Tax Deductions for Nurses and Healthcare Workers 2025-26: What You Can Claim

There are more than 700,000 registered nurses and midwives in Australia, and most of them are leaving money on the tax table every July. The typical deduction checklist for a full-time hospital nurse runs to $3,000–$5,000 per year in legitimate, ATO-approved claims. At the 32.5% marginal rate that most nurses sit at, that's $975–$1,625 back in your pocket — and that's before factoring in salary packaging, which can add another $3,500–$5,000 in annual tax savings for public hospital employees.

This guide covers every major deduction category for nurses and healthcare workers, with the exact ATO rules, dollar thresholds, and the common mistakes the ATO flags at audit.

1. Work uniforms, scrubs and laundry

Scrubs are occupation-specific clothing under ATO rules, which means they are deductible — unlike generic clothing that happens to be worn at work. Because scrubs are not suitable for everyday private use, they pass the test cleanly.

What you can claim:

Scrubs, tunics, and healthcare-specific uniforms purchased yourself
Non-slip nursing shoes or clogs, where your employer requires them for safety reasons (these qualify as protective equipment in a clinical setting)
PPE you personally purchase and aren't reimbursed for: gloves, masks, disposable gowns, safety goggles

Laundry expenses for eligible work clothing are calculated using ATO-approved rates:

Wash type	Rate per load
Load contains only work clothing	$1.00 per load
Mixed load (work + personal clothes)	$0.50 per load

If your total laundry claim is $150 or less, you don't need written evidence — you just need to be able to explain your calculation if the ATO asks. If your claim exceeds $150, you need a diary or log showing how often you wash your work clothes throughout the year.

A nurse who washes 3–4 loads of scrubs per week over a 48-week working year can legitimately claim $144–$192 in laundry expenses alone, with no receipts required.

What you can't claim: plain clothing (even if worn only at work), street shoes, or any item reimbursed or provided by your employer.

2. AHPRA registration and professional association fees

This is one of the most straightforward and consistently missed deductions in nursing. AHPRA registration renewal fees are fully deductible — they are a mandatory cost of doing your job.

For 2025-26, the AHPRA renewal fee for nurses and midwives is $193 (increased from $185). The registration renewal date for the Nursing and Midwifery Board is 31 May. You claim the fee in the financial year you paid it.

Note on the initial registration: The first-time cost to obtain your AHPRA registration is not deductible — that's the ATO's "new employment" rule. Only renewal fees for an existing registration qualify.

Other professional fees that are fully deductible:

ANMF (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation) union dues — typically $400–$650 per year depending on your state branch and employment status
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia fees (included in AHPRA)
Professional association memberships: Australian College of Nursing (ACN), Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN), Australian Association of Perioperative Nurses (ACORN), Emergency Nurses Australia (ENA), and other specialist college memberships relevant to your role
Professional indemnity insurance if you pay your own premium (less common for employed nurses, but relevant for those in private practice, midwifery, or agency nursing)

3. Clinical equipment and tools

Equipment you purchase personally to do your job — and that your employer doesn't provide or reimburse — is deductible. The rules mirror those for other occupations:

Items costing $300 or less: claim the full amount immediately in the year of purchase
Items costing more than $300: depreciate over the asset's effective life

In practice, most nursing equipment falls under $300, meaning immediate deductions are the norm:

Item	Typical cost	Deductible?
Littmann Classic III stethoscope	$100–$200	Yes (immediate)
Fob/nursing watch	$25–$80	Yes (immediate)
Penlight torch	$15–$40	Yes (immediate)
Bandage scissors / trauma shears	$10–$30	Yes (immediate)
Portable blood pressure cuff (community nurses)	$50–$120	Yes (immediate)
Pulse oximeter (personal, not hospital-issue)	$30–$80	Yes (immediate)
Nursing assessment kit	$200–$280	Yes (immediate)
Nursing computer/tablet (if used for work)	$800–$1,500	Depreciate (work-use %)

Keep the original receipt for every purchase. A credit card statement alone isn't sufficient — you need a tax invoice showing the item description, supplier, and amount.

4. Continuing professional development (CPD)

Registered nurses are required by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia to complete a minimum of 20 hours of CPD per year to maintain their registration. This mandatory requirement makes CPD costs highly defensible as deductions — it's a direct cost of keeping your registration active.

Deductible CPD expenses include:

Online CPD course subscriptions and one-off course fees
Conference registration fees (nursing and specialty conferences)
Workshop and seminar fees
Travel to CPD events (accommodation, transport, meals where you receive an allowance or the event requires an overnight stay)
Professional journals and subscriptions (nursing journals, specialty publications)
Textbooks and reference books related to your current nursing role
Fees for specialty certifications that maintain or advance your current nursing skills

The important limit: self-education costs have a $250 threshold rule under ATO guidelines — but this applies to expenses that serve both a work and private purpose. Where the course is directly and solely connected to your current nursing role (which most mandatory CPD is), the full cost is deductible.

