Tax Deductions You Can Claim Without Receipts 2026 (Australia)

In Australia you can claim up to $300 of total work-related expenses without receipts, plus separate amounts under specific methods: up to $150 of laundry, car travel via cents per kilometre (up to 5,000 km), working-from-home costs at the 70c fixed rate, small individual expenses of $10 or less (up to $200 a year), and bucket charity donations up to $10. But “without receipts” does not mean “without proof”, you still have to show you actually spent the money. Here is exactly what you can claim, and the limits, for 2026.

TL;DR

The headline is the $300 rule: if your total work-related expenses for the year are $300 or less, you can claim them without keeping receipts, as long as you can explain how you worked the claim out. On top of that, laundry up to $150, the cents-per-kilometre car method, the 70c working-from-home rate, small $10 expenses and bucket donations up to $10 all have their own no-receipt rules. Go over $300 in total work expenses, though, and you need records for everything.

What You Can Claim Without Receipts: The Limits

1. The $300 Rule (Total Work Expenses)

This is the big one. If your total work-related expense claims add up to $300 or less for the whole year, you do not need written evidence. It is a combined cap across everything, not $300 per item, and it is not a free $300 you can claim automatically, you must have genuinely incurred the costs and be able to explain how you worked them out. Note the $300 limit excludes car, meal allowance, award transport and travel allowance expenses, which have their own rules.

2. Laundry up to $150

If you wash a compulsory or protective work uniform, you can claim up to $150 of laundry without written evidence, calculated at $1 per load for work-only washing or 50c per load when mixed with other clothes. This $150 sits separately from the $300 rule, but if your total work expenses exceed $300, you need records for everything, including the laundry.

3. Car: Cents per Kilometre (up to 5,000 km)

Using the cents-per-kilometre method, you can claim 88c for each work kilometre up to 5,000 km, a maximum of $4,400, without fuel or servicing receipts. You do need to show how you worked out the kilometres, so keep a record of your regular work trips and their distances.

4. Working From Home (70c Fixed Rate)

The 70c fixed rate lets you claim home energy, phone and internet for work hours without itemised receipts for each cost. You do need a record of the actual hours you worked from home across the year, plus at least one bill to show you incur each expense. See our full guide to the working from home deduction.

5. Small Expenses ($10 or Less)

For small work expenses of $10 or less where you cannot get a receipt, you can claim them by keeping a simple diary note instead, up to a total of $200 a year using this method. Think small bits of stationery or parking where no receipt is issued.

6. Bucket Donations (up to $10)

If you dropped coins into charity bucket collections run by a registered deductible gift recipient, you can claim up to $10 in total for those small cash donations of $2 or more without a receipt. To claim more than $10, you need a receipt.

What You Cannot Claim Without Records

Once your total work expenses pass $300, every claim needs proper records. Larger items, tools over the threshold, self-education, big equipment and most donations all need receipts regardless. And you can never claim private costs, your normal commute, or anything your employer reimbursed. The safest habit is to photograph receipts through the year with the ATO myDeductions app, so you are never stuck. To see what applies to your job, browse our checklists for nurses, teachers and tradies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

You can claim a useful amount on tax without receipts in Australia, the $300 work-expense rule, $150 of laundry, cents-per-kilometre car travel, the 70c home rate, small $10 expenses and bucket donations, but every one of them still needs you to show you actually spent the money. Keep simple records as you go, stay within the limits, and you can claim confidently without a shoebox full of receipts. Estimate your refund with our tax calculator.