Nurse Tax Deductions Australia 2026-27: What You Can Claim

Nurses pay for a surprising amount of their job out of their own pocket: the annual AHPRA registration, the union fees, the non-slip shoes, the scrubs that need washing twice a week, the stethoscope, the CPD courses that keep their registration alive. The ATO publishes a dedicated occupation guide for nurses and midwives precisely because the deduction picture is more generous — and more fiddly — than most people realise.

The catch is that the rules are specific. A fob watch is deductible; a smartwatch is not. Your AHPRA renewal is deductible; your first AHPRA registration is not. Driving between two hospitals on the same day is deductible; driving from home to your regular hospital is not. Get the distinctions right and a typical full-time registered nurse can legitimately claim several thousand dollars a year.

Quick answer: In 2026-27, nurses and midwives can claim AHPRA renewal ($193), union and professional fees, compulsory uniforms and laundry ($1 per work-only load), non-slip shoes, stethoscopes and fob watches, CPD and self-education that relates to their current role, work-related car travel at 91c per km, the work portion of phone and internet, overtime meals (only with an allowance), and home-office costs. From 1 July 2026 there is also a new $1,000 standard deduction — but for most nurses, itemising still wins by a wide margin.

The three tests every claim must pass

Before the list, the ATO’s framework. A work-related expense is deductible only if you meet all three conditions:

1. You spent the money yourself and were not reimbursed.
2. It directly relates to earning your income in your current role — not to getting a job or changing careers.
3. You have a record to prove it. Receipts, invoices, bank statements, a diary of kilometres or hours. Some small claims have record-keeping shortcuts, but “the ATO won’t ask” is never a strategy.

Keep records for five years from the date you lodge. The ATO’s myDeductions tool in the ATO app is the simplest way to capture receipts as you go.

Key rates and thresholds for nurses in 2026-27

Item	2026-27 figure	What it means
AHPRA / NMBA renewal (general registration)	$193	Annual renewal fee, up 4.25%. Deductible if registration is required for your job.
Car — cents per kilometre	91c per km, max 5,000 km	Maximum claim $4,550. No receipts needed, but you must show your kilometre calculation.
Laundry — work-only load	$1 per load	No receipts needed if your total laundry claim is $150 or less — you must still show the calculation.
Laundry — mixed load	50c per load	Work clothes washed together with personal items.
Equipment — immediate deduction	$300 or less	Items $300 or less, mainly for work, can be claimed in full (e.g. stethoscope, fob watch).
Phone and internet	$50 threshold	Claims of $50 or less need no records; above $50 you need evidence of work use.
Working from home — fixed rate	70c per hour	Covers energy, phone, internet and stationery for hours worked from home.
Standard deduction (new)	$1,000	Automatic from 1 July 2026. You claim it OR your itemised expenses — not both.

What nurses can claim in 2026-27

1. AHPRA registration, union and professional fees

Your annual AHPRA renewal is deductible if you need the registration to work in your current job. For 2026-27 the Nursing and Midwifery Board general registration fee is $193, due by 31 May each year ($30 late fee; miss 30 June and you are removed from the register and must stop practising).

Two traps here. First, the initial cost of getting your AHPRA registration is never deductible: the ATO treats it as an expense to enable you to start work, not an expense incurred while earning income. Union fees (ANMF and state branches), professional association memberships, professional indemnity insurance top-ups and nursing journal subscriptions are also deductible where they connect to your current role. Agency nurses get a specific rule: commission you pay to a nursing agency is deductible, but joining fees, search fees and upfront fees are not — and if your employer paid the commission, you cannot claim it.

2. Uniforms, scrubs and laundry

Clothing is where most nurses over-claim, because the ATO’s test is strict: you can claim a compulsory uniform (distinctive, enforced by your employer), a registered non-compulsory uniform, occupation-specific clothing, or protective clothing. Plain black pants and a plain white shirt are conventional clothing — not deductible even if your employer requires that colour. An aged care nurse can claim the logo-embroidered polo that is her compulsory uniform, but not the black trousers she wears with it.

What this means in practice: employer-issued scrubs with a logo, a compulsory uniform, and non-slip nursing shoes are in; generic black pants, ordinary closed shoes and everyday clothing are out. And if your employer supplies and launders your theatre scrubs, your claim is zero — the ATO’s example of Sebastian, a theatre nurse whose scrubs are collected and cleaned at the employer’s cost, is explicit: no cost incurred, no deduction.

For laundry you do yourself, the ATO’s rates are $1 per load for work-only loads and 50c per load for mixed loads. The ATO’s own example: Linda washes her compulsory uniform in a separate load twice a week for 48 weeks — 96 loads at $1, a $96 claim, no receipts required because it is under $150. Note that $150 is not an automatic deduction: you still need to be able to show the calculation if asked.

