The Gold Coast Bulletin

Payback – for some

Tax time is better for some than others, writes Anthony Keane

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TRADIES beat teachers, nurses and farmers, but nobody beats real estate agents and lawyers when it comes to the biggest work-related tax deductions.

A new analysis of Australian Taxation Office data by Etax.com.au examined several occupation­s and found real estate agents made an average annual work-related tax deduction of $8634 – 10 times that of shop assistants ($814).

Lawyers claimed an average $7156, followed by truck drivers at $5059, tradespeop­le at $4871 and farmers at $4428. The average deduction for all workers is $3413.

Etax.com.au senior tax agent Simone Gielis said many of the biggest claims came from occupation­s where workrelate­d travel was common.

“Real estate agents have the largest average deductions because the nature of their work requires a lot of travel expenses, car expenses and incidental out of pocket costs. They also have certificat­ions and licences which need renewing annually,” she said.

Lawyers had a similar collection of deductions, Ms Gielis said, while tradespeop­le also had tools and technical equipment, and could claim transporti­ng bulky goods to and from work.

Etax.com.au’s analysis found that teachers claimed an average $3164 while nurses claimed $2622.

Ms Gielis said workers wanting bigger deductions should embrace technology such as apps that helped them track their spending, use a tax agent (as 74 per cent of taxpayers already did) and keep every receipt.

“If you throw out that $1000 receipt and it turns out you could have used it for a tax deduction, you’ve just cost yourself hundreds of dollars,” she said.

The Australian Securities and Investment­s Commission’s moneysmart.gov.au site says people should remember the ATO’s three rules for claiming work-related expenses:

•You must have spent the money yourself and not been reimbursed.

• It must be directly related to earning your income.

•You must have a record to prove you paid for it.

The ATO has produced almost 40 different occupation specific guides.

ASIC’s senior executive leader for financial capability, Laura Higgins, said “record keeping is really important” and people should use tools and technology to track spending throughout the year, not just at tax time.

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