What's not deductible: a nursing course to move into a completely different field (e.g., a management MBA unrelated to clinical nursing), or a course that qualifies you for a new career rather than maintaining your current one.

Use our Income Tax Calculator to estimate how much your CPD and other deductions could reduce your tax bill this year.

5. Car travel and transport expenses

Your daily commute between home and your regular hospital or ward is not deductible — that's the rule for all employees, regardless of shift patterns, distance, or what time of night you leave.

However, nurses often have legitimate travel claims that go beyond the commute:

Deductible travel:

Travel between two workplaces during a shift (e.g., from your primary hospital to a satellite clinic)
Travel between different hospitals or wards if your role requires attendance at multiple sites in a single day
Travel to CPD events, training days, and conferences
Community nurses: travel between patients' homes during a shift (not the first or last trip of the day)
Agency nurses: travel between different workplaces when you work multiple sites in a single shift

Calculating your claim — two methods for 2025-26:

Method	Rate / cap	Best for
Cents per kilometre	88c/km, capped at 5,000 km ($4,400 max)	Moderate work-related driving, no detailed log required
Logbook	Actual work-use % of all vehicle running costs, no km cap	High-mileage work travel (especially community nurses)

For most hospital-based nurses with some inter-site travel, the cents-per-km method is simpler. Community nurses who drive significant distances between patients may find the logbook method produces a larger deduction.

6. Mobile phone and internet expenses

Work-related phone use is deductible — but only the work proportion. The ATO requires you to keep a representative 4-week diary that records your actual work vs personal phone use during that period. You then apply that percentage to your annual bill.

For most nurses, work-related phone use during working hours is moderate — clinical communication, accessing patient management systems, rostering apps, CPD records. A reasonable work-use percentage might be 30–50% for a nurse who uses their own phone for work, though this varies. The ATO will question a 100% claim unless you can demonstrate near-exclusive work use.

If your total phone and internet claim is $50 or less, you can self-assess without a diary. Above $50, you need the 4-week log as evidence.

7. Income protection insurance

Income protection insurance premiums are tax deductible — but only for the portion of the policy that covers loss of income (i.e., pays out a monthly benefit if you're unable to work). The premiums are not deductible if the policy pays a lump sum on disability rather than ongoing income.

Most standalone income protection policies (separate from super) meet the deductibility test. This is one of the most valuable deductions for nurses who have their own income protection policy, as premiums can run to $1,500–$3,000 per year depending on age, income, and waiting period chosen.

Note: if your income protection is bundled inside your super (via your super fund), the premiums are generally paid from your super balance and are not separately deductible in your personal tax return.

When you do make a claim under an income protection policy, the payments you receive are assessable income — they're taxed just like salary.

8. Salary packaging for public hospital employees

This is the big one that many nurses in the public health system don't take full advantage of.

Employees of Public Benevolent Institutions (PBIs) — which includes most public hospitals, community health organisations, and some not-for-profit health services — can access FBT-exempt salary packaging that effectively removes up to $15,900 per year from their taxable income.

Here's how it works in practice:

A nurse earning $90,000 who packages $15,900 in living expenses (rent, mortgage repayments, utilities, groceries, personal loan repayments) pays income tax on $74,100 instead of $90,000. That difference of $15,900 is taxed at 0% instead of 32.5%.

Estimated annual tax saving: approximately $5,168 (at 32.5% marginal rate).

In addition to the $15,900 cap, PBI employees can package a further $2,650 per year for meal and entertainment expenses.

How to access it: Contact your employer's HR or payroll team to find out if your employer is a registered PBI. If it is, they'll connect you with a salary packaging provider (Smartsalary, RemServ, Maxxia, or similar) who administers the arrangement.

Important caveat: Packaged amounts appear on your payment summary as Reportable Fringe Benefits Amount (RFBA). The RFBA isn't taxable, but it is counted for means-tested purposes including HECS/HELP repayment assessments, child support, and some Centrelink payments.

9. Agency and community nurses

If you work through a nursing agency or as a bank nurse across multiple sites, your deduction pattern can differ from a full-time hospital employee:

Car travel is often more significant — multiple site visits, more inter-site travel in a single shift
Your own equipment is more likely — some agencies expect nurses to supply their own assessment kit, stethoscope, and uniform rather than the hospital providing them
Phone costs may be higher — coordinating multiple placements often means higher work-related use
Professional indemnity insurance is more likely to be self-funded

If you operate through your own ABN as a nursing contractor rather than as a PAYG employee, additional rules apply — including possible GST registration if your annual income exceeds $75,000, and different rules around superannuation.

