Tax Deductions for Adult Industry Workers (2025–26)

Updated for the 2025–26 income year, with 2026–27 changes noted. Reviewed 19 October 2026.

If you're employed in the adult industry (for example as a performer, dancer or escort working for a venue or agency), you can claim some work costs that are unusual in other jobs. The ATO is specific about which ones it accepts. If you work for yourself under an ABN, the business rules apply instead; see our sole trader guide.

This guide covers 2025–26 tax returns (lodged from July 2026) and flags what changes in 2026–27. It follows the ATO's Adult industry workers – income and work-related deductions guide, rewritten in plain language with practical examples.

What you can claim

Costs specific to your work

• Consumables used solely for work, such as condoms, lubricants, massage oils and tissues.
• Costumes that are distinctive to your performance and not conventional clothing, and the cost of cleaning them.
• Agency commissions and fees deducted from your earnings for finding you work (but not upfront joining fees).
• Advertising, but only if you can earn income beyond your set wage from it, such as commission or bonuses.
• Maintaining an existing photo portfolio used to win work (not creating it the first time).
• Multimedia or music you use at work, to the extent it is used for work.

Protective and safety items

• Personal protective equipment your work requires, such as gloves or sanitiser used at work.

Phone, internet and devices

Claim the work-related percentage of your mobile phone, data and home internet. Work it out from a 4-week representative period of your itemised bills, and keep those bills. Devices over $300 are depreciated.

Overnight work travel

If you have to travel and sleep away from home for work, you can claim accommodation, meals and incidentals you paid for and weren't reimbursed for. If you get a travel allowance, include it as income unless it's left off your income statement and you don't claim the expenses. Keep receipts, and a travel diary for trips of 6 or more nights in a row.

Union and professional fees

Union fees and subscriptions to professional or trade associations related to your work are claimable. These don't reduce the 2026–27 standard deduction, so you can claim them on top of it.

What you can't claim

• Gym memberships, fitness classes or personal training, even if staying fit helps you earn.
• Massage, cosmetic procedures, hair, makeup or grooming.
• Audition or showcase costs, and fees to join an agency.
• Everyday clothing and footwear, including lingerie or outfits you could wear outside work.
• Creating a portfolio for the first time.

Worked example

Example (illustrative figures only – not real client data): Mia is employed by a venue and paid a wage plus commission. In 2025–26 she buys work-only consumables, two stage costumes and pays an agency commission.

2026–27 comparison: $2,810 of these expenses are the kind that reduce the new standard deduction. Because that is more than $1,000, claiming the actual expenses (with records) would give a bigger deduction than the standard deduction.

Checklist before you lodge

• Keep receipts for every consumable and costume, and keep agency statements showing commissions.
• Note which advertising relates to commission or bonus income.
• Check your income statement in myGov is marked 'tax ready' and every allowance is included.
• Remove any expense your employer paid for or reimbursed.
• Apportion anything used privately and keep a note of how you worked out the percentage.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Claiming fitness, beauty treatments or hair styling. The ATO treats these as private even where appearance matters.
• Claiming upfront agency joining fees as if they were commission.
• Claiming advertising when you're on a fixed wage with no commission.

Record keeping

• You must have spent the money yourself and not been reimbursed, the expense must be directly related to earning your income, and you need a record to prove it.
• Keep receipts, invoices or bank statements for 5 years from when you lodge. The ATO app's myDeductions tool or photos of receipts are fine.
• If you use something for both work and private purposes, you can only claim the work-related portion – keep a diary or other evidence of how you worked that out.
• 2025–26: if your total work-related claims are $300 or less you don't need written evidence (but must be able to show how you worked the amount out), and laundry claims up to $150 can be made without written evidence using the ATO rates.
• From 2026–27: those $300 and $150 exceptions are removed. A new standard deduction of up to $1,000 applies automatically for eligible employees; if your actual work-related expenses are higher, you can claim them instead with records.

When to see an accountant

Talk to a registered tax agent if:

• you are paid partly as an employee and partly through an ABN;
• you're unsure whether an expense is private or work-related, or your claims are much higher than last year;
• you have an ABN, side business or rental property as well as your job;
• you have received an ATO letter, review or amended assessment.

Related guides

• Performing artists
• Sole traders
• all occupation and industry guides

ATO sources for this guide

• ATO: Adult industry workers – income and work-related deductions
• ATO: Mobile phone, mobile internet and other devices
• ATO: Phone and internet expenses
• ATO: Overnight travel expenses
• ATO: TD 2025/4 reasonable amounts (2025-26)
• ATO: Union fees and subscriptions
• ATO: Professional memberships and accreditations
• ATO: Records you need to keep
• ATO: Standard deduction for work-related expenses
• ATO: Copyright notice

This guide is written in our own words. It draws on information published by the Australian Taxation Office, and some short phrases are quoted with attribution. Source material: © Australian Taxation Office for the Commonwealth of Australia. Top Accountants is not endorsed by, or affiliated with, the ATO.