Teacher Tax Deductions 2026: What You Can and Can't Claim

On this page (9 sections)

The three ATO tests every teacher deduction must pass
What teachers can claim: the full list
What teachers can't claim (and commonly try to)
2026–27: the $1,000 standard deduction changes the maths
How much a deduction is really worth at your step
Equipment over $300: depreciation in plain English
Records: what to keep and for how long
Casual, part-time and new teachers: what changes
FAQs

The short answer

Teachers can claim work costs they paid for themselves, weren't reimbursed for, and can prove: union fees, registration renewals, classroom resources, work-related study, working from home and equipment. For 2026–27 returns a $1,000 standard deduction applies automatically, so you only gain by itemising if your real work costs exceed $1,000.

Each $1 of deductions saves 32c for most classroom teachers (30% tax + 2% Medicare).
With a HELP debt and income between $69,528 and $129,717 it saves up to 47c, because deductions also cut your repayment income.
Over $300 of work claims in total? You need written records for all of them.
Not claimable: home-to-school travel, ordinary clothes (including sports gear), childcare, or anything your school paid for.

The three ATO tests every teacher deduction must pass

The ATO applies the same three tests to every work-related claim, whatever your job. Before you add anything to your tax return, check it against all three. If any one fails, the claim fails.

The ATO's golden rules

1

You spent the money yourself

And your school, department or system didn't pay you back. If you bought glue sticks and then submitted the receipt to the business manager, you can't claim them. A reimbursed amount is not your expense.
2

It relates directly to earning your teaching income

The cost has to be connected to the job you have now, not a job you hope to get, and not your private life. A course that builds skills for your current role passes. A course to retrain as a psychologist does not.
3

You have a record

A receipt, invoice, bank statement or diary entry showing what you bought, when, from whom, and how you worked out the work share. If your total work claims are $300 or less you don't need receipts, but you still need to show how you got the figure.

Where something is used for both work and private purposes, such as your phone, home internet or a laptop, you can only claim the work-use percentage. You need a reasonable basis for that percentage, such as a four-week diary of use that represents your normal pattern.

What teachers can claim: the full list

These are the items the ATO's guidance for teachers and education professionals treats as claimable, provided you paid and weren't reimbursed. Fees are the current 2026–27 or 2026 rates from each registration body.

Common teacher deductions and the rule that applies

Expense	Claimable?	The rule
Union fees (AEU, NSWTF, IEU, QTU etc.)	Yes	Annual or fortnightly membership fees. Your union usually sends a tax statement in July.
Teacher registration renewal	Yes	Renewal fees: NESA $100 a year, VIT $131.30 (2026–27, paid on time), TQI ACT $115, TRB Tasmania $121.32, TRB NT $111 (2025–26). Your first registration, to get your first job, is not deductible.
Working with Children Check renewal	Usually	Deductible when you renew it to keep your job, or when you're continuously in child-related work and move schools. Not deductible for your first check to get your first child-related job.
Classroom resources you buy	Yes	Books, stationery, printing, art supplies, software subscriptions used for teaching. Items over $300 each are depreciated (see below).
Laptop, tablet, printer	Work share	Under $300: claim the work share in full. Over $300: claim depreciation over the ATO effective life, work share only. Not if your school supplied one.
Phone and internet	Work share	Only the work-use portion, backed by a diary or itemised bills. If you use the WFH fixed rate, these are already included in it.
Working from home	Yes	Fixed rate of 70c per hour (2025–26 rate; 2026–27 rate not yet published) or actual costs. Needs a record of every hour.
Self-education	If linked	Courses, conferences and PD that maintain or improve skills for your current role. Not a course to get a new job.
First aid course	If required	Deductible if first aid is part of your duties, for example as a PE teacher or designated first aider.
Compulsory uniform	Rarely	Only if your school has a compulsory, distinctive uniform with its logo. A school polo you choose to wear is not compulsory.
Sun protection	If outdoors	Sunscreen, sunglasses and hats for teachers whose duties are outdoors, such as PE teachers and yard duty supervision.
Travel between workplaces	Yes	Driving from one school to another on the same day, to an excursion venue, or to off-site PD. Keep a logbook or diary.

