Travel between home and work and between workplaces

If you are self- employed, a business owner or an employee use this guide to know when you can claim travel between home and work and between workplaces.

As a general rule, travel expenses are deductible when they are incurred for business or work-related purposes. These rules apply whether you travel by train, bus, taxi or your own private vehicle.

Here is a quick summary of the tax rules.

You can claim the cost of traveling when you:

• Travel from your home to another workplace for work purposes, and then back to your primary workplace or home
• Travel between two different workplaces – for example, when you have a second job.
• Travel from your normal workplace to an alternative workplace (for example, a client’s premises) while still on duty, and back to your normal workplace or home.
• Use your home as a base of employment – you started your work at home and travelled to a workplace to continue your work for the same employer.
• Had shifting places of employment – you regularly worked at more than one site each day before returning home.
• Need to bring bulky tools – for example, a big tool box or a cello – at work and couldn’t leave them at workplace.

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ATO: QC 31983

Unfortunately, you can’t claim the cost of traveling when

• You have to drive between your home and your workplace more than once a day.
•  You do minor work-related tasks – for example, picking up the mail on the way to work or home.
• You are on call – for example, you are on stand-by duty and your employer contacts you at home to come into work.
• There is no public transport near where you work.
• You work outside normal business hours – for example, shift work or overtime
• Your home is a place where you run your own business and you travel directly to a place of work where you work for somebody else.

Please contact our office on (03) 8511 4047 if you require further assistance.

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