Agents drive constantly and spend their own money on marketing and clients. Two of the biggest deductions hinge on one thing: whether you are entitled to earn commission.
Checked against the ATO real estate employees guide, updated May 2025
This is the rule that separates agents from most other employees. If you are a salesperson or property manager entitled to earn commission — or commission plus a retainer — you can claim the cost of gifts you buy for work purposes, and the cost of advertising your services through newspapers, letterbox drops, signage and bunting. If you earn a fixed income and are not entitled to commission, neither is deductible. Same expense, same job, different answer. One exception applies either way: gifts in the form of entertainment, like tickets to a live sporting event, are never deductible.
The trip from home to your usual office is private, however early or late you work. But most of an agent’s driving is not that trip. Travelling from the office out to residential open homes for the same employer on the same day is claimable, as is driving between two separate jobs, and going from home directly to a training venue. If you genuinely have no fixed workplace and move between properties all day, those home trips can count too. Use either the cents per km method or a logbook — you cannot then claim petrol, servicing or insurance separately for the same car.
Business attire is conventional clothing, so the suit you would never otherwise wear is not deductible, even where the agency requires it. Two things do work: a compulsory uniform explicitly required and consistently enforced by your workplace, and a non-compulsory uniform your employer has registered on the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing. If you are unsure whether yours is registered, ask your employer. Grooming is firmly out — hairdressing and cosmetics are private expenses.
Claimable: renewing your annual Certificate of Registration; phone and internet for the work-related share with records; tools and equipment, under $300 outright and over $300 depreciated; working from home running costs using an ATO method. Not claimable: your driver’s licence; grooming; coffee, tea and milk while working from home; anything your employer paid for or reimbursed.
Where Nomo fits: Nomo tracks the run between the office and every open home automatically, and files the advertising and client gift receipts against the right ATO category as you go.
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 before you lodge. Nomo is a record keeping tool and does not lodge returns.