Whether you're behind the pass, the bar or the coffee machine, hospitality comes with real out-of-pocket costs: the knives, the non-slip shoes, the uniform you wash after every shift. A fair bit of it is deductible, and a fair bit goes unclaimed. What counts is whatever belonged to the shift, and what does not is whatever belonged to your own time.
The test behind every claim
Before any expense counts, it has to clear three tests.
Fail one and the deduction is gone, no matter how much it feels like part of the job. When something does double duty, like the phone you check the roster on and also text your friends from, you claim only the work share, not the whole bill.
Tools and uniforms
The gear you buy for the job is deductible. For a chef that often means knives and a kit, and the only question is how quickly you claim it.
Comes off in full in the year you buy it.
A good knife or set is claimed gradually as it declines in value.
Uniforms count too. A compulsory or logo uniform, chef's whites, aprons and non-slip shoes are all deductible, along with the cost of laundering them. Ordinary clothing is not, even if you only wear it to work.
The deductions that get missed
Across a year of shifts, the small everyday costs quietly stack up:
What you can't claim
A handful of costs feel like part of the shift, but the ATO won't wear them:
- Your commute. Home to work and back is private, no matter the hour.
- Everyday clothing. Ordinary clothes and shoes aren't deductible, even if you keep them for work.
- Grooming. Haircuts and a tidy appearance are private, even where the venue expects them.
- Getting started. Your first RSA or qualification, and any course to break into hospitality, are what it costs to land the job, not to work the shift.
Lose the docket, lose the claim
On a busy floor, receipts are the first thing to vanish: the docket for a new knife shoved in an apron pocket, the RSA renewal you paid online at midnight, the eftpos slip for a fresh pair of non-slip shoes.
Catch each cost the moment it lands, rather than raking through a year of crumpled dockets the night before you lodge.
The ATO wants written evidence for each expense, plus a note of how you worked out any work-use share on things like your phone. The ATO's free myDeductions app will hold the basics.
The bottom line
Hospitality is generous on deductions, but only for what you paid for yourself, used to earn your wage, and can prove. Claim the knives and kit, the whites and non-slip shoes, the RSA or Food Safety renewals and the barista or cookery course that builds on what you already do. Leave out the commute home after close, your everyday clothes and the first ticket that got you in the door. One thing to get right on the income side too: your tips are income you have to declare, cash ones included, even when they never touch your payslip. Sort those two lists, keep the dockets, declare the tips, and you'll pay tax on what you genuinely owe and not a cent more.
See what a year of knives, whites, non-slip shoes and certificate renewals is worth against your income and tax.
Related: deductions by occupation · income tax calculator. General information only, not tax advice. Check the ATO or a registered tax agent for your situation.