Key facts
- Work-related expenses total
- $300 or less: no receipts, but records of how you worked it out
- Laundry (not dry-cleaning)
- $150 or less: $1 per work-only load, 50c per mixed load
- Cents per km, 2025-26
- 88c per km, up to 5,000 business km per car
- Cents per km, 2026-27
- 91c per km from 1 July 2026
- Small expenses without a receipt
- $10 or less each, up to $200 a year, with a diary note
- Working from home fixed rate, 2025-26
- 70c per hour, with a record of actual hours
- Keep records for
- 5 years from the date you lodge your return
What the $300 rule really means
The $300 rule is a record-keeping exception, not a free deduction. If your total claim for work-related expenses is $300 or less, you don't need written evidence such as receipts. You still need to have actually spent the money, and you need a record of how you calculated the claim.
The $300 total does not include car expenses, meal allowances, award transport payments or travel allowance expenses, which have their own rules. Once your work-related expenses go over $300, you need written evidence for all of them, not just the amount above $300. The only exception is laundry of $150 or less.
Worked example: Sam washes work-only clothes twice a week for 46 weeks, which is 92 loads at $1, or $92. Sam also bought $160 of protective gear, for a total of $252. That is under $300, so Sam needs records but not receipts. If Sam also buys a $100 work tool, the total is $352, so Sam needs receipts for the gear and the tool, while the $92 laundry claim can still go in without them.
Laundry claims up to $150
If your work-related laundry claim is $150 or less, you can claim it without written evidence. The ATO accepts $1 per load if the load is only work clothes, and 50 cents per load if you mix in other clothes, as a reasonable basis for the claim.
You still need a record, such as a spreadsheet, describing the work clothing and how you counted the loads. The $150 sits inside the $300 limit, so it does not raise your total to $450. Dry-cleaning and repairs are claimed at actual cost and need receipts once you are over $300.
Car expenses: the cents per km method
For 2025-26 returns, the cents per km rate is 88 cents. The rate covers all your car running costs, including fuel, registration, insurance, servicing and depreciation, and you can claim up to 5,000 business kilometres per car. A new determination sets 91 cents per km for the 2026-27 income year, which starts 1 July 2026.
You don't need written evidence of the exact kilometres, but you must be able to show how you worked them out. Diary records of your work trips are the usual way to do this.
Worked example: you drove 3,200 work kilometres in 2025-26. Your claim is 3,200 x $0.88 = $2,816. The most anyone can claim for one car under this method in 2025-26 is 5,000 x $0.88 = $4,400.
Small expenses, working from home and other records
If you can't get a receipt for an expense of $10 or less, a diary or phone note can do the job, as long as your small expense claims total $200 or less for the year. Make the note as soon as possible and include the supplier, amount, what you bought, the purchase date and the date you made the note.
Working from home under the fixed rate method does not need a receipt for each bill, but it is not record free either. You need a record of the actual hours you worked from home for the whole year and at least one bill for each type of expense the rate covers.
Keep written evidence for 5 years from the date you lodge. Photos of receipts stored in the myDeductions tool in the ATO app are accepted as records.
The proposed $1,000 standard deduction
The government has proposed a standard deduction of up to $1,000 for work-related expenses from the 2026-27 income year, with no need to have spent the money or kept records. It does not apply to 2025-26 returns. As at 31 October 2026, the ATO's page relies on a draft ruling (LCR 2026/D5) and does not show the law as passed.
On the ATO's description, each dollar of actual work-related expenses you claim reduces the standard deduction, and claims over $1,000 remove it, with full records needed. Union fees and professional association memberships, tax agent fees, donations and investment deductions sit outside it.
When to get help
Most no-receipt claims go wrong in one of two ways: people treat $300 as an automatic amount, or they go over $300 without the paperwork for everything. A short review of your list before you lodge usually sorts out which claims are safe.
Acquire Strategic Accounting is a registered tax agent in Brisbane. We can go through your deductions and the records behind them.
Related questions
Can I claim $300 without spending anything?
No. The $300 is a record-keeping threshold, not an automatic deduction. You must have spent the money on work-related expenses and be able to show how you calculated the claim.
Does the $150 laundry rule mean I can claim $450 without receipts?
No. Laundry of $150 or less counts toward the $300 total. It does not add to it, so the overall limit without written evidence stays at $300.
Do I need receipts for car expenses under the cents per km method?
No receipts are needed for the running costs, because the rate covers them. You do need to show how you worked out your business kilometres, for example with diary records, and the claim is capped at 5,000 km per car.
Are photos of receipts acceptable?
Yes. The ATO accepts photos of receipts kept in the myDeductions tool in the ATO app. You can also use it to pre-fill a myTax return or email records to your tax agent.
How long do I need to keep receipts?
Generally 5 years from the date you lodge your tax return. Longer periods apply in some cases, such as records for depreciating assets, capital gains and disputes with the ATO.
Sources
General information only, current at 31 October 2026. It does not take your circumstances into account. Rates and thresholds change, so check with us or the ATO before you act.
