Tax Deductions for Call Centre Operators (2025–26)

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

Call centre and contact centre staff, customer service representatives and team leaders often have fewer deductions than other jobs, but there are still several worth checking, especially if you work from home.

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

What you can claim

Work equipment and assessments

• Headsets you buy yourself, and repairs to work equipment you own.
• Compulsory hearing or other assessments your employer requires (if you pay).
• Stationery and supplies used for work.

Working from home

If you genuinely do some of your work at home, you can use the fixed rate of 70c per hour (2025–26) with a record of your actual hours, or the actual cost method. See our working from home guide.

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.

Overtime meals

You can claim an overtime meal only if you received an overtime meal allowance under an industrial award or agreement and it is included in your income. Without receipts, you can claim up to the ATO's reasonable amount ($38.65 per meal for 2025–26), but you need receipts if you claim more. Meals during normal hours aren't deductible.

Training and self-education

Course fees, textbooks and seminars are claimable if they maintain or improve the skills you use in your current job, or are likely to increase your income from it. Study to get a new job, or general interest courses, can't be claimed, and neither can study loan (HELP) repayments. You can't claim costs your employer pays or reimburses.

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

• Massage or relaxation treatments, even if the work is stressful.
• Grooming and conventional business clothes.
• Coffee, tea and snacks at work.
• Travel between home and the call centre.

Worked example

Example (illustrative figures only – not real client data): Lena works for a contact centre: 3 days in the office and 2 at home. She keeps a timesheet of her work-from-home hours and buys a noise-cancelling headset for work.

2026–27 comparison: only $845 of these expenses reduce the standard deduction. On similar figures in 2026–27, it would usually be simpler to accept the automatic $1,000 standard deduction and not claim those items, while still claiming the $410 of union or professional fees on top.

Checklist before you lodge

• Keep a record of every hour you work from home. Estimates aren't accepted for the fixed rate method.
• Check whether internet and phone are already covered by the fixed rate (they are, if you use it).
• 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 internet separately while also using the 70c fixed rate.
• Claiming a headset your employer supplied.
• Estimating work-from-home hours.

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 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

• Working from home deductions
• Office workers
• all occupation and industry guides

ATO sources for this guide

• ATO: Call centre operators – income and work-related deductions
• ATO: Working from home expenses
• ATO: Fixed rate method
• ATO: Mobile phone, mobile internet and other devices
• ATO: Phone and internet expenses
• ATO: Overtime meal expenses
• ATO: TD 2025/4 reasonable amounts (2025-26)
• ATO: Self-education expenses
• ATO: Seminars, conferences and training courses
• 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.