If you are an occupational therapist in Australia, your tax return looks different from most workers’. You pay an annual registration fee just to practise, you must complete 20 hours of professional development every year on a timetable that does not match the tax year, and your working week may take you from a hospital ward to a school, a client’s home and an NDIS planning meeting — often in your own car. Each of those costs can be a deduction, and each has a trap attached. Get it right and the difference is worth real money: on a $98,000 salary, a well-documented claim in this guide is worth $1,822 in tax saved, against just $320 from the new standard deduction. This guide works through what you can claim in 2026-27, what you cannot, and the mistakes that cost occupational therapists their claims.
The quick answer
Employed occupational therapists can claim the work-related costs they paid themselves and were not reimbursed for: AHPRA registration renewal, Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA) membership, professional indemnity insurance you paid yourself, CPD courses and conference travel, travel between clients and between workplaces, work equipment and assessment tools, work-related phone and internet use, home-office running costs for notes and telehealth, and laundry for uniforms and protective clothing. You cannot claim your initial registration, your own occupational therapy treatment, a gym membership, your drive from home to your regular clinic, or conventional clothing. And in 2026-27 there is a new fork in the road: you can take the $1,000 standard work-related deduction instead of itemising — but you cannot take both, and if you itemise above $1,000 you need written evidence for your claims.
What occupational therapists can claim
Registration, membership and insurance
Your annual AHPRA registration renewal is deductible. The fee is set each year by the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia, so claim the amount on your renewal notice rather than a figure from a guide — and note the date: OTs renew by 30 November, with a one-month late period after that. If you miss the late period your registration lapses and you cannot practise, which is a far bigger problem than a missed deduction. What is not deductible is your initial registration — the cost of entering the profession in the first place. The same entry-cost rule catches overseas-qualified therapists: qualification assessment and competence assessment fees that get you registered are not deductible, even though they are expensive. Once you are registered, though, membership of Occupational Therapy Australia and any specialist association related to your current work is deductible, as is professional indemnity insurance you paid yourself. If your employer paid any of these, you cannot claim them — a deduction needs to be your money, unreimbursed.
CPD: 20 hours, 5 of them interactive
The Occupational Therapy Board requires at least 20 hours of CPD each year, with at least five hours in an interactive setting with other practitioners. Courses, workshops, conferences and training that maintain or improve the skills of your current role are deductible, along with course materials and travel to attend. Two traps sit inside that simple rule. First, the interactive five hours cannot be met with self-paced recorded courses alone: an interactive activity needs a two-way flow of information with other practitioners, such as a live webinar with discussion, a workshop, or supervised practice review. A year of only recorded modules leaves you short on the interactive requirement even if your total hours look fine. Second, your CPD year and your tax year are different years. CPD runs on the registration year, roughly December to November, while tax runs July to June. A course you pay for in November counts toward that registration year’s CPD but falls in a different tax year from a course you pay for the following July. Keep the two calendars separate when you tally receipts, or you will misstate one of them. One more rule that surprises people returning to practice: CPD or supervision imposed as a condition on your registration cannot be counted toward the 20-hour minimum. And if you hold OTA’s Mental Health Endorsement, you need at least 10 hours of mental-health-specific CPD a year on top of maintaining OTA general membership — those hours are deductible on the same basis as any other CPD, but they do not replace the base 20.
Travel between clients: your biggest line
For community and NDIS occupational therapists, travel is usually the largest single deduction — and the most misunderstood. Travel between two workplaces, from your clinic to a client’s home, from a school to a hospital, or between clients during the day is deductible. Travel from home to your regular workplace is private commuting and is never deductible, no matter how far you live or how early you start. The distinction that catches NDIS therapists is reimbursement: if your provider bills provider travel to a participant, or your employer reimburses your kilometres, you cannot also claim those kilometres as a tax deduction. You claim only the unreimbursed work kilometres, and you need to be able to show how you worked them out — a diary, the myDeductions app, or a log of client visits. For a car you own, the cents-per-kilometre method is the simplest path: 91 cents per kilometre in 2026-27, up to 5,000 business kilometres per car, which caps the claim at $4,550. That rate covers everything — fuel, registration, insurance, servicing, depreciation — so you cannot add those costs on top. If your work driving is heavy, compare it with the logbook method, which claims the work-use percentage of your actual car costs; for high-kilometre community roles it can beat the cents-per-kilometre cap, but it needs a 12-week logbook and full running-cost records.
