Tax Deductions for Cleaners in Australia

If you work as a cleaner in Australia – whether you’re a sole trader running your own cleaning business, a subcontractor, or an employee – you’re likely spending a significant amount on supplies, travel, equipment, and insurance. Many of these costs are legitimate tax deductions for cleaners in Australia, and claiming them properly can make a real difference to your tax bill. This guide covers every major deduction category so you know exactly what you can claim.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information only and does not constitute tax advice. Consult a registered tax agent for advice specific to your circumstances.

Cleaning Supplies and Consumables

The supplies you use every day are deductible, and because they’re consumable items that get used up quickly, they’re claimed as an immediate deduction in the year you buy them:

• Detergents, multi-surface cleaners, and disinfectants
• Glass cleaner, oven cleaner, and specialty cleaning products
• Bleach and sanitising products
• Microfibre cloths, sponges, and scourers
• Mop heads and replacement pads
• Garbage bags, bin liners, and recycling bags
• Vacuum cleaner bags and filters
• Toilet paper, paper towels, and hand soap (if you supply these for clients)
• Rubber gloves, disposable gloves, and heavy-duty gloves
• Spray bottles and dispensers

These costs might seem small individually, but they add up over a year. A cleaner spending $40-$60 per week on supplies is looking at $2,000-$3,000 per year in deductions just from consumables alone.

Tip: Buy supplies in bulk to save money, and keep every receipt. Even a quick run to Bunnings or Woolworths for cleaning products counts – as long as you have the receipt and the products are used for work.

Equipment Deductions

Larger equipment follows the same rules as other professions:

• Items costing $300 or less – claim an immediate deduction in full. This covers most everyday equipment: mop and bucket sets, brooms, dustpans, spray bottles, and window squeegees.
• Items costing more than $300 – depreciate the cost over the item’s effective life. A $500 commercial vacuum cleaner with a 5-year effective life would give you a $100 deduction per year under the prime cost method.
• Instant asset write-off – if you qualify as a small business (aggregated turnover under $10 million), you may be able to write off eligible equipment immediately. Check the ATO’s instant asset write-off page for current thresholds.

Common equipment deductions for cleaners include:

• Vacuum cleaners (upright, canister, backpack)
• Steam cleaners and carpet cleaners
• Pressure washers (for outdoor or commercial cleaning)
• Floor polishers and scrubbers
• Window cleaning equipment (squeegees, extension poles, water-fed poles)
• Ladders and step stools
• Trolleys and caddies for carrying supplies
• Wet/dry vacuum cleaners

Example: A cleaner buys a commercial-grade carpet cleaner for $1,200. Under the instant asset write-off (if eligible), they claim the full $1,200 immediately. Without it, they’d depreciate it over its effective life – say 7 years – claiming roughly $170 per year.

Vehicle and Travel Expenses

Travel between client sites is one of the biggest deductions available to cleaners. If you drive from one client’s home or business to another during the day, that travel is deductible. The ATO provides two methods:

Cents per Kilometre Method

• 85 cents per business kilometre (2023-24 rate)
• Capped at 5,000 km per year
• Maximum claim of $4,250
• No receipts needed, but you must be able to show how you calculated your kilometres

Logbook Method

• Keep a logbook for at least 12 consecutive weeks
• Record every trip (personal and business)
• Calculate your business-use percentage
• Claim that percentage of all running costs: fuel, registration, insurance, servicing, repairs, tyres, loan interest, and depreciation

For cleaners, the logbook method is almost always the better choice. A cleaner visiting four to six clients per day, five days a week, will easily exceed 5,000 business kilometres before the end of the financial year. With a logbook, you can claim your actual proportion of all vehicle costs – fuel, rego, servicing, insurance, and depreciation.

Example: A cleaner drives a $25,000 car and covers 30,000 km per year. Their logbook shows 70% business use. They can claim 70% of all running costs – fuel ($3,500 x 70% = $2,450), insurance ($1,200 x 70% = $840), servicing ($800 x 70% = $560), registration ($700 x 70% = $490), and depreciation – potentially totalling well over $5,000.

Important: Travel from your home to your first client of the day and from your last client back home is generally treated as a non-deductible commute. However, travel between clients during the day is fully deductible. If you carry bulky equipment (like a vacuum, carpet cleaner, or mop bucket) that cannot be stored at a regular workplace, your home-to-first-client trip may also qualify as deductible – the ATO’s motor vehicle expenses guidance has more detail on this.

