As a nurse, midwife or a health professional, it is common to purchase work-related items and pay for them yourself. And these out-of-pocket expenses are often valid tax deductions for the profession and are claimable on your next tax return.
Common tax deductions for midwives & nurses
While each individual is different, the items below are usually classified as tax deductions for nurses. Remember, you’ll need to keep your receipts and documentation for any expenses you claim.
- Memberships and union fees: If you pay a membership fee to a nursing industry body or if you pay dues to a union, you can claim these costs.
- Work Uniform: Health professionals often have specific clothing required for their job and often incur work uniform expenses. This clothing includes protective equipment, uniforms with a logo and laundering expenses for those items.
- Stationery: This includes diaries, planners, logbooks, workbooks etc.
- Computer/Laptop: If you have to use your personal computer or laptop for work, you can claim depreciation costs for these items (based on a percentage of legitimate work-related use).
- Mobile phone: You can claim a percentage of your mobile phone bill if you use your mobile for work related phone calls.
- Subscriptions: Subscriptions to nursing magazines, books and journals used to keep your knowledge current are claimable.
- Home office expenses: You can claim a percentage of costs such as internet and landline if you have to work from home.
- Fob watch: Required for those bedside observations.
- Agency commission or fee: If working for an agency, the commission or fees that are paid to the agency are claimable.
Midwives & nurses, may be able to claim car expenses
In many cases, nurses are required to:
- Transport patients
- Travel between hospitals/medical practices during their shift
- [Travel from a hospital to a second job (or vice versa)
Therefore, these trips will generally qualify as a tax deduction. You will need to keep a logbook to ensure your claim is correct and remember that travel between home and work is not claimable.
Nurses’ self-education expenses can be claimable.
Self-education expenses are common, especially when you’re studying further for your role. This includes short courses (i.e., first aid courses, OH&S etc.) and qualifications such as a related degree. However, if you’re studying to get a new job or a first job as a midwife or nurse, education costs are not claimable.