Equipment, tools and technology
Assessment kits, splinting materials and tools, sensory and fine-motor resources, a work laptop or tablet (business-use portion only), clinical software subscriptions and reference books for your current practice are all deductible in principle. The practical rule is apportionment: if you use something partly for private purposes, claim only the work-use share, and be ready to explain the split. A tablet used 80% for client notes and 20% for personal use gives an 80% claim. Equipment bought for a specific client — for example, a splint made for one person — is a work cost, not a private purchase, provided you paid for it and were not reimbursed. What fails here is private-use creep: sensory toys bought for your own children, a standing desk for a home study you also use privately without apportionment, or a “work” phone that is really your personal phone with no work-use calculation. Keep receipts for everything you itemise; from 2026-27 the old small-claims shortcuts no longer carry a claim on their own, because the standard deduction is now the no-evidence option and itemising is the evidence option.
Uniforms, laundry, phone and home office
Scrubs or a branded uniform that identifies you as an employee of a particular practice are deductible, along with laundry costs for that clothing. Conventional clothing is not, even if you only wear it to work — a plain black polo from a department store is private, while the same polo with your employer’s logo is a uniform. Protective clothing for splinting and plaster work follows the same logic: protective and occupation-specific, deductible; ordinary, not. Phone and internet are deductible for the work-use portion only — if 30% of your phone use is work calls, messages and client apps, claim 30% of the bill. If you do client notes, reports or telehealth from home, you can also claim home-office running costs for that work. Keep a diary of your home-office hours and the basis of your apportionment; the ATO’s fixed-rate method covers energy, internet and phone in one hourly figure, while the actual-cost method needs floor-area and expense records. Either way, the same hour cannot be claimed twice, and a room used only occasionally for notes does not turn your rent into a deduction.
Worked example: Maya, community OT on $98,000
Maya is a community occupational therapist employed by a disability provider. She visits clients at home and at schools, works two days a week from a clinic base, and does her notes from home in the evenings. Her salary is $98,000. At 2026-27 resident rates her marginal tax rate is 30%, plus the 2% Medicare levy, so each extra dollar of deduction saves her 32 cents. Here are her receipts for the year:
| Expense | Amount |
|---|---|
| AHPRA renewal, OTA membership and indemnity insurance (her receipts combined) | $1,240 |
| CPD: hand therapy course and a paediatric workshop | $1,150 |
| Car: 2,400 work kilometres between clients at 91c/km | $2,184 |
| Work equipment: assessment tools, splinting supplies, laptop work-use portion | $680 |
| Phone and internet, work-use portion | $260 |
| Uniform laundry and scrubs | $180 |
| Total itemised deductions | $5,694 |
At her 32% marginal rate, those deductions save $5,694 × 32% = $1,822. The $1,000 standard deduction would save only $1,000 × 32% = $320. Itemising wins by $1,502 — but only because Maya kept records: a kilometre diary for the 2,400 km, receipts for the courses and equipment, and a phone-use calculation. Without records, the standard deduction is the safer claim, and claiming $5,694 on assertion alone is exactly the kind of return the ATO’s data-matching now tests.
The $1,000 standard deduction crossover
The new standard deduction changes the maths for every employee, and occupational therapists with light years should take it seriously. Consider a part-time OT on a smaller caseload with just $740 of receipts — a renewal, a short course and a few laundry loads. Itemising saves $740 × 32% = $236.80. The standard deduction saves $1,000 × 32% = $320. The standard deduction wins by $83.20, with no diary, no receipts to defend and no apportionment arguments. The crossover point is simple: if your genuine work-related expenses are below $1,000, take the standard deduction; if they are above $1,000 and you can evidence them, itemise. Two warnings: union fees and certain professional subscriptions can sit outside the standard deduction, so check the current ATO guidance before assuming your total, and you cannot claim the standard deduction and itemise on top of it — it is one or the other.
