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 parking was incurred at a destination you travelled to in the course of performing your duties, such as a client site, an alternative workplace or a second workplace.
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.
- Parking at or near your regular place of work is private, even where the employer provides no parking and the cost is unavoidable.
- Parking fines and other penalties are never deductible.
- Do not include parking in a cents per kilometre or logbook car-expense calculation; it is a separate travel expense.
How the amount is worked out
Claim the actual parking paid on deductible work trips separately from any cents per kilometre or logbook car-expense calculation.
Records the ATO expects
- Parking receipts or meter records
- Note of the work purpose and destination for each visit
- Logbook or work-kilometre record for the underlying travel
Where this rule comes from
Primary source: ATO TR 2021/1 transport expenses (TR 2021/1). Reviewed 30 July 2026. Covers the 2025-26 and 2026-27 income years.
Supporting sources:
- ATO Employees guide for work expenses (Document version dated 5 December 2025)