Tax Deductions for Agricultural & Farm Workers (2025–26)

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

Farm hands, station workers, shearers, fruit pickers, viticulture and dairy workers often pay for their own gear, vehicles and even animals. This guide covers employees in agriculture. If you run your own farm, the primary production business rules apply instead.

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

What you can claim

Vehicles, animals and equipment

• The work-use portion of running costs and decline in value of an ATV, quad bike or motorbike you own and use for work.
• Firearms, ammunition and gun licence renewals where they are directly connected to your duties (for example, controlling pests on the property you work on).
• Working dogs or horses, but only if your employer requires you to provide them, they were trained from a young age for work, and they aren't pets. You can claim their food, vet and training costs.
• Hiring equipment you need for work.
• Tools such as shears, combs, cutters, knives and fencing tools ($300 rule applies).

Protective items

• Steel-capped boots, wet weather gear, gloves, hearing and eye protection, and respirators for chemicals.
• Sun protection for outdoor work.

Car expenses between workplaces

Driving between two workplaces, from your usual workplace to an alternative site, or to a client or supplier during the day is claimable. Normal trips between home and work are private, even if you live far away or work early or late. Use the cents per km method (88c per km for 2025–26, up to 5,000 km; 91c for 2026–27) or a logbook. See our car expenses guide.

Uniforms, protective clothing and laundry

Compulsory uniforms, registered non-compulsory uniforms, occupation-specific clothing and protective clothing are claimable, along with the cost of washing them: the ATO accepts $1 per work-only load and 50c per mixed load. Plain conventional clothing (black pants, a white shirt, business attire) is not claimable, even if your employer requires it.

Licences, registrations and certificates

Renewing a licence, registration, ticket or certificate you need for your current job is claimable. Getting it the first time isn't, because it's a cost of getting the job rather than doing it. You can claim the extra cost of a special licence condition, but not the cost of an ordinary driver's licence.

Sun protection

If you work outdoors, you can claim sunscreen, sunglasses and sun hats used to protect you from the sun at work. See our sun protection guide.

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

• Travel from home to the farm, unless you carry bulky equipment that can't be stored on site.
• A working dog or horse you keep mainly as a pet, or the cost of buying an animal you don't have to provide.
• Getting a licence or ticket for the first time (for example, a chemical handling ticket).
• Conventional work clothes such as jeans, flannel shirts and ordinary boots.

Worked example

Example (illustrative figures only – not real client data): Tom is employed on a sheep station. His employer requires him to supply his own working dog and use his own quad bike to check stock. His logbook shows 70% work use of the quad bike.

2026–27 comparison: $4,475 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. The $360 of union or professional fees can be claimed either way.

Checklist before you lodge

• Keep a logbook or diary showing work use of vehicles and firearms.
• Keep written confirmation that your employer requires you to provide a dog or horse.
• 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 the family dog as a working dog.
• Claiming 100% of a farm bike that is also used privately.
• Claiming an award transport payment's matching expense without checking whether it is on your income statement.

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're paid award transport payments or a living-away-from-home allowance;
• you work on several properties as both employee and contractor;
• 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

• Mining and FIFO workers
• Sun protection deductions
• all occupation and industry guides

ATO sources for this guide

• ATO: Agricultural workers – income and work-related deductions
• ATO: Cents per kilometre method
• ATO: Trips you can and can't claim
• ATO: Clothing, laundry and dry-cleaning expenses
• ATO myTax 2026: Work-related clothing, laundry and dry-cleaning
• ATO: Parking, tolls, licences and fines
• ATO: Professional memberships and accreditations
• ATO: Protective items, equipment and products
• ATO: Overnight travel expenses
• ATO: TD 2025/4 reasonable amounts (2025-26)
• ATO: Union fees and subscriptions
• 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.