ATO. Working for all Australians

‘Hay’ Agricultural workers!

Forget wrangling sheep, and start wrangling your receipts – because tax time is right around the corner!

Not sure what deductions you can claim for working in the agriculture industry? Well good news, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has shared some handy tips and resources to help you out this tax time.

Understanding your deductions

Check out the ATO’s tailored occupation guide for Agricultural workers. It helps explain which deductions you can and can’t claim this year, as well as the income you’ll need to declare and the records you need to keep. Even better, the guide has also been translated into other languages.

Work vs private expenses

Relocating for a new job? That’s a private expense. You can’t claim the cost to transfer or move to a new work location – even if it’s a condition of your employment.

Traveling for work? That’s a work-related expense. If you travel in the course of performing your employment duties, and you’re required to sleep away from your home overnight, you can claim a deduction for meals, accommodation and incidental expenses.

Clothing and laundry? With a few exceptions, that’s a private expense. However, if your clothing is protective (steel-capped boots, gloves), occupation-specific, compulsory, or a non-compulsory uniform registered with AusIndustry, you may be able to claim a deduction – as long as there’s a sufficient connection with your employment activities.

Best time to lodge your return?

The best time to lodge is late July when most of your information from employers, banks, and health funds has been automatically included in your tax return. All you’ll need to do is check the pre-filled information is correct, add any income that’s missing, and claim your deductions!

Once you’ve lodged, you can check the progress of your return by logging into ATO online services through myGov, or in the ATO app. Remember, most tax returns lodged online take about two weeks to be processed.

Your tax assessment

The ATO is reminding people that the low and middle-income tax offset has ended and you may get a lower refund this year, or you may get a bill. A list of this and other reasons that may affect your tax refund are available on the ATO website at ato.gov.au/mytaxresult

Want to learn more? Visit ato.gov.au/agriculture