Worked example: Maria, full-time ward nurse

Maria is a registered nurse earning $90,000 working full-time at a large public hospital in Melbourne. She's been nursing for 8 years and keeps good records throughout the year.

Deduction category	Amount
AHPRA registration renewal	$193
ANMF union fees	$520
Scrubs (3 sets × $85 each)	$255
Laundry (3 loads/week × 48 weeks × $1/load)	$144
Non-slip nursing shoes	$120
Stethoscope (Littmann), fob watch, penlight	$210
CPD conference (one-day, $280 registration)	$280
Online CPD courses (annual subscription)	$199
Professional nursing journal subscription	$145
Work mobile phone (45% of $1,200 annual bill)	$540
Car travel: inter-hospital transfers (250 km × 88c)	$220
Income protection insurance premium	$1,374
Total deductions	$4,200

At a marginal tax rate of 32.5% plus 2% Medicare levy:

Maria's estimated tax saving: $1,449

Separately, Maria's hospital qualifies as a PBI — packaging $15,900 in living expenses saves her an additional $5,168 in income tax each year, making her total tax advantage over $6,600 for the year.

Common ATO audit flags for nurses

The ATO specifically reviews nurse tax returns as part of its occupation-based compliance program. These are the areas most commonly questioned:

Excessive laundry claims without a diary: claiming $500+ in laundry without any supporting record is a red flag. Keep a simple log — even a phone calendar entry showing how often you wash scrubs is useful
Travel between home and work: trying to claim your commute because you work unusual hours or carry nursing equipment does not make it deductible. The commute rule applies regardless of shift time
Clothing that isn't genuinely occupation-specific: plain black trousers or a plain white shirt aren't deductible just because you only wear them to work. They need to be genuinely occupation-specific
Phone claims at 100%: claiming 100% work use of a personal phone the ATO will almost certainly question. Identify a defensible, documented percentage
CPD claims for courses unrelated to your current role: a nursing certificate when you're currently a nurse qualifies; a business administration degree when you're still working clinically is questionable — the connection must be direct and real
Reimbursed expenses: anything your employer paid for or reimbursed cannot be claimed again. This catches nurses who claim both what the hospital provides and what they bought personally

Frequently asked questions

Can nurses claim their stethoscope on tax?

Yes. A stethoscope is a work-specific piece of equipment with no private use, so the full purchase price is deductible. If it costs $300 or less, you claim the full amount immediately. If you have an expensive clinical stethoscope costing more than $300, you depreciate it over its effective life. Keep the receipt.

Are AHPRA fees tax deductible?

Yes — annual renewal fees are fully deductible because they are a mandatory condition of your continuing employment as a nurse. For nurses and midwives, the renewal fee for 2025-26 is $193. The initial registration fee when you first obtained your AHPRA registration is not deductible.

Can I claim my nursing uniform laundry without receipts?

Yes, up to $150 in laundry expenses you can self-assess without written receipts, as long as you can explain your calculation — for example, how many loads per week and at what rate. Above $150, you need a diary or log to support the claim.

What car travel can nurses claim?

You can claim travel between two workplaces during a shift, travel to CPD events, and (for community nurses) travel between patient homes during a working day. Your regular commute from home to your primary workplace is not deductible — even if you start early or finish late.

Is income protection insurance deductible for nurses?

Yes, if you pay the premiums yourself and the policy pays a regular income benefit (not a lump sum) when you're unable to work. Most standalone income protection policies qualify. If your income protection is held inside your super, the premiums aren't separately deductible in your personal return.

Can public hospital nurses use salary packaging?

Most public hospital employees in Australia work for Public Benevolent Institutions (PBIs), which allows salary packaging of up to $15,900 per year in living expenses tax-free. This is separate from and in addition to any salary sacrifice to super. It's worth confirming with your employer's HR team whether your specific hospital qualifies.

What happens if I overclaim and the ATO audits me?

The ATO can amend your return for up to 2 years (4 years for more complex matters), require repayment of any excess refund, and impose a shortfall penalty of 25% for careless mistakes (which can be reduced to zero if you make a voluntary disclosure before being notified of an audit). The best protection is keeping records throughout the year — receipts, diary entries, and bank statements.

Rates, fees and thresholds in this article are current as at July 2026 for the 2025-26 financial year. The AHPRA renewal fee of $193 applies to the period 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2027. The cents-per-kilometre rate of 88c/km applies for 2025-26. This article is general information only and does not constitute tax advice. Individual circumstances vary — consult a registered tax agent for advice specific to your situation.

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