- PAYG summaries
- Pensions and government allowances
- Interest earned (banks etc)
- Dividends
- Rental property income
- Business income
- Other income earned (capital gains etc)
Tax deductible expenses for teachers
Teacher Specific
- Buying work/school uniforms (if required to wear them)
- The cost to laundry school clothes/uniforms
- Protective clothing items (if required)
- Purchase of equipment and tools for teachers (if required) up to $300 (stationary tax deduction)
- Depreciation expense of equipment and tools such as laptops over $300
- The repair and/or upkeep of teaching tools and equipment (if required)
- Home office expenses (if needed to work from home)
- Self-education and courses if they are related to your teaching
- Licences and certificates relating to your teaching
- Fees from joining a union/other similar organisations
- Subscriptions and magazines relating to your work
- Travel expenses if work related (conferences etc)
School uniforms/teachers clothes
You are only allowed to add your teaching clothing you buy or the laundry expense as a tax deduction if the clothing has your school/institution name or logo.
If you are unsure if your work clothes adhere to this rule, pop onto One Click Life and talk to one of our tax pros – they’re happy to help!
Self education
As a teacher you are no doubt constantly looking to improve your own education in order to better help your students. But did you know that your self education that will benefit your work is tax deductible? Because it is!
Use the One Click Life platform to get a hand with claiming this as a tax deduction.
Travel Expenses
No you can’t claim your train, parking tickets or fuel expense for your commute to and from work.
However, you can claim some expenses if you are moving between schools or students while at work because this is considered as a “work related” expense.
If you ever need to travel interstate or internationally for a work conference or to see students, you are also able to claim that as an expense. ATO teacher deductions make it easier to get around.
Get one of our pros to help you claim your work related travel.
General
- Car expenses and general wear if your car use is work related (estimated Km or a logbook with all expense items)
- Travel expenses for your work (flights, taxis and trains etc)
- Accommodation needed on work reasons (including meals)
- Work phone bills
- Work related computing
- Work from home costs
- Self-education
- Tax Return fees dating to the year previous
- Insurances
- Rental expense (if you are renting)
- Charity donations and gifts
- Sun protection (if you have to work outside)
Maximising Your Tax Return With An Online Tax Agent
There will be more tax tips for teachers & tax deductions that aren’t on this list. Tax deductions are not only industry specific, but also change from individual to individual.
The best way to claim the most you can (which will maximise your money) is with One Click Life.
The more you deduct, the less tax you pay and the more money you can spend on yourself. Clearly, you will want to deduct the most you can, and the sure-fire way to do that is with OCL’s easy-to-use platform.
If you can claim OCL’s fees back on tax as a deduction too, why wouldn’t you use our platform to minimise your tax payable?
One Click Life offers online Tax Returns at your fingertips in an easy-to-use platform run by some of the best heads in the industry. Your Tax Return can be done in just 60 seconds and is overseen by one of our pros!
How easy and stress free is that?
Taxes, health insurance, and wills can be time-consuming and tedious. Our app allows you to be able to do this fuss-free, giving you a simple way to organise, track and manage all of your life admin in one place.
Let One Click Life take care of your Tax return, and life’s essential tasks so you can spend more time doing the things you love.