3. Protective items and equipment

Stethoscopes, fob watches, safety glasses, gloves, face masks and sanitiser are deductible where you use them to protect yourself from a real and likely risk of injury or illness at work. A stethoscope or fob watch costing $300 or less can be claimed in full in the year you buy it, and repairs to work equipment are deductible too, apportioned for any private use.

The common mistakes: a smartwatch is not deductible (it is an everyday item, even if you check the time on the ward); prescription glasses and contact lenses are private expenses even if you need them at work; and protective glasses are deductible only for the work-related portion.

4. CPD, self-education and conferences

Nurses must complete at least 20 hours of continuing professional development each year to maintain AHPRA registration, and the costs are deductible where the study maintains or improves the skills you need for your current duties, or is likely to increase your income from your current role. Claimable costs include course and tuition fees, textbooks, journals, stationery, and travel to the course — and if you study from home, the work-from-home running expenses for those hours.

The test that catches people is the connection test. The ATO’s examples are blunt: Carmel, a rural RN who cares for children, can claim a paediatrics specialisation because it improves the skills she uses now, and John, an RN studying intensive care, can claim it because his pay rises when he qualifies. But Ling, an aged care nurse studying midwifery to move into a new position, cannot — the study is for a different job — and a personal carer studying a Bachelor of Nursing to become a nurse cannot claim it at all. Studying to get a new job is never deductible; studying to be better at the job you have usually is. HECS-HELP fees and study loan repayments are never deductible.

Seminars and conferences follow the same logic: registration, fares, accommodation and meals for an overnight work-related event are deductible, but if you tack a holiday onto a conference, only the direct work costs count. First aid courses are deductible only if you are a designated first aid person who needs the training for emergency duties at work.

5. Car and travel expenses

This is the category most nurses under-claim. You cannot claim the normal trip between home and your regular workplace — it is private, even if you live a long way away or work nights and weekends. You can claim travel:

• directly between two separate jobs on the same day (for example, a ward shift then a shift as a personal care worker);
• between hospitals or facilities for the same employer on the same day;
• from home directly to an alternative workplace, such as a patient’s home;
• from your regular workplace to a training facility, and then home — the ATO’s example of Jake, an ER nurse driving from the hospital to a CPD seminar and then home, is claimable for both legs.

For 2026-27 the cents-per-kilometre rate is 91c per km, capped at 5,000 work-related kilometres per car — a maximum claim of $4,550. You do not need receipts, but you must be able to show how you worked out the kilometres: a diary, or the myDeductions tool. If your work travel exceeds 5,000 km, the logbook method may give a bigger claim. One trap: if your car is under a novated lease or salary-sacrifice arrangement, you cannot claim car expenses at all — though you can still claim parking and tolls on work-related trips. Parking at your regular hospital is private and not claimable; parking at a training facility or another work site on a work trip is. And fines — parking or speeding — are never deductible, for anyone.

6. Phone, internet and working from home

You can claim the work-related portion of your phone, data and internet. If the total claim is $50 or less and the work use is incidental, no records are needed; above $50 you need an itemised bill and a record of your work use. The ATO’s own example is Ben, a nurse unit manager on call on a $69-a-month plan: 90 of his 300 calls in a four-week period were for work (30%), so he claims 30% of $69, or $20.70 a month — $219.42 for the year.

For work done at home — CPD, mandatory online training, telehealth or admin — the fixed-rate method is 70c per hour, covering energy, phone, internet and stationery. You cannot claim occupancy expenses such as rent or mortgage interest for study at home.

7. Overtime meals

Food and drink during normal working hours is private, even if you receive a meal allowance. The single exception is an overtime meal: you can claim it only if you buy and eat the meal while working overtime and you receive an overtime meal allowance under an industrial law, award or agreement that appears as a separate allowance on your income statement and is included in your tax return as income. The ATO’s example: Sandra, a neonatal nurse, works three hours of overtime, is paid a $19 meal allowance under her enterprise agreement, and buys a $22 meal — the full $22 is deductible.

Worked example: what a typical RN actually claims

Sarah is a registered nurse in a Sydney public hospital earning $95,000 in 2026-27. She works across two wards, picks up the occasional agency shift, and does her CPD online at home:

Expense	Amount	How it is worked out
AHPRA renewal (NMBA general registration)	$193	2026-27 fee
Union fees (ANMF)	$520	Annual membership
Laundry — compulsory uniform	$96	2 loads/week × 48 weeks × $1
Non-slip shoes	$140	Protective footwear, purchased herself
Stethoscope	$120	Under $300 — claimed in full
CPD course (online, paediatric assessment)	$850	Directly related to her ward duties
Car travel between wards and to CPD	$1,638	1,800 km × 91c
Phone — work-related portion	$248	30% of $69/month plan × 12
Total itemised deductions	$3,805

Sarah’s marginal tax rate at $95,000 is 30%, and she also pays the 2% Medicare levy on her taxable income. Every dollar of deduction therefore saves her 32 cents — so $3,805 of deductions saves $1,217.60 in tax.

