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.
- Parking already covered by the cents per kilometre rate cannot be claimed separately.
How the amount is worked out
Claim the actual parking paid on deductible work trips. Where you use the cents per kilometre method for the car, the rate already includes parking and no separate claim is available.
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)