You can claim clothing, laundry and dry cleaning expenses if your expenses falls into one of the 3 categories below:

Occupation-specific clothing i.e. checked pants a chef wears

You can claim for clothing that is specific to your occupation, is not everyday in nature and allows the public to easily recognise your occupation – such as the checked pants a chef wears. You can’t claim the cost of purchasing or cleaning clothes you bought to wear for work that are not specific to your occupation, such as a bartender’s black trousers and white shirt, or a suit.

Protective clothing

You can claim for clothing and footwear that you wear to protect yourself from the risk of illness or injury posed by your income-earning activities or the environment in which you are required to carry them out. To be considered protective, the items must provide a sufficient degree of protection against that risk. Protective clothing includes:

• fire-resistant and sun-protection clothing
• safety-coloured vests
• non-slip nurse’s shoes
• rubber boots for concreters
• steel-capped boots, gloves, overalls, and heavy-duty shirts and trousers
• overalls, smocks and aprons you wear to avoid damage or soiling to your ordinary clothes during your income-earning activities.

Work Uniforms

You can claim for a uniform, either compulsory or non-compulsory, that is unique and distinctive to the organisation you work for. Clothing is unique if it has been designed and made only for the employer. Clothing is distinctive if it has the employer’s logo permanently attached and the clothing is not available to the public.

Compulsory work uniform

This is a set of clothing that identifies you as an employee of an organisation with a strictly enforced policy that makes it compulsory for you to wear the uniform while you’re at work. You may be able to claim a deduction for shoes, socks and stockings where they are an essential part of a distinctive compulsory uniform and where their characteristics (colour, style and type) are specified in your employer’s uniform policy. You may be able to claim for a single item of distinctive clothing, such as a jumper, if it’s compulsory for you to wear it at work.

Non-compulsory work uniform

You can’t claim expenses incurred for non-compulsory work uniforms unless your employer has registered the design with AusIndustry. Shoes, socks and stockings can never form part of a non-compulsory work uniform, and neither can a single item such as a jumper.

For more information or to book an appointment, call one of our friendly staff on 03 9792 2772. Alternatively you can email info@infitygrp.com.au