It’s time to gather up your payment summaries and tax receipts and lodge a tax return with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Remember: your union membership fees are tax deductible as a work-related expense.
Members can download their ANMF tax receipts for the 2022/23 financial year via the member portal at members.anmfvic.asn.au. We recommend downloading your statement on or after 4 July 2022 to ensure all payments are included on it. Tax statements for previous financial years are also available if required.
Download your 2022-23 tax statement
You can now download your ANMF tax statement from the member portal.
Tax statements for the previous financial years are also available if required.
What can I deduct?
The ATO provides a guide to the deductions that nurses and midwives can claim. Many of the deductions listed would also apply to personal care workers.
To claim a deduction for work-related expenses:
- you must have spent the money yourself and were not reimbursed by your employer
- the expenses must be directly related to earning your income
- you must keep a record of your expenses
- you can only claim the work-related part of expenses.
Car expenses
You can claim the cost of using a car you own when you drive directly between separate jobs on the same day, or between alternate workplaces for the same employer. If you claim car expenses, you need to keep a logbook to determine the work-related percentage or be able to demonstrate to the ATO a reasonable calculation if you use the cents per kilometre method to claim.
COVID-19 expenses
If you were required to pay for a COVID-19 test for a work-related purpose, and were not reimbursed by your employer, you can claim a deduction.
Clothing expenses
You can claim the cost of buying, hiring, repairing or cleaning clothing if they are:
- protective
- a compulsory uniform.
Education expenses
You can claim self-education expenses if your course relates directly to your current job and it:
- maintains or improves the skills and knowledge you need for your current duties
- results in or is likely to result in an increase in income from your current employment. For example, continuing professional development to maintain your registration or taking a Master of Health (Advanced Nursing) to maintain or improve the specific skills and knowledge you require as a nurse.
You cannot claim education costs if your study is only related in a general way to your current job or is designed to help you get a new job. For example, you cannot claim for your Bachelor of Accounting if you’re working as a nurse.
Phone and internet expenses
You can claim the work-related portion of your phone, data and internet usage if your employer needs you to use your personal devices for work. You will require records showing your work‑related use.
You cannot claim phone, data and internet use where you only use your phone to communicate with your manager about your shifts or use the internet to check payslips, rosters or income statements.
Working from home
You may be able to claim a deduction for expenses incurred if you were required to work from home. To claim working from home expenses you must have:
- been working from home to fulfil your employment duties, not just carrying out minimal tasks such as occasionally checking emails or taking calls
- incurred additional expenses as a result of working from home – for example: electricity for lighting and heating or cooling.
You cannot claim a deduction for:
- coffee, tea, milk and other general items your employer might provide at work
- the decline in value of items provided by your employer.
Other expenses
You can claim the work‑related portion of other expenses that relate to your employment, including:
- ANMF (Vic Branch) membership fees and professional association fees
- your annual nursing/midwifery registration costs
- agency commissions and agency fees
- technical or professional publications
- tools and equipment, such as a stethoscope or a fob watch
- personal protective equipment you paid for, if your job required close proximity with patients.
If you use a tax professional to do your tax, you can claim their fee too.
You cannot claim private expenses such as childcare, fines, flu shots and other vaccinations, even if you’re required to have them for work.
