Uniforms and protective clothing deductions: what sole traders can claim

Protective clothing and footwear

Deductible: clothing that protects you from injury or illness at work, or protects your ordinary clothes from damage. Steel-cap boots, non-slip shoes for kitchens and salons, hi-vis vests and shirts, hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, aprons and overalls, wet-weather gear for outdoor work, fire-resistant or chemical-resistant clothing, and heavy-duty work pants with reinforced knees. The item must actually provide protection in your work; a cotton polo does not become protective because a tradie wears it.

Sun protection

If you work outdoors, sunscreen, sunglasses, sun hats and long-sleeved sun-protective shirts are deductible as protective items. Gardeners, tradies, pressure washers, cleaners doing exterior work, market stallholders, photographers on location, and delivery riders all qualify for the time they are outside. If an item is also used privately (the sunglasses on weekends), apportion it.

Occupation-specific clothing

Clothing that identifies you as belonging to a particular occupation and is not ordinary streetwear: a chef’s checked pants and jacket, a nurse’s or carer’s uniform, a judge’s robes. Deductible. A personal trainer’s tracksuit or a real estate agent’s suit is conventional clothing worn by the general public, so it is not.

Uniforms with your logo

A uniform that is distinctive to your business, meaning it carries your logo or is a registered design, is deductible. For a sole trader that usually means polos, shirts, caps or jackets with your business name embroidered or printed on them. Plain clothing in your brand colours is not enough; the logo is what makes it a uniform. Getting a batch of polos embroidered is inexpensive and turns non-deductible clothing into a deduction, as well as being good marketing.

Conventional clothing: the one that is not

Ordinary clothes are not deductible, full stop, even when:

• A client site requires closed shoes, long pants or a collared shirt.
• You only wear them for work and would never wear them otherwise.
• They are expensive because you need to look professional.
• You bought them specifically for a job.

Black pants and a white shirt for hospitality, a suit for client meetings, activewear for a trainer, jeans and a tee for a designer: all private. The ATO reasons that everyone needs clothes, and these are the kind everyone wears.

Laundry, dry cleaning and repairs

If the clothing is deductible, so is keeping it clean and in good repair. For washing at home the ATO accepts a reasonable estimate: commonly $1 per load if the load is only work clothing, and 50 cents per load if it is mixed with private washing. Dry cleaning is claimed at cost with receipts. Repairs to protective gear and replacement of worn items are claimed as you pay them. Keep a note of how many loads a week you wash work clothing so the estimate has a basis.

GST and records

If you are registered for GST, the GST on deductible clothing and laundry is claimable on the BAS at the business share. Keep receipts for the clothing itself; for the laundry estimate, keep the working. Upload your bank statement to FlowFi and workwear suppliers and embroidery shops are categorised as uniforms and protective clothing, with the GST worked out, while the department store run stays private unless you tell it otherwise.