Work expenses

Work licences, checks and accreditations

Renewal costs for licences, registrations, working-with-children checks and accreditations that are connected with current duties.

Who can claim

This deduction is available to individuals.

  • You incurred and paid the expense yourself.
  • The expense has a direct connection with earning your current employment income.
  • The renewal, registration or accreditation has a sufficient connection with duties in your current employment.
  • A working-with-children check is required to continue earning income in an existing child-related job, or you are a new employee whose recent income came from continuous employment in a child-related field.
  • An additional driver-licence endorsement or extra licence class can qualify where current duties require it and the cost is additional to an ordinary driver licence.

What you cannot claim

  • Do not include a private or domestic portion.
  • Do not claim an item or cost your employer or another party provided, paid or reimbursed; if partly reimbursed, claim only the unreimbursed eligible portion.
  • A taxable allowance is generally declared as income. It does not automatically create or prevent a deduction; claim only the actual eligible amount you incurred.
  • The cost of obtaining or renewing an ordinary driver licence is private, even when holding it is a condition of employment.
  • A pre-employment check for someone entering child-related work, or an initial qualification or licence used to establish a new profession, is not deductible.

How the amount is worked out

Claim the deductible recurring work-related portion.

Records the ATO expects

  • Receipt
  • Current role requirement or registration details
  • Evidence of existing or recent continuous child-related employment for a working-with-children check

Where this rule comes from

Primary source: ATO deductions you can claim (Modified 7 June 2026). Reviewed 30 July 2026. Covers the 2025-26 and 2026-27 income years.

Next steps