The van, the licence, the gear and a day of callouts. Here's what plumbers can claim, and the van rule plenty of people get wrong.
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By the Nomo team · Last reviewed 24 September 2026
This is the big one for plumbers, and plenty of advice online gets it wrong. For tax, a "car" is built to carry less than one tonne and fewer than nine passengers. Plenty of panel vans and utes are rated at one tonne or more, so they aren't cars.
| Your van | How you claim |
|---|---|
| Yours, rated under one tonne | It's a car. Work trips by cents per km (91c for 2026–27, up to 5,000 km) or the logbook method, as a car expense |
| Yours, rated one tonne or more | Not a car. No cents per km, no logbook. Claim the actual work-related costs as a work-related travel expense, with receipts for every cost and a record of your work travel percentage |
| Your employer's van | No running costs, because you didn't pay them |
Check the carrying capacity (payload) in the manufacturer's specs. The ATO explains it under vehicles that aren't a car.
Driving between jobs during the day is work travel, and so is a run to the plumbing supplier mid-job. Home to your first job is usually private if you have a regular workplace.
Being on call doesn't change that on its own. If the boss rings and you head in, it's still a trip to work. Three narrower exceptions can make the home trip count:
Worked examples in driving between job sites.
The ATO names plumbers specifically: renewing the plumbing, gasfitting or drainage licence you need to work is claimable. The first licence, the one you needed to get the job, isn't.
Hand tools costing $300 or less come off in full the year you buy them. A set counts as one item. Bigger gear you buy yourself, like a drain camera, jetter or press tool, is usually over $300 and claimed over several years, for the work share.
Repairs and insurance on your own tools are claimable. Anything your employer supplied or reimbursed isn't. More in tools and equipment.
Gloves, masks, safety glasses, earmuffs, knee pads, steel caps, and sun protection for outdoor work are claimable. Everyday workwear isn't.
From 2026–27, you can take a standard deduction of up to $1,000 with no receipts. Your van, tools, PPE and licence renewals all reduce it. Union fees are claimed on top.
| Example (illustrative amounts) | Covered work expenses | Better option |
|---|---|---|
| Plumber in the employer's van: $450 of tools and PPE | $450 | The $1,000 standard deduction |
| Plumber in their own van rated over one tonne, 70% work use: $9,000 of van costs ($6,300), $500 of tools | $6,800 | Claiming actual expenses, with records for all of it |
Run your own numbers in the standard deduction calculator.
For a van over one tonne, the ATO wants two things: a receipt for every cost you claim (fuel, servicing, rego, insurance, repairs), and records that show how you worked out your work travel as a share of all your travel. A guess at "about 80%" won't hold up. A record of each trip, work or private, will.
Nomo records each trip in your work hours and you swipe it work or personal, so your work share is backed by a trip record, not a guess. Fuel and parts receipts are scanned as you go. Nomo is an Australian tax deduction and mileage/work kilometre tracking app for PAYG employees and sole traders.
Swipe each trip: work or personal.
The year's trips and km in one place.
Fuel and parts receipts, read and kept.
Plumbing contractors on an ABN claim business expenses in the business section of their return, and the standard deduction doesn't cover business income. Eligible small businesses (turnover under $10 million) can deduct assets costing less than $20,000 in full under the instant asset write-off. Nomo keeps the trips and receipts. It doesn't track your income or do your BAS. See sole trader tax deductions.
If it's yours: under one tonne by cents per km or a logbook, one tonne or more by actual costs and your work travel share.
No. A vehicle rated to carry one tonne or more isn't a car for tax, so cents per km and the logbook method don't apply.
Usually not. Being on call isn't enough. It can count if your work is itinerant, you carry bulky tools with no secure storage, or home is a base of employment.
The renewal, yes. The first licence you needed to get the job, no.
If you bought it and use it for work, the work share, over several years if it cost more than $300.
You can't claim running costs you didn't pay.
The van's work share, backed by records.
Every trip swiped work or personal, all year. 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.