Compare that with the new $1,000 standard deduction: claiming it instead of itemising would save Sarah only $320, so itemising wins by $897.60. The standard deduction suits a nurse whose real expenses are under $1,000 — a casual working a handful of shifts, for example — but for a full-time RN, itemising is almost always worth the paperwork. Work out both numbers before you lodge; our income tax calculator shows exactly how deductions change your tax, and our guide to the $1,000 standard tax deduction walks through the comparison.

What nurses can never claim

Some expenses feel work-related but the ATO has ruled them private:

• Grooming: hairdressing, cosmetics, hair and skin care products — even if your employer expects you to be well groomed or pays a grooming allowance.
• Conventional clothing: plain black pants, white shirts, generic polos and ordinary shoes, even if your employer requires the colour.
• Child care and school fees: private expenses, including before- and after-school care while you are working.
• Your driver’s licence: getting or renewing it is private, even if holding a licence is a condition of employment.
• Entertainment and social functions: work breakfasts, gala nights, concerts — even compulsory ones. Travel to them is not deductible either.
• Normal home-to-work travel and parking at your regular workplace.
• Fines and penalties of any kind.
• Your initial AHPRA registration and the cost of your nursing degree (including HECS-HELP fees and loan repayments).
• Relocation costs when you move for a job.

Common mistakes nurses make at tax time

1. Claiming the standard $1,000 deduction and itemising. It is one or the other — add up your real expenses first, since most full-time nurses are well over $1,000.
2. Claiming employer-supplied scrubs or the drive to work. If the hospital provides and launders your scrubs, you spent nothing; and home to your regular hospital is private — only travel between jobs, between sites, or to an alternative workplace counts.
3. Claiming a smartwatch or study for a new career. A fob watch is deductible; a smartwatch is not. A course that qualifies you for a different job fails the connection test.
4. Treating the $150 laundry figure as automatic. It is a record-keeping threshold, not a free $150 — you still need to show the calculation.
5. Forgetting the overtime meal rule, or claiming car expenses on a novated-lease car. Without the allowance shown separately on your income statement, the meal is not deductible; and a salary-sacrificed car attracts no car expense claim at all.

Tips for a bigger, safer refund

• Photograph every receipt the day you pay using the ATO app’s myDeductions tool, and keep a one-line weekly log: kilometres driven, uniform loads washed, CPD hours at home. Five minutes a week makes your whole claim defensible.
• Check your income statement in June. Confirm your overtime meal allowance appears as a separate allowance — if it does not, ask payroll before you lodge. And renew AHPRA before 31 May: the $30 late fee is bad enough, and removal from the register on 30 June means you cannot legally work.
• Compare before you lodge. Total your itemised deductions, compare them with the $1,000 standard deduction, and claim whichever is higher. See our complete tax deductions checklist, car expenses guide, self-education guide and work-from-home guide for the detail behind each category.

Frequently asked questions

Can nurses claim their AHPRA registration on tax?

Yes — the annual renewal is deductible if registration is required for your current job. For 2026-27 the NMBA general registration fee is $193. The initial registration fee is not deductible, because it is a cost of entering the profession rather than earning income from it.

Can I claim scrubs and uniforms?

You can claim a compulsory uniform, a registered non-compulsory uniform, occupation-specific clothing and protective clothing such as non-slip shoes. Plain black pants and ordinary shirts are conventional clothing and are not deductible. If your employer supplies and launders your scrubs, you cannot claim anything for them.

Can nurses claim driving to work?

No. Travel between home and your regular workplace is a private expense. But travel between two jobs on the same day, between hospitals for the same employer, from home to a patient’s home, or from the hospital to a training venue is deductible — at 91c per km for 2026-27, up to 5,000 km.

Can I claim my phone and internet?

Yes, for the work-related portion only. Claims of $50 or less need no records; above $50 you need an itemised bill and a record of work use — the ATO’s own example works out 30% of a $69 monthly plan, or $219.42 a year.

Is the $1,000 standard deduction better than itemising for nurses?

Usually not for full-time nurses. A typical RN’s itemised claims run to $3,000–$4,000, saving roughly $900 more in tax than the standard deduction. The standard deduction suits nurses whose real expenses are under $1,000, such as casuals working few shifts.

Can midwives claim the same deductions as nurses?

Yes. The ATO’s occupation guide covers nurses and midwives together, and the same rules apply across the board.

The bottom line

Nursing is one of the few occupations where the ATO publishes a dedicated deduction guide — and the list is long. The money is in the unglamorous items: the $193 registration, the union fees, the CPD course, the kilometres between wards, the laundry loads. Add them up honestly, keep the receipts, and compare the total with the $1,000 standard deduction before you lodge. For most full-time nurses, itemising is worth close to $900 extra — and the only cost is a few minutes a week with the ATO app.

This guide is general information based on ATO guidance for the 2026-27 income year, not personal tax advice. If your situation is unusual (multiple employers, agency work plus a permanent role, or a novated lease), a registered tax agent can confirm what applies to you.