Tax time for the 2025-26 financial year is quickly approaching here in Australia, and your return can vary greatly depending on your occupation.
Preparing your own tax return can be overwhelming. To help you have some frequently asked questions answered, we’ve accessed the expertise of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and tax services company H&R Block for their top tips. While there are no specific changes for the 2025-26 tax year, there is still plenty to keep in mind and watch out for.
Common mistakes made at tax time
Common tax time mistakes include over-claiming deductions, missing income, or not having the records you need, an ATO spokesperson tells Teacher. This year during tax time, they are reminding all taxpayers to be careful of incorrect or misleading information.
Their advice is to ensure the information you’re accessing is accurate and up to date by using trusted sources like the ATO website, ato.gov.au, or a registered tax agent professional.
‘AI tools, search summaries and social posts can look convincing but may use old or incorrect content. Checking the date, source and context on trusted channels like ato.gov.au is the safest way to confirm what’s right.’
H&R Block Director of Tax Communications, Mark Chapman tells Teacher that many educators can overlook legitimate claims when filing their returns.
‘Depending on individual circumstances, teachers may potentially claim deductions for self-education directly related to current teaching duties, union fees and professional association memberships, teaching aids and classroom resources not reimbursed by the school, work-related home office expenses where eligible, professional journals, registrations or subscriptions.
‘The key phrase is “directly related”,’ he says. ‘Courses that help maintain or improve current teaching skills may be claimable; courses aimed at entering a wholly new profession often are not. This distinction matters.’
Claiming for fuel
With fuel prices climbing this year, claiming for work-related fuel costs will be front of mind for many.
The ATO say there are 3 golden rules for claiming work-related car expenses, such as fuel costs: you must have spent the money yourself, the expense must directly relate to earning your income, and you must have a record (usually a receipt) to prove it.
‘There are some examples where teachers can claim car expenses, and fuel costs, including if they need to transport equipment (like sports equipment), travel to an alternative workplace that isn't a regular workplace (for example from school to a swimming carnival and back to school again), or between 2 jobs.’
Chapman says one of the most common mistakes teachers make is around fuel deductions. ‘The most important principle is that ordinary home-to-work travel is generally private and not deductible, even if you take work home, carry a laptop or marking, or arrive early for extracurricular duties. Where a claim may arise is where travel is genuinely work-related.
‘An example of an appropriate claim could be a teacher who drives from their regular school to a regional professional development seminar and is not reimbursed by their employer. That travel may be deductible,’ he explains.
‘Where eligible, educators may use the cents-per-kilometre method (subject to the relevant limits and substantiation requirements) or, where appropriate, the logbook method. Importantly, under the cents-per-kilometre method, the rate covers running costs including fuel, servicing, insurance and decline in value — so taxpayers cannot separately add fuel receipts on top. That double-dipping mistake still arises surprisingly often, and is something advisers at H&R Block say they continue to correct each year.’
Using social media for work-related purposes
In recent years, many educators have taken to posting content on social media to share their insights with colleagues and the wider community. But what are the tax implications?
‘The income tax implications of earning money from [social media] content creation, including content created on social media platforms, is the same as for anyone else. Income earnt is taxable, regardless of the form in which it is given to you,’ an ATO spokesperson says.
‘If you are paid in-kind, such as with goods or other benefits (for example, being able to keep an item or outfit used in a post, or being ‘gifted’ something), the market value of the goods received must be included as assessable income in your return.’
They add that if you are carrying on a business that includes creating content and purchase products for use in that business, you can normally claim a deduction for the expense you have incurred to purchase the products used in that business. However, if you also use those products for your own private purposes, you can only claim the portion that relates to your business use.
On this topic, Chapman says examples of deductions, depending on circumstances, could include cameras, microphones, lighting or editing equipment, software subscriptions and design tools, a business-use portion of internet or phone expenses, professional props or materials used in content production, platform fees or advertising costs.
‘Equipment purchases may not always be immediately deductible in full; some assets may instead be depreciated under ordinary rules, depending on value and circumstances,’ he explains.
‘Clothing is where caution is warranted. Buying fashionable clothes to appear on social media generally does not become deductible merely because they are used on camera. The same longstanding principles still apply – conventional clothing is ordinarily private. Unless the clothing is occupation-specific, protective or otherwise meets recognised deduction rules, many claims in this area fail. That often surprises content creators.’
