Are job hunting expenses tax deductible?

 Author: EthanATO(Community Support)Community Support

23 Oct 2021

Hi @J1, To claim a work-related expense there's a few things you need to meet. You need to have spent the money yourself with no reimbursement, the expenses must directly relate to earning your income, and you need records to prove it. The main issue here is that your expenses don't relate directly to earning income. They instead relate to obtaining employment to then earn income - you need to have incurred the expenses while earning the income they relate to. Unfortunately, in this situation you wouldn't be able to claim a deduction. I'll include a link to our page on work-related expenses below. Work-related Expenses: https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Income-and-deductions/Deductions-you-can-claim/#Workrelatedexpenses