Tax deductions for cleaners in 2026: what you can claim

Cleaning is a job of small out-of-pocket costs that add up fast: the gloves and masks, the products you top up yourself, the driving between sites. A lot of it is deductible, and a lot of it goes unclaimed. The test is the same every time: a cost that helped you get the work done counts, and anything for your own life does not.

The test behind every claim

Every claim comes down to the same three conditions. You paid for it out of your own pocket and the agency or client didn't pay you back, it connects directly to the cleaning that earns your income, and you kept a record of it. Fall short on any one and the deduction is gone, no matter how work-related the bottle of spray or box of cloths feels. Where something does double duty, like the phone that holds your run sheet or the car that gets you between jobs, you claim only the work share, not the lot.

Protective gear and supplies

Protective items you buy for the job are deductible: gloves, masks, aprons and non-slip shoes. A compulsory or logo uniform counts too, along with the cost of laundering it. Cleaning products and supplies you pay for yourself, and aren't reimbursed for, are deductible. Equipment follows the usual rule: anything $300 or less comes off in full in the year you buy it, and anything over $300 is claimed gradually as it declines in value.

Driving between sites

If you clean more than one site in a day, the travel between them is deductible. Driving from home to your first site, and home from your last, is a private commute and isn't. There's also an exception when you have to carry bulky equipment with nowhere secure to store it on site. You claim car costs by the cents-per-kilometre method, at a set rate up to 5,000 kilometres a year, or the logbook method using your actual costs and work-use percentage.

The deductions that get missed

The smaller, recurring costs are the ones that slip through:

• Sun protection. Sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat for outdoor cleaning all count.
• Laundering. Washing a compulsory or protective uniform, not just buying it.
• Your phone. The work-related share, for job schedules and being contacted about sites.
• Union and association fees. Deductible in full.
• Self-education. Training with a genuine connection to your current role.

What you can't claim

A handful of cleaning costs feel deductible but don't make the cut:

• Your commute. Home to your first site and back from your last is private.
• Everyday clothing. Ordinary clothes aren't deductible, even the ones you keep for cleaning.
• Reimbursed supplies. Anything the employer or client pays you back for isn't yours to claim.
• Getting the job. A police check or induction course to start cleaning comes before the income, so it sits with landing the work, not doing it.

Keep every docket

Lose the docket and you lose the deduction, however real it was. The ATO wants written evidence for what you spent, a logbook if you claim the car you drive between jobs, and a note of how you worked out any work-use share on the phone or the vehicle. For a cleaner that means a lot of small receipts: the supermarket run for spray and cloths, the box of gloves from the wholesaler, the fuel between the morning office and the afternoon house. The trick is catching each one the moment it happens, at the till or in the car park, instead of hunting through a year of crumpled dockets the night before you lodge, which is exactly where good deductions vanish. The ATO's own myDeductions app is free and will hold the basics. PFO+ Tax is shaped around the way cleaning money moves: snap the docket for your products at the register, it files the cost against the right job and tracks the kilometres between sites, then rolls the year into an accountant-ready pack at tax time. Everything stays fully encrypted, stored in Australia, and never sold.

The bottom line

There's more here to claim than most cleaners realise, but only for what you paid for yourself, used to earn your income, and can back up with a record. Claim the gloves and masks, the products you top up between visits, the driving from one site to the next, and the work share of your phone. Leave out the commute to your first job, the everyday clothes and anything a client paid you back for. Sort those two piles honestly, keep the dockets, and your tax bill lands where it should: on your real income, less every cost the job genuinely put on you.

Related: work-from-home & work-related deductions · income tax calculator. General information only, not tax advice. Check the ATO or a registered tax agent for your situation.

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