You went to medical school to save lives, not to become a tax expert. But every year, doctors, dentists, specialists, and allied health professionals leave thousands of dollars on the table — not through bad planning, but simply because they don't know what they're entitled to claim.
At Artha Tax, we work with medical professionals across Australia every day, and the same missed deductions come up again and again. Here are the top five — and what you should be doing about them before your next return.
1 Self-Education Expenses
Continuing professional development isn't optional in medicine — it's a career requirement. Yet many practitioners either don't claim their education costs at all, or significantly underclaim.
If a course, conference, or workshop maintains or improves the skills you use in your current role, it's deductible. This includes:
The education must relate to your current income-earning role. If you're a GP expanding into cosmetic medicine, some costs may straddle the line — that's exactly where a tax professional helps you draw it correctly and compliantly.
2 Home Office Expenses
Since COVID-19, more medical professionals than ever do a meaningful portion of their administrative work from home — writing patient notes, reviewing results, completing insurance reports, or managing a private practice. This work is claimable.
The ATO offers two methods:
70 cents per hour worked from home — covers electricity, internet, stationery, and equipment depreciation.
More detailed calculation — may yield a larger deduction if you have a dedicated home office space.
You don't need a separate room to claim. Working at the kitchen table after clinic hours still qualifies — you just can't claim the room as a proportion of rent or mortgage. A diary or calendar log of your hours is sufficient.
3 Memberships, Registrations & Insurance
This one sounds obvious, but it's routinely underclaimed because practitioners forget to include every relevant item. All of the following are deductible in full:
4 Car & Work-Related Travel
Medical professionals often underestimate how much work-related travel they do. Travel between two workplaces — say, a hospital and a private clinic — is fully deductible. So is travel to home visits, off-site procedures, or CPD events.
What's not deductible: the commute from home to your primary workplace. Two methods apply:
Up to 5,000 km per year. Straightforward, minimal records required.
More upfront work, often yields a significantly larger deduction for high-mileage professionals.
Working across multiple sites each week? A proper logbook can translate into a substantial deduction. Twelve weeks of records sets your claim for the whole year. If you haven't started one, start now.
5 Tools, Equipment & Protective Clothing
Anything you buy for work that your employer doesn't reimburse you for can generally be claimed. In medicine, this covers more than most people think:
Items under $300 can be claimed immediately in full. Items over $300 are depreciated over their effective life — but with the right advice, there are strategies to accelerate those deductions.
General advice only. This article is general in nature and does not constitute personal tax advice. Individual circumstances vary. Please consult a registered tax agent for advice specific to your situation.
25+ years of expertise. Specialist in medical & allied health practices, SMSF, and business advisory across NSW. Rinku helps medical professionals maximise their deductions and structure their finances for long-term success.