Employee or contractor? It changes the return
Many OTs work as contractors or sole traders, especially in the NDIS, and the tax picture changes completely. A contractor claims business expenses — room hire, practice software, advertising, insurance, vehicle costs under business rules — against business income, rather than work-related deductions against salary. Two contractor traps matter most. First, GST: health services are generally GST-free, but if you cross $75,000 of GST turnover from taxable supplies you may still need to register, and the distinction between GST-free therapy and taxable services (such as some assessments or reports) needs advice, not assumption. Second, personal services income: if you contract essentially to one practice, on their terms, with their clients, the PSI rules can limit the deductions you can claim against that income. An OT earning $140,000 through a single agency arrangement cannot assume every business expense is deductible. If you are unsure which side of the line you sit on, get advice before lodgement — the difference between an employee return and a contractor return is the difference between a $1,822 saving and a reassessment.
Common mistakes that cost OTs their claims
- Claiming home-to-first-client travel. Your drive from home to your first client of the day is commuting if that client visit is your first workplace stop from home. Only travel between workplaces during the day, or from your regular base to a client, counts.
- Double-claiming NDIS provider travel. Kilometres billed to a participant or reimbursed by your employer are already paid for. Claiming them again is not a deduction, it is an overclaim.
- Counting self-paced courses toward the interactive five hours. Recorded modules count toward the 20-hour total, not toward the five interactive hours. A year of only recorded learning leaves you short at renewal.
- Claiming your own treatment. Occupational therapy you receive yourself, a gym membership for your own fitness, or a sensory program for your own child are private, even when they inform your practice.
- Claiming the initial registration. The fee that first got you onto the register is an entry cost, not a work expense. Only renewals are deductible.
- Claiming the full cost of a dual-use device. A laptop or phone used privately as well as for work must be apportioned. Claiming 100% of a device you use 50% privately is the easiest adjustment for the ATO to make.
- Forgetting the registration calendar. CPD paid for in November and CPD paid for in July fall in different tax years. Mixing them up overstates one year and understates the next.
FAQ
Can occupational therapists claim their AHPRA registration?
Yes for renewals, no for your initial registration. Claim the renewal amount shown on your notice — OTs renew by 30 November — and keep the receipt. If your employer paid it, you cannot claim it.
How many CPD hours do OTs need each year?
At least 20 hours, with at least five hours interactive, under the Occupational Therapy Board’s standard. Mental Health Endorsement holders need at least 10 hours of mental-health-specific CPD a year as well. Proposed changes from the 2026 Ahpra review are not in force — keep meeting the current standard.
Can I claim travel to clients’ homes?
Yes, for unreimbursed travel between workplaces and between clients during the day, at 91 cents per kilometre up to 5,000 km in 2026-27, or under the logbook method. Home-to-work travel is private, and reimbursed or participant-billed kilometres cannot be claimed again.
Should I take the $1,000 standard deduction or itemise?
Take whichever is higher, but not both. Below $1,000 of genuine expenses, the standard deduction usually wins and needs no evidence. Above $1,000 with records, itemising wins — in Maya’s example by $1,502.
Can I claim my uniform and laundry?
Branded scrubs or a uniform specific to your employer, plus laundry for them, are deductible. Conventional clothing you could wear anywhere is not, even if you only wear it to work.
I work as an NDIS contractor, not an employee. Does this guide apply?
Only in part. Contractors claim business deductions against business income, and PSI and GST rules may apply. The CPD and registration rules are the same, but the expense rules are different — get advice on your structure before lodging.
What to do before you lodge
Run through three checks. First, add up your receipts and compare the total with $1,000 — if you are below it, the standard deduction is probably your answer. Second, check your CPD log against the 20-hour and five-interactive-hour requirements, and confirm your 30 November renewal is paid. Third, reconcile your kilometre diary against any provider travel you billed or your employer reimbursed, and remove those kilometres from your claim. If you want to see how the numbers flow into your total tax, run your salary and deductions through the income tax calculator — and for the broader picture, our tax deductions checklist, car expenses guide and work from home guide cover the same 2026-27 rules in more depth. Related profession guides include physiotherapists and nurses. The authoritative rates in this article are the ATO’s cents-per-kilometre method and Occupational Therapy Australia’s CPD guidance. Keep your records for five years from lodgement — the standard deduction may be simple, but an itemised claim is only as good as the evidence behind it.
