Smart Tax & Accounting Adelaide

12/07/2026

11/07/2026

Gifts or donations 'general guidance purposes'

To claim a deduction for gifts or donations you make, you need a receipt from an organisation that has a deductible gift recipient (DGR) status.

Your receipt will usually indicate whether you can claim a deduction for the gift or donation. If you're not sure, you can check with the organisation. If you're still not sure, go to abn.business.gov.auExternal Link to find out whether the organisation is an approved organisation.

Approved DGR organisations include:

certain funds, organisations or charities which provide help in Australia
some overseas aid funds
school building funds
some environmental or cultural organisations.

10/07/2026

Other work-related expenses 'general guidance purposes'

1. union fees and subscriptions to trade, business or professional associations
2. overtime meal expenses if you receive an overtime meal allowance from your employer that is paid under an industrial law, award or agreement, and you keep written evidence, such as receipts, if your claim is more than $38.65 per meal
3. reference books, technical journals and trade magazines
4. the work-related portion of tools and equipment, such as a computer or office furniture, and professional libraries; you may be able to claim
5. the work-related portion of items that protect you from the risk of injury or illness posed by your work or your work environment, such as hard hats, safety glasses and sunscreens (but not protective clothing and footwear, that you claim at question D3)
6. For the 2025–26 and 2026–27 income years, the fixed rate method for working from home remains 70 cents per hour. A record of all hours worked from home (timesheets, diary, roster, or similar).

09/07/2026

Work-related self-education expenses 'general guidance purposes'

What you can't claim at this question
You can't claim contributions or repayments you, or the Australian Government, make under:

the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), including FEE-HELP and HECS-HELP
the Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS)
the Student Start-up Loan (SSL)
the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan (AASL)
the Vocational Education and Training Student Loan (VSL).
You also can't claim any deductions against government assistance payments, including Austudy, ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance.

08/07/2026

Work clothing, laundry and dry-cleaning expenses 'general guidance purposes'

If your total claim for work-related laundry expenses is $150 or less, you can claim a deduction without written evidence. You will however, need a record (like a spreadsheet or document) that shows:
a description of your work-related clothing
how you work out the amount of your claim.
If your total work-related expenses exceed the $300 limit, you can still claim laundry expenses of $150 or less as part of the $300 without written evidence.

07/07/2026

'general guidance purposes'

To claim a deduction for work-related travel expenses as an employee, you must incur the expenses in the course of performing your work. See, Overnight travel expenses and allowances and Trips you can and can't claim.

Travel expenses include:

1. Taxi ride-share and public transport fares, airfares, short-term car hire, road and bridge tolls and parking fees
2. Overnight travel expenses, such as meals, accommodation, and incidental expenses
3. Expenses for a vehicle that isn't yours or isn't a car, such as
expenses for motorcycles
expenses for vehicles with a carrying capacity of one tonne or more, or 9 or more passengers, such as utility trucks and minibuses
actual expenses, such as petrol, repair and maintenance costs, that you incur to travel in a car someone else owns or leases.

If the travel is partly private, you can claim only the part that relates to work travel.

06/07/2026

Calculate deduction for vehicle expenses 'general guidance purposes'

To claim a deduction for a vehicle that isn't yours or isn't a car, you:

work out your actual expenses for your work-related travel in the vehicle

claim the deduction in your tax return as a work-related travel expense (not as a work-related car expense).

You can't use the cents per kilometre method or the logbook method to work out your claim. However, as you can only claim a deduction for the expenses related to your work-related travel, you may wish to keep a document similar to a logbook to calculate your work-related use percentage. While it is not a requirement, it is the easiest way to show how you calculated the expenses related to your work-related travel.

Note:
You can't claim running costs for a car you use under a salary sacrifice or novated lease arrangement.

To maximize your car expense claims, accurately track your vehicle usage using either the cents per kilometre method or the logbook method.

05/07/2026

If you're an Australian resident for tax purposes for part of the income year, you'll receive a part-year tax-free threshold.

The part-year tax-free threshold has 2 components:

a flat amount of $13,464

an additional amount up to $4,736 pro-rated – we work on the number of months you were in Australia during the income year, including the month you arrived.

If you're a non-resident for the full income year, you can't claim the tax-free threshold. This means you pay tax on every dollar of income you earn in Australia. Find out about the

04/07/2026

The individual income tax rates for the 2024–25 and 2025–26 financial years remain the same, so there are no new tax bracket changes this year.

04/07/2026

Tax Time Reminder 📢

$1,000 instant tax deduction for work-related expenses

The Government announced a standard deduction up to $1,000 for work-related expenses for eligible taxpayers.

The measure will commence on 1 July 2026 and apply to the 2026–27 individual tax return. The standard deduction does not apply to the 2025–26 individual tax return.

Medicare levy 2%

If you were not eligible for Medicare during the financial year, you may be exempt from paying the Medicare Levy (2% of taxable income). To claim the exemption, you must obtain a Medicare Entitlement Statement (MES) before lodging your tax return.

It is free,
Apply here: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-to-get-medicare-entitlement-statement?context=23266&utm_source=chatgpt.com

If you need assistance with your tax return or Medicare Levy exemption, feel free to contact us.

Smart Tax & Accounting
0411596006 Khagendra Sapkota
(Office and Admin 9am to 5 Pm Monday to friday)
02 97999936
0460789922

To get a Medicare Entitlement Statement (MES) you need to apply from 1 July each year.