Source: ATO guidance for teachers and education professionals, plus registration body fee schedules. Registration fees from state research files, October 2026.

What teachers can't claim (and commonly try to)

The ATO publishes occupation guides partly because the same mistakes keep turning up in teachers' returns. These are the ones to strip out before you lodge.

The difference is almost always who paid, and whether the cost is tied to the job you hold now.

Not deductible

Driving from home to your school, even if you carry marking or resources
Sports clothing, runners and ordinary business clothes, even if you only wear them at school
Childcare and before/after-school care fees
Anything your school, department or Catholic system reimbursed
A laptop or phone your employer supplied
Your first registration or first WWCC to get your first teaching job
Courses to move into a new career, or HECS-HELP student contributions
Coffee, lunches and social events with colleagues

Deductible instead

Driving between two schools on the same day, or to an excursion venue
A compulsory, logoed school uniform (genuinely required, not optional)
Sun protection if your role is mainly outdoors
Your own classroom resources that weren't paid back
The work share of your own laptop, phone and internet
Registration and WWCC renewals to keep your job
Study linked to your current teaching role

2026–27: the $1,000 standard deduction changes the maths

From the 2026–27 income year (the return you lodge from July 2027), the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 gives people with wage or salary income a standard deduction of up to $1,000 for work-related expenses. It became law on 26 June 2026 and it is applied automatically. It does not apply to your 2025–26 return.

The key point for teachers is that you don't get the $1,000 and your itemised claims. Your actual work-related claims reduce the standard deduction, so in effect you get whichever is larger. If your itemised claims are $640, you still get $1,000. If they're $1,800, you claim $1,800, and you need records for the whole $1,800.

Which way to go in 2026–27

Your real work costs	What you'd get	Records you need
$0 (no records at all)	$1,000 standard deduction	None for work expenses
$450 (union fees + registration)	$1,000 standard deduction	None needed for the $1,000
$1,000	$1,000 either way	Not worth itemising
$1,600 (union, registration, WFH, laptop depreciation)	$1,600 itemised	Written evidence for all $1,600
$3,200 (above plus a postgraduate subject)	$3,200 itemised	Written evidence for all $3,200

Illustrative amounts. The standard deduction is described on the ATO's standard deduction page (published July 2026).

Union fees for a full-time teacher can run to several hundred dollars a year, so a teacher who adds registration, a WWCC renewal, working from home and some equipment can easily pass $1,000. Keep your records through 2026–27 so you can choose properly at tax time. There's more detail in our guide to the $1,000 standard deduction for teachers.

How much a deduction is really worth at your step

A deduction doesn't give you that money back. It reduces your taxable income, so you save your marginal rate on it. For a teacher with a HELP debt, it also cuts your compulsory repayment, because HELP is worked out on your taxable income plus a few add-backs.

Worked example

NSW Step 3 teacher ($104,156) claims $1,500 of real work costs instead of the $1,000 standard deduction

Extra deduction over the standard $1,000: $500
Income tax saved at 30%: $150
Medicare levy saved at 2%: $10
HELP repayment saved at 15% (if you have a HELP debt): $75

Total benefit of itemising $160 without HELP, $235 with HELP

2026–27 rates. Step 3 is the NSW rate from 9 October 2026. HELP is 15c per dollar of repayment income between $69,528 and $129,717.

What $1,000 of deductions saves you in 2026–27

Taxable income	Tax + Medicare saved	Also saved if you have HELP	Total with HELP
$45,001–$69,528	$320	$0	$320
$69,529–$129,717	$320	$150	$470
$129,718–$135,000	$320	$170	$490
$135,001–$186,050	$390	$170	$560

Marginal rates 30% or 37% plus 2% Medicare levy. HELP marginal rates 15% and 17%. Above $186,050 HELP is 10% of total repayment income.

Free calculator

Teacher tax deductions calculator

Add up your union fees, registration, WFH hours and equipment, and see whether itemising beats the $1,000 standard deduction at your salary.

Check my deductions

Equipment over $300: depreciation in plain English

If an item you use for work cost $300 or less, you can claim the work-use share immediately. If it cost more than $300, you claim it over its effective life as set by the ATO, again only for the work share. The $300 test is per item, though identical items bought together (such as a set) count together.

