🤝 Occupation guide

Community support & carer tax deductions: what you can claim

What you can claim, what you cannot, and the records the ATO expects. Written in plain English and updated for the 2025–26 financial year.

Oscar says"Uniforms, travel between clients, phone work portion, self-education, protective gloves and PPE. Scan the receipt the day you get it and June takes care of itself."

What you can claim

Uniforms.
Travel between clients using logbook method.
Phone — work portion.
Protective equipment (gloves, masks).
Self-education.
Union fees.

What you cannot claim

Home to first client and return from last client.
Personal items.

Apportionment: the part most people get wrong

Vehicle — logbook 12 weeks. Phone — 4-week diary. If an expense is part work and part personal, you claim the work percentage only, and the ATO expects you to show how you worked it out.

Records you need to keep

Travel logbook, client visit records, receipts. A claim without a receipt or tax invoice behind it is a claim you may have to repay if the ATO asks.

ATO red flags for this occupation: Claiming all travel as work-related without a logbook. These are the patterns that trigger review letters, so keep airtight records for exactly these claims.

Common questions

What records do I need to keep?

Travel logbook, client visit records, receipts. Keep them for five years from when you lodge.

How do I split work and personal use?

Vehicle — logbook 12 weeks. Phone — 4-week diary. Claim the work proportion only.

What gets claims like mine reviewed by the ATO?

Claiming all travel as work-related without a logbook. Solid receipts and logs are the answer to all of them.

Oscar already knows these rules

Pick your occupation once, then scan, email, or forward receipts. Oscar classifies each one against these exact ATO rules and tells you what it is worth. Free to start.

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