Tax Deductions for Nurses in Australia 2026: The Full Checklist

Nurses and midwives spend their own money on all sorts of work essentials, from fob watches and non-slip shoes to registration fees and professional development, and a surprising amount of it is tax deductible. Yet every year nurses leave money on the table simply because they do not know what they can claim, or they lose the receipts. With tax season opening on 1 July, this is the complete, ATO-aligned checklist of tax deductions for nurses in Australia for 2026, organised category by category so you can claim everything you are entitled to and nothing you are not.

It covers uniforms and laundry, equipment, self-education, registration and union fees, car and travel, working from home, and the items nurses most often miss, plus a clear list of what you cannot claim and the records you need to keep.

This is general information, not personal tax advice. For your own situation, check the ATO or speak to a registered tax agent.

TL;DR: What Nurses Can Claim

Nurses can claim compulsory uniforms and their laundry, protective items like non-slip shoes and compression stockings, equipment such as a stethoscope and fob watch, AHPRA registration renewals, union and professional fees, work-related self-education, the work share of phone, internet and home office costs, and car travel between workplaces. You cannot claim plain clothing, your home-to-work commute, initial registration, or a gym membership. Three rules always apply: you must have paid for it yourself, it must relate to earning your income, and you must keep records.

The Three Golden Rules

1. Uniforms, Laundry and Protective Clothing

This is the most common nurse deduction, but the rules are specific. You can claim a uniform that is compulsory and distinctive to your employer, usually with a logo, along with the cost of laundering it. What you cannot claim is conventional clothing, such as plain black pants or a plain shirt, even if your employer requires them, because they are not distinctive enough to count as a uniform.

• Compulsory uniforms with an employer logo
• Scrubs that are a required, distinctive uniform
• Laundry of work uniforms: $1 per load (work only) or 50c per load (mixed with other washing)
• Dry-cleaning and repairs of work uniforms
• Aprons and lab coats worn for work

You can claim up to $150 of laundry without written evidence, though you should still keep a simple note of how you worked it out. Above $150, or if your total work expense claim tops $300, you need records.

2. Shoes, Stockings and Protective Items

Protective items that you need to do your job safely are deductible, even though everyday clothing is not. The test is whether the item protects you from a real risk of your work.

• Non-slip nursing shoes that protect against workplace hazards
• Support or compression stockings where required for your role
• Gloves, masks, face shields and other personal protective equipment
• Hand sanitiser and antibacterial gel for work use
• Safety glasses and protective eyewear

3. Equipment and Tools

The tools of the trade you buy yourself are claimable. Items costing $300 or less can be claimed in full in the year you buy them; more expensive items are claimed gradually as they decline in value (depreciation).

• Stethoscope, fob watch and pen torch
• Bandage scissors, tourniquets and a nurse’s kit or bag
• Thermometer and basic medical equipment you supply yourself
• Work-related portion of a laptop or tablet used for rosters, study and notes
• Repairs to any of the above work equipment

4. Self-Education and Professional Development

• Course and conference fees relevant to your current role
• Continuing professional development (CPD) and mandatory training
• First aid and CPR courses required for your job
• Textbooks, journals, and professional publications
• Stationery and travel costs for work-related study

5. Registration, Union and Memberships

• AHPRA registration renewal (the annual renewal, not your initial registration)
• Union fees, such as ANMF membership
• Professional association and college memberships
• Professional indemnity insurance
• Renewals of a police check or Working With Children Check required for your role

6. Phone, Internet and Working From Home

If you use your own phone or internet for work, for example checking rosters, contacting staff or doing handover calls, you can claim the work-related portion, based on a representative record of your usage. Nurses doing telehealth, administration or study from home can also claim home running costs. The simplest way is the 70-cent fixed rate method, which we explain fully in our guide to the working from home tax deduction for 2026, and you can crunch the numbers with our home office rate calculator.

7. Car, Travel and Parking

Travel rules trip up a lot of nurses. Your normal commute from home to your regular workplace is never deductible, no matter how early or late your shift. But genuine work travel is.

• Driving between two different workplaces or hospital sites on the same day
• Travel to a different site that is not your regular workplace
• Trips to conferences, training or work-related study
• Parking fees and tolls on work-related trips (not at your regular workplace)
• Carrying bulky equipment when there is no secure place to store it at work

You can claim car travel using either the cents-per-kilometre method, a set rate for each work kilometre up to 5,000 kilometres, or the logbook method, which claims the work-related percentage of your actual running costs. Keep a logbook or a diary of your work trips either way.

8. Overtime Meals and Other Items

• Overtime meals, where you received an overtime meal allowance under your award and bought a meal
• Annual practising certificates and mandatory licences for your role
• Work-related subscriptions and apps you pay for
• Agency fees and costs related to securing shifts (for agency nurses)

What Nurses Cannot Claim

The 0 and 0 Record Rules

Two thresholds confuse a lot of nurses. If your total claim for work-related expenses is $300 or less, you can claim without receipts, but you must still have actually spent the money and be able to explain how you worked out the claim. Separately, you can claim up to $150 of laundry without written evidence. These are not free bonus deductions; they are limits on when you need receipts, not amounts you can claim automatically. Once you go over $300 in total work expenses, you need records for the whole claim, so keep everything.

Agency and Shift Nurses

Agency nurses can claim the same categories above, and often have more travel to claim because they move between sites. If you drive from one facility to another, or to a placement that is not your regular workplace, that travel is generally deductible. Keep a careful logbook, since agency work can mean many short work trips that add up to a worthwhile claim.

Keeping Records and Claiming

Good records turn entitlements into refunds. Keep receipts, invoices and a logbook, and use the ATO’s myDeductions tool in the ATO app to photograph receipts through the year. Hold on to records for five years. When tax time comes, you lodge your return from 1 July through myGov and myTax or with a registered tax agent; our step-by-step guide to lodging your first tax return online walks you through it, and you can estimate your refund with our Australian tax calculator. If you still need a Tax File Number, see our guide to the TFN and how to apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Nursing is demanding and often expensive out of your own pocket, so claim everything you are genuinely entitled to. Work through this checklist category by category, keep your receipts and a simple logbook through the year, and remember the three golden rules: you paid for it, it relates to your work, and you can prove it. Done well, your deductions can add up to a meaningful refund. For the official detail, the ATO publishes a dedicated nurses and midwives deductions guide.