Worked example

A $1,800 laptop used 70% for work

Cost: $1,800
Work-use percentage (from a 4-week diary): 70%
Work share of cost: $1,260
Spread over effective life: Check the ATO effective life table for laptops; a 2-year life is commonly used

Approx. claim in year one (2-year life, prime cost) About $630, pro-rated for the part of the year you owned it

Illustrative purchase. Confirm the current effective life in the ATO's depreciation tables or with a registered tax agent.

If you use the working-from-home fixed rate, you can still claim depreciation on your laptop, desk and chair separately. What you can't do is also claim electricity, internet, phone or stationery, because the fixed rate already covers them.

Records: what to keep and for how long

Your 2026–27 teacher tax folder

Union annual tax statement (most unions email it in July)
Registration renewal receipt (NESA, VIT, QCT, TRB etc.) and WWCC renewal receipt
Receipts or bank statement lines for classroom resources, with a note on what they were for
A running log of hours worked from home: date, start and finish time, what you did
A 4-week diary of phone and internet use if you claim actual costs
Invoices for laptops and other equipment, plus your work-use percentage calculation
Course invoices, conference registrations and PD receipts
Logbook or diary entries for travel between schools or to PD venues
Any reimbursement emails, so you can exclude reimbursed items

Keep records for five years from the date you lodge the return. A photo of a receipt in the ATO app (myDeductions in the ATO app) counts, and it's the easiest way to keep things together across a school year.

Casual, part-time and new teachers: what changes

The rules are the same, but a few things trip up particular groups.

Casual relief teachers can usually claim travel between two schools in one day, but generally not home to the school you're relieving at. See our relief teacher tax guide.
Graduate teachers can't claim their first registration or first WWCC, or their university fees. Renewals from year two onwards are deductible.
Part-time teachers often have low itemised totals, so the $1,000 standard deduction will usually win in 2026–27.
Teachers on parental leave who keep paying registration and union fees while they're away should ask a registered tax agent how the ATO treats those costs in a year with little or no teaching income.

Frequently asked questions

What can teachers claim on tax in Australia?

Teachers can claim work costs they paid for and weren't reimbursed: union fees, registration and WWCC renewals, classroom resources, the work share of phones, internet and laptops, working from home, travel between workplaces, and study linked to their current role. Each claim needs a record if your total is over $300.

Can teachers claim the $1,000 standard deduction?

Yes, from the 2026–27 income year. It's applied automatically for people with salary or wage income. Your actual work claims reduce it, so you effectively get the larger of $1,000 or your itemised claims, not both. It doesn't apply to 2025–26 returns.

Can teachers claim stationery and classroom supplies?

Yes, if you bought them yourself for teaching and your school didn't reimburse you. Keep the receipt and a note of what each item was for. If you use the working-from-home fixed rate, stationery used at home is already covered by that rate.

Are union fees tax deductible for teachers?

Yes. Membership fees paid to a teachers' union such as the AEU, NSW Teachers Federation, QTU or IEU are deductible. Your union usually sends an annual statement showing the total for the financial year.

Can I claim my teacher registration fee?

Yes, for renewals. Annual fees such as NESA's $100 or VIT's $131.30 are deductible because you need them to keep earning income as a teacher. The fee for your first registration, before you've got a teaching job, is not deductible.

Can teachers claim clothes or shoes?

Generally no. Ordinary clothing, including sports clothing and runners worn by PE teachers, is private even if you only wear it at school. The exception is a compulsory uniform that is distinctive to your school, and protective items such as sun protection for outdoor duties.

Can I claim the drive to school?

No. Travel between home and your usual school is private travel, even if you carry books or a laptop. Travel between two schools on the same day, to an excursion venue or to off-site professional learning can be claimed.

How much tax will I get back from my deductions?

Your tax saving is your deductions multiplied by your marginal rate, not the full amount. For most classroom teachers that's 32c per dollar (30% tax plus 2% Medicare levy), or up to 47c if you also have a HELP debt, because deductions reduce your HELP repayment income.

Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-16

About this page

Written and fact-checked by the TeacherPay AU editorial team against the enterprise agreements, awards and official pages listed in the sources. It is general information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it, usually within a day. See our editorial policy and how we calculate.

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