A tax specialist has revealed the wildest things Aussies have tried to claim as expenses – and the answers don’t disappoint.
Mark Chapman is the director of Tax Communications at H&R Block and the firm has revealed they’ve seen some wild expense claims over the years.
Instead of Aussies trying to claim everyday things like work uniforms and partial phone bills, they are going rogue.
Naturally, a few are pretty unforgettable and reveal just how creative people get around tax times in the hope of saving themselves some extra money.
There was the tradie who left Australia for a European holiday and tried to claim it as research for his craft. He was sadly informed that living his best life wasn’t actually considered a tax write-off.
There was the Aussie who tried to claim edible underwear as a tax deductible and, spoiler, couldn’t give an answer to justify that yummy expense.
One person tried to claim cigarettes as a tax deduction because they felt it was stress relief, but that was a firm no.
Mr Chapman explained when a particularly rogue expense comes through, they choose their words carefully when explaining to clients why it can’t be accepted.
“We don’t say it is crazy, we say it isn’t liable. We think ‘this is crazy’ to ourselves,” he said.
The tax expert said he aims to provide a “barrier” between people and the tax office to make sure they don’t claim anything that isn’t going to get approved, in an effort stop people from making unjustifiable claims.
Another instance of a rogue claim was when one bold man got very creative and tried to claim sunscreen as a deduction for a wild reason.
The claim of sunscreen isn’t the crazy part – because people can claim it if they are working outdoors – but this office worker wanted to claim sunscreen because his work asked for him to go to the park across the road to smoke.
He felt this meant he was getting increased sun exposure and, therefore, he was justified in asking for a kickback … he was wrong.
There was also the tradie who tried to claim his dog’s food back on tax because he said he took his dog to work sometimes to guard his tools.
He never did explain why the dog only needed to guard his tools occasionally, but he was advised the claim was not going to fly.
Sill, Mr Chapman advised, just because something sounds silly, it doesn’t mean it isn’t a legitimate claim. It all depends on your occupation.
“We’ve had a few reports of people trying to claim sex toys, the people that try and claim that are in the adult industry. Actually, that is probably one of the situations where a dedication is allowable; it is a tool of the trade if you like. In the same way, a plumber might use a spanner,” he explained.
The tax expert advised when claiming, you need to ask yourself if it relates to your job and if the answer is a yes, go for it.
More Coverage
“If you’ve spent something that relates to your job, you can claim it. So, people need to get out of this mentality of ‘I might not get a deduction for that because it is too expensive’,” he said.
Do clients get upset when their claims get nixed? No, they tend to take it on the chin, said Mr Chapman.
“People do tend to accept if the expense isn’t legitimate, then they are quite happy to withdraw the claim,” he clarified.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ7xaKlmqaTmnyuu82esGiska18ta3XZqqpnZOerq210q1koZmjYr%2BmwsSao56cXam1pnnWoqOdnaOpeqS4wKKkrGWRqsC0tcSsZKGZppp6tb7InptmrJ9iuqK3xGilnq%2BjYsC1u9GyZnKaZ2awcq%2FFbWlrnmJnr6SFxJtobmuWmYR1g5JybJtt