Site one day, office the next, home on Friday. Here's what engineers can claim, and the records that hold up.
Start 14-day free trialFree for 14 days · no card needed
By the Nomo team · Last reviewed 24 September 2026
Engineers who work at more than one location each day, doing site inspections, can claim their work car use by cents per km or a logbook. See driving between job sites and the cents per km calculator.
If you need to be registered to do your job, you can claim the cost of renewing your registration, but not the initial cost of getting it. That covers state registers and schemes like RPEQ in Queensland.
Professional association memberships, like Engineers Australia, are claimable, and they're claimed on top of the $1,000 standard deduction, based on the ATO's draft ruling. Seminars, conferences and courses that relate to your current work are claimable too, including registration and travel to get there. See self-education expenses.
Steel caps, high-vis, hard hats and goggles you buy yourself are claimable, and so is washing occupation-specific clothing. Business attire isn't, because it's conventional clothing. Insurance on your tools and equipment is claimable for the work share.
Hybrid engineers can claim running costs for the hours they work from home, at 70c an hour with a record of the actual hours, or with the actual cost method. You also need a bill for each type of running cost the fixed rate covers. See work from home tax deductions.
A laptop, calculator or software subscription you pay for yourself is claimable for the work share. Items costing $300 or less come off in full the year you buy them. Over $300, you claim the decline in value over time. See tools and equipment.
From 2026–27, you can take a standard deduction of up to $1,000 with no receipts. Work driving, home hours, gear, registration renewals and courses all count toward it.
| Example (illustrative amounts) | Covered work expenses | Better option |
|---|---|---|
| Office-based engineer, 2 days a week at home (600 hours, $420), $250 registration renewal | $670 | The $1,000 standard deduction, plus memberships on top |
| Project engineer: the same, plus 1,200 km of site visits ($1,092) and $200 of PPE | $1,962 | Claiming actual expenses, plus memberships on top |
Run your own numbers in the standard deduction calculator.
Engineers split the week between the office, site and home. Nomo covers all three: trips for site visits, hours when you work from home, and receipts for gear and courses. Nomo is an Australian tax deduction and mileage/work kilometre tracking app for PAYG employees and sole traders.
Tag site inspections as Site visit.
Clock on for home days at 70c an hour.
Receipts for gear and courses, read and kept.
Consulting engineers on an ABN claim these as business expenses, in the business section of their return. See sole trader tax deductions.
Yes. Based on the ATO's draft ruling, professional association memberships are claimed on top of the $1,000 standard deduction.
The renewal, yes. The initial registration you needed to get the job, no.
From the office or between sites, yes. From home to your regular office, no.
No. Parking at or near your regular workplace isn't claimable.
It may be claimable if it relates to your current role. See the self-education rules.
Yes, at 70c an hour with a record of your actual hours, or with the actual cost method.
Site, office, home. All counted.
Trips, home hours and receipts in one app. 14 days free, no card needed.
Start 14-day free trialBy the Nomo team · Last reviewed 24 September 2026. We check these pages against current ATO guidance and update them when the rules change.
General information only, not tax advice. Rules change and everyone’s situation is different, so check ato.gov.au or talk to a registered tax agent about your situation. Nomo is a record keeping app, not a registered tax agent.