FY2025-26 guide
What can nurses and midwives claim on tax in Australia? (FY2025-26 checklist)
A checklist of nurse and midwife tax deductions in Australia for FY2025-26 — agency fees, AHPRA renewal, scrubs and laundry, CPD — plus the common claims the ATO knocks back.
Nursing has more deduction traps than almost any other occupation — several expenses look claimable but aren't, and a few that sound personal actually are. Here's what the published ATO rules say for FY2025-26.
Registration: renewals yes, your first one no
The annual AHPRA renewal fee you pay to keep working is generally deductible. The cost of your initial registration — the one that let you enter the profession in the first place — is not. The same principle applies across occupations: renewals to maintain your current role are deductible; the cost of getting into the role is not.
Agency fees: the distinction that catches people out
If you work through a nursing agency, ongoing commissions deducted from your pay are generally deductible. Upfront joining fees, membership fees or job-search fees paid to get onto the agency's books are generally not.
Uniforms and laundry
Occupation-specific clothing (such as scrubs) and protective items can be claimed, along with the cost of laundering them. The ATO's published laundry rates are $1 per load where the load is work clothing only, or 50c per load for mixed loads.
You can claim up to $150 of laundry without written evidence — but that is not an automatic entitlement. You still need to show how you calculated it, and if your total work-related expenses exceed $300, you need written evidence for everything.
The nurse workbook does the laundry maths at the published rates and warns you the moment you cross the $150 or $300 evidence thresholds.
Nurse & Midwife Tax Deduction Calculator — $19 →Equipment, CPD and other common claims
- •Stethoscopes, fob watches, scissors and similar work equipment — items costing $300 or less can generally be claimed immediately; more expensive items are claimed over their effective life
- •Continuing professional development, courses and conferences that maintain or improve the skills you use in your current role
- •Union and professional association fees
- •Phone and internet, apportioned to work use and supported by a representative record
- •Driving between two different workplaces on the same day (for example, between two hospitals)
What nurses commonly claim that the ATO disallows
- •Grooming, haircuts and cosmetics — private, even where an employer sets appearance standards or pays an allowance
- •Your initial AHPRA registration
- •Everyday watches and ordinary shoes (a fob watch and non-slip protective footwear are different)
- •Childcare so you can work shifts
- •Normal travel between home and your usual hospital
Remembering which half of each pair is claimable — renewal vs initial registration, commission vs joining fee — is exactly what the workbook handles for you, with each category pre-mapped to the right myTax label.
Nurse & Midwife Tax Deduction Calculator — $19 →A note on allowances
Receiving an allowance doesn't automatically make the related expense deductible. The allowance is included in your income, and the expense is judged on its own merits under the normal rules.
Getting it all in one place
Our nurse workbook builds these rules in — it separates claimable agency commissions from non-claimable joining fees, calculates laundry at the published rates, and maps every category to the right myTax label.
This article is general information only, based on published ATO rates and rules for FY2025-26. It isn't tax advice and doesn't consider your circumstances. OzTaxReturn is not a registered tax agent. Check your own position at ato.gov.au or with a registered tax agent (tpb.gov.au).