Protective Clothing and Laundry

You can claim work-related clothing expenses if the clothing falls into an eligible category:

• Protective clothing – rubber gloves, non-slip shoes, knee pads, aprons, and coveralls that protect you from chemicals, slippery surfaces, or other hazards
• Branded uniforms – shirts, polo shirts, or jackets with your business name or logo permanently attached
• Non-slip footwear – essential for working on wet floors and deductible as protective clothing

What you can’t claim: Plain everyday clothing, even if you only wear it for work. A pair of old jeans or a plain t-shirt is not deductible.

You can also claim laundry costs for eligible work clothing:

• If your total laundry claim is under $150 for the year, no written evidence is required – you can use a reasonable estimate
• Above $150, you’ll need a laundry diary showing the number of loads and a reasonable calculation of costs
• A reasonable estimate is $1 per load if you wash work clothing with other items, or $2 per load if the load is only work clothing

A cleaner washing their work uniforms three times a week at $1 per load can claim $156 per year ($1 x 3 x 52) – a small but easy deduction.

Insurance

Insurance is a critical cost for cleaners, especially those running their own business:

• Public liability insurance – essential if you work in clients’ homes or businesses. This covers you if you accidentally damage property (scratching a floor, breaking an ornament) or if someone is injured. Premiums typically range from $300-$800 per year for sole trader cleaners.
• Income protection insurance – premiums are deductible (but any payout is assessable income)
• Workers’ compensation insurance – required if you employ staff
• Commercial vehicle insurance – the business-use percentage of your vehicle insurance

Phone and Communication

Your phone is a business tool – you use it to communicate with clients, confirm bookings, manage your schedule, and handle invoicing:

• Claim the business-use percentage of your phone plan
• Keep a diary for a representative four-week period to determine the percentage
• If you have a separate work phone, the full cost is deductible

Advertising and Marketing

Getting new clients requires marketing, and those costs are deductible:

• Local advertising – flyers, letterbox drops, local newspaper ads
• Online advertising – Facebook ads, Google Ads, Instagram promotion
• Platform fees – Airtasker service fees, Hipages listing fees, or similar platforms where clients find you
• Business cards – printing and design costs
• Vehicle signage – if you put your business name and number on your car or van
• Website – hosting, domain registration, and design costs

Business Registration and Professional Fees

Administrative costs of running your cleaning business are deductible:

• ABN registration costs – the ABN itself is free, but if you paid a service to register it, that cost is deductible
• Business name registration – the annual fee to ASIC for registering your business name
• Accounting and tax agent fees – the cost of having your tax return prepared
• Bookkeeping software – Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, or Wave subscriptions
• Bank fees – fees on your business bank account
• Bond cleaning supplies – specialty products for end-of-lease cleaning (if this is part of your services)

Home Office Deductions

If you do admin, invoicing, scheduling, and client communication from home, you can claim home office expenses:

• Fixed rate method – 67 cents per hour for every hour you spend on admin and business work from home
• Actual cost method – calculate the actual proportion of electricity, internet, and phone costs used for business

Even if you only spend 30 minutes a day on admin at home, that’s 67 cents x 0.5 hours x 250 days = $83.75 per year.

Record-Keeping for Cleaners

The ATO requires you to keep records for five years. For cleaners, expenses happen constantly – a stop at the supermarket for supplies, fuel for driving between clients, a new pair of non-slip shoes. Paper receipts get wet, crumpled, or lost in the car.

The simplest solution is to scan every receipt the moment you get it. A quick photo on your phone is all it takes, and the ATO accepts digital copies as valid evidence, provided the receipt shows the supplier’s name, the date, what was purchased, the amount, and the GST amount (if applicable).

For more general tips on maximising your deductions, check out our guide on 5 tax deduction tips every freelancer should know.

Start Claiming What You’re Entitled To

Between supplies, equipment, vehicle costs, insurance, and clothing, cleaners have a solid range of tax deductions available – but only if you keep the records to back them up. Taxr makes it simple: scan your receipts between jobs with your phone, let the AI categorise each expense automatically, and export everything for your tax agent at EOFY. No spreadsheets, no shoeboxes, no lost receipts. Download Taxr and start keeping more of what you earn.