Can nurses claim shoes, laundry and uniforms?

It is one of the questions nurses ask most at tax time, and it is a fair one, because the answer genuinely is not obvious. The short version is that some of it you can claim and some of it you cannot. Whether your uniform, your shoes and the washing that goes with them are deductible does not come down to whether you wear them to work. It comes down to whether they are proper work clothing or protective gear, rather than ordinary clothes you happen to have on during a shift. Here is where the line sits, in plain terms, so you can claim what is yours and leave out what would only cause you grief later.

Uniforms: what counts

The ATO looks at two kinds of nursing uniform, and treats them differently.

• A compulsory uniform. One your employer requires you to wear through a strictly enforced policy, and that identifies you as working there, such as scrubs in a set colour carrying the hospital's logo. Buying it and laundering it are both deductible.
• A non-compulsory uniform. Deductible only if your employer has registered the design with AusIndustry on the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing. If it is not registered, you cannot claim it, even where you are expected to wear it.

The sticking point is plain clothing you chose yourself. A set of navy scrubs you bought because they are the ward's colour, with no logo and no policy enforcing them, is treated as ordinary clothing. It is not deductible, even though you would never wear it anywhere but work. It can feel unfair, but that is the line the ATO draws.

Shoes: the part people get wrong

This is the one that trips nurses up, and it is easy to see why. You buy a sturdy, supportive pair purely to get through a twelve-hour shift on hard floors, so it is only natural to see it as a work cost. Comfort, though, is not the test the ATO uses. Shoes become deductible in just two situations:

• Protective footwear. Non-slip or closed-in shoes needed to protect you on the ward count as protective clothing.
• Part of a compulsory uniform. Shoes can be claimed where they are an essential part of your compulsory uniform and the colour, style and type are set out in your employer's uniform policy.

If your shoes are simply everyday footwear you happen to wear to work, they stay off the return, however sensible the pair. One more detail catches people out: shoes, socks and stockings can never be part of a registered non-compulsory uniform, so that path does not open footwear up either.

Socks and stockings

The same thinking runs down to your legs. Compression or support stockings can be claimed where they are genuinely protective across your shifts, or where they are a set part of a compulsory uniform. The everyday socks you would wear anyway are not deductible. Keep something that shows they are for the job rather than general wear, and you are on solid ground.

Laundry: the rates the ATO accepts

Here is some good news. Once an item is deductible, washing it is too, and you do not need a shoebox of receipts to claim it. The ATO accepts a reasonable rate:

• $1 a load where the wash contains only work clothing.
• 50c a load where you mix work clothing in with your everyday washing.

You can claim laundry this way up to $150 without keeping written evidence, though you do still need to show how you got to the figure, so jot down your typical loads a week. Past $150 you will need the records. Dry-cleaning and mending are handled separately: they are claimed at what they actually cost, with receipts.

A worked example

Picture a permanent ward nurse with a compulsory logo uniform. Over the year she buys two new sets of uniform, a pair of non-slip shoes the ward requires, and washes her uniform on its own about three loads a week. The uniform and the non-slip shoes are both deductible as purchases. Her laundry, at $1 a load for roughly 150 work loads across the year, comes to about $150, which she can claim without receipts as long as she can show the loads. The plain cardigan she throws on over her scrubs, with no logo and no policy behind it, is not deductible. None of it is dramatic on its own, but together it is a real part of her refund.

What you cannot claim

• Plain everyday shoes and socks, however sensible or hard-wearing.
• Conventional clothing you chose, with no logo and no enforced uniform policy.
• Laundry of clothing that was not deductible in the first place.
• Grooming to meet a dress code, which is always private.

Keep it simple to prove

None of this counts for much if you cannot back it up, so keep the receipts for the uniform, the shoes and any dry-cleaning, along with a short note of your weekly laundry loads. The easiest way, by a distance, is to capture each one the moment it happens, so the laundry tally and the small buys are logged the day they land rather than pieced together at the last minute.

The bottom line

So, can nurses claim shoes, laundry and uniforms? A compulsory or logo uniform, the protective non-slip shoes your ward requires, and the laundry of both: yes. Plain shoes, everyday clothing and ordinary socks: no. Get that line right and keep the evidence, and you will claim everything you are genuinely owed without wandering into what you are not. After the year you put in, that is the least you deserve.

General information only, not tax advice. Check the ATO or a registered tax agent for your situation.