Tax deductions for FIFO and mining workers (2025-26)

If you work on a mine site — fly-in fly-out (FIFO), drive-in drive-out (DIDO) or residential — you can claim work-related costs that you paid for yourself, that directly relate to earning your income, and that you have a record for. The ATO's mining site employees guide is specific: protective gear, hard hats, tools, licence renewals and self-education can be deductible, but everyday work wear, normal travel from home to a mine site, and most FIFO living costs are not. Getting the FIFO travel and zone offset rules right is where this occupation differs most from others.

Before you claim: this is general information based on the ATO’s occupation guidance for 2025–26 returns — not tax advice. A deduction stands or falls on your circumstances and your records. A registered tax agent can advise on your situation.

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What FIFO and mining workers can claim

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• Protective clothing and footwear — Clothing with protective features to shield you from injury or illness at work — for example hi-vis vests, steel-capped boots and fire-resistant clothing — where you paid for it and weren't reimbursed.
• Protective items and equipment — Hard hats, safety glasses, goggles, breathing masks, earplugs/earmuffs and protective gloves that protect you from the real and likely risk of injury or illness while performing your duties (you can also claim to repair, replace or clean them).
• Sun protection (sunglasses, sunhats, sunscreen) — Deductible for the work-related portion if you must work outdoors in the sun for prolonged periods to protect against the real and likely risk of illness or injury — this includes prescription sunglasses and anti-glare glasses.
• Tools and equipment — Items used for your duties (e.g. a drill or shovel) — claim the full cost in the year you buy it if it cost $300 or less, or claim the decline in value over the item's effective life if it cost more than $300; apportion for any private use, and you can also claim repairs.
• Laundering protective/uniform clothing — Washing, drying and ironing of deductible protective or compulsory-uniform clothing at $1 per load (work clothing only) or 50c per load (mixed with personal clothing); records aren't required if the laundry claim is $150 or less, but you must still show how you worked it out.
• Licence, permit and certificate renewals — Cost of renewing a special licence, permit, card or certificate needed for your work (e.g. a truck licence or heavy vehicle permit) during the period you're working — the initial cost to get it before the job, and your ordinary driver's licence, are not deductible.
• Self-education that relates to your current job — Course/tuition fees, textbooks, stationery and related travel where the study maintains or improves the skills for your current duties, or is likely to increase your income from your current employment (not study to get a new job).
• Seminars, conferences and training courses — Costs (including fares, registration and overnight accommodation and meals) for events that relate to your work as a mining site employee; apportion if there is a private purpose such as adding a holiday.
• Overtime meals — The cost of a meal you buy and eat while working overtime — but only if you received a genuine overtime meal allowance under an industrial law, award or agreement, it's shown as a separate allowance, and you include it as income.
• Overnight work travel — Accommodation, meals and incidentals when your work requires you to sleep away from home overnight (e.g. travelling to a remote site for inspections) — you can't claim where the employer provides/reimburses the cost or where you don't actually stay overnight.
• Phone, data and internet (work portion) — The work-related portion of your own phone/internet; no records needed if the claim is $50 or less and use is incidental, otherwise keep evidence of the total cost and your work-use percentage.
• Union and professional association fees — Fully deductible; you can use your income statement or payment summary as evidence if the amount is shown there.
• First aid training — Deductible if you are a designated first aid person and need the course to assist in emergency situations at work, and your employer didn't pay or reimburse you.

The FIFO-specific claims

• FIFO/DIDO travel to the mine is usually NOT deductible — Normal trips between home and your regular mine site are private — even if you live a long way away, work outside normal hours, or fly/drive in. The ATO states this explicitly for mining site employees and notes FIFO circumstances may differ, but the home-to-regular-workplace rule still applies.
• Hard hats, breathing masks, earplugs and safety glasses — The ATO's mining guide specifically lists these as claimable protective items for miners (e.g. an underground miner claiming safety glasses, a hard hat and a breathing mask) where bought yourself and not reimbursed.
• Carrying bulky tools/equipment exception — You can claim home-to-work car travel only if the tools/equipment are essential and genuinely bulky (awkward and only conveniently moved by vehicle) AND there is no secure storage at the site. If the employer provides secure storage, taking tools home is your choice and isn't deductible.
• Zone tax offset rarely applies to FIFO workers — Eligibility is based on your usual place of residence being in a remote zone for 183+ days. A FIFO worker who lives in a city and flies to a remote site cannot claim it, because their usual place of residence isn't in the zone — even if they spend 183+ days at the remote site.
• Living-away-from-home allowance (LAFHA) is different from travel — A LAFHA (paid because your duties require you to live away from your normal home) is a fringe benefit (handled by your employer under the Fringe Benefits Tax system, not your assessable income) — you don't declare it and can't claim the living costs it covers, because they're private living expenses, not overnight work travel.
• Heavy vehicle/special licence renewals — Mining workers who drive trucks or heavy vehicles can claim the renewal cost of a truck licence or heavy vehicle permit during employment, but not the cost of first obtaining them or of an ordinary driver's licence.

Claims that get knocked back

• Conventional/everyday work wear — jeans, drill shirts, shorts, trousers, socks and closed shoes — even if your employer requires it and you only wear it at work
• Plain clothing items that are part of a uniform (e.g. plain black pants and shoes), and clothing your employer buys, repairs or replaces for you
• Normal trips between home and your regular mine site (FIFO/DIDO commuting) — private, even if you live far away or work outside normal hours
• The cost to get or renew your ordinary driver's licence, even if it's a condition of employment
• The initial cost of getting a licence, permit, card or certificate to get the job (e.g. a forklift or truck licence before you start)
• Fitness expenses — gym fees, gym clothes or equipment — even if you must pass fitness/medical tests to keep your job
• Prescription glasses or contact lenses (these are private; only protective glasses qualify)
• Childcare while you're working, and the cost of educating your children (school, university or TAFE fees)
• Fines and penalties, including parking and speeding fines, even if incurred for work
• Meals, drinks or snacks during your normal working hours (only genuine overtime meals or overnight-travel meals qualify)
• Removal and relocation costs to move to a new work location, whether for an existing or new job
• Living-away-from-home costs covered by a LAFHA (private living expenses)
• Music streaming, CDs, audio books or podcasts used at work, even to stay motivated