Tax Deductions Claims for Truck Drivers

While you've got your eyes on the road, we've got ours on the horizon. As the kilometres pass by, our tax consultants know that life behind the wheel leaves little time for life behind the desk. We do more than get your tax from A to B, we go the long way round to discover driver-specific expenses that we can help you claim. Let our occupation-specific expertise maximise your refund.  

Driver specific deductions

We go beneath the bonnet to tailor tax to the specifics of your occupation.  

As specialists in truck driver returns, discovering all your deductions is what we love and why we guarantee a maximum refund. Here are some of the specific expenses we can offset from your tax:

• CB radios
• Fridges
• Sleeping bags
• Tools for truck repair
• Working dogs -  depreciation deduction for livestock carriers and immediate deduction for their maintenance costs
• Sunglasses and other sun protection items (including sunscreen, hats and sun-protection shirts)
• Protective equipment not supplied by your employer (including overalls, gloves, goggles, masks, steel-capped boots, high-vis vests and winter jackets)
• Stationery, diary, log books, work bag or briefcases
• the cost of meals if you are a long distance truck driver and are required to be away from home overnight. You will usually need receipts for all of these expenses, however, if you have received a genuine allowance from your employer to cover the cost of the meals, and this amount is included in your assessable income, the ATO will allow you to claim what they determine to be a reasonable amount without receipts. Even if you meet this requirement and do not need to keep all of your receipts, you will need to be able to show that you have spent the money and how you have calculated the amount claimed, so it is a good idea to keep some receipts as well as bank statements to verify the claim
• you can claim the cost of meals when your work overtime, as long as your have received a genuine overtime meal allowance, paid under an industrial award or enterprise agreement, and this allowance has been included in your assessable income.

After all is said and deducted, we specialise in making tax simple. With over 40 years as Australia's leading taxation experts, we're fascinated by numbers – and great results.  

Keeping Track

We understand that it's difficult to keep on top of your paperwork when you're behind the wheel – so while you focus on the road, we'll stay focused on getting your taxes in order.  

All we need from you is written evidence of claims above $300 (excluding claims for car, meal allowance, award transport payments allowance and travel allowance expenses). Bear in mind that evidence must show you incurred the full amount of your claim, not just the amount over the first $300. Just keep your receipts and we'll take it from there. For costs less than $300, you need to be able to show how you arrived at your claim.

To arrive at a refund as fast as possible, call 132325 and lock in an appointment at your local H&R Block office today.  

July 2017