Can nurses claim shoes, laundry and uniforms?

It's one of the questions nurses ask most at tax time, and it's a fair one, because the answer genuinely isn't obvious. The short version: some of it you can claim and some of it you cannot. Whether your uniform, your shoes and the washing that goes with them are deductible doesn't come down to whether you wear them to work. It comes down to whether they're proper work clothing or protective gear, rather than ordinary clothes you happen to have on during a shift. Here is where the line sits, in plain terms, so you can claim what is yours and leave out what would only cause you grief later.

Uniforms: what counts

The ATO looks at two kinds of nursing uniform, and treats them differently.

Compulsory

A compulsory uniform

One your employer requires through a strictly enforced policy, identifying you as working there — scrubs in a set colour carrying the hospital's logo. Buying it and laundering it are both deductible.

Non-compulsory

A non-compulsory uniform

Deductible only if your employer has registered the design with AusIndustry on the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing. Unregistered, you can't claim it, even where you're expected to wear it.

The sticking point is plain clothing you chose yourself. A set of navy scrubs you bought because they're the ward's colour, with no logo and no policy enforcing them, is treated as ordinary clothing — not deductible, even though you'd never wear it anywhere but work. It can feel unfair, but that's the line the ATO draws.

Shoes: the part people get wrong

This is the one that trips nurses up, and it's easy to see why. You buy a sturdy, supportive pair purely to get through a twelve-hour shift on hard floors, so it's only natural to see it as a work cost. Comfort, though, is not the test the ATO uses.

Comfort, though, is not the test the ATO uses.

Shoes become deductible in just two situations:

Protective footwear.Non-slip or closed-in shoes needed to protect you on the ward count as protective clothing.

Part of a compulsory uniform.Shoes can be claimed where they're an essential part of your compulsory uniform and the colour, style and type are set out in your employer's uniform policy.

If your shoes are simply everyday footwear you happen to wear to work, they stay off the return, however sensible the pair. One more detail catches people out: shoes, socks and stockings can never be part of a registered non-compulsory uniform, so that path doesn't open footwear up either.

Socks and stockings

The same thinking runs down to your legs. Compression or support stockings can be claimed where they're genuinely protective across your shifts, or where they're a set part of a compulsory uniform. The everyday socks you'd wear anyway are not deductible. Keep something that shows they're for the job rather than general wear, and you're on solid ground.

Laundry: the rates the ATO accepts

Here is some good news. Once an item is deductible, washing it is too, and you don't need a shoebox of receipts to claim it. The ATO accepts a reasonable rate:

$1 a load

Where the wash contains only work clothing.

50c a load

Where you mix work clothing in with your everyday washing.

You can claim laundry this way up to $150 without keeping written evidence, though you do still need to show how you got to the figure, so jot down your typical loads a week. Past $150 you'll need the records. Dry-cleaning and mending are handled separately: they're claimed at what they actually cost, with receipts.

A worked example

Worked example

Picture a permanent ward nurse with a compulsory logo uniform. Over the year she buys two new sets of uniform, a pair of non-slip shoes the ward requires, and washes her uniform on its own about three loads a week. The uniform and the non-slip shoes are both deductible as purchases. Her laundry, at $1 a load for roughly 150 work loads across the year, comes to about $150, which she can claim without receipts as long as she can show the loads. The plain cardigan she throws on over her scrubs, with no logo and no policy behind it, is not deductible. None of it is dramatic on its own, but together it's a real part of her refund.

What you cannot claim

Plain everyday shoes and socks, however sensible or hard-wearing.
Conventional clothing you chose, with no logo and no enforced uniform policy.
Laundry of clothing that wasn't deductible in the first place.
Grooming to meet a dress code, which is always private.

Keep it simple to prove

None of this counts for much if you can't back it up, so keep:

Receipts for the uniform and the shoes
Receipts for any dry-cleaning
A short note of your weekly laundry loads

The easiest way, by a distance, is to capture each one the moment it happens, so the laundry tally and the small buys are logged the day they land rather than pieced together at the last minute.

The bottom line

So, can nurses claim shoes, laundry and uniforms? A compulsory or logo uniform, the protective non-slip shoes your ward requires, and the laundry of both: yes. Plain shoes, everyday clothing and ordinary socks: no. Get that line right and keep the evidence, and you'll claim everything you're genuinely owed without wandering into what you're not. After the year you put in, that's the least you deserve.

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General information only, not tax advice. Check the ATO or a registered tax agent for your situation.