Behind the chair, a lot of the kit is your own: the scissors, the clippers, the products you top up between orders. A fair bit of it is deductible, and plenty goes unclaimed. Whether a cost counts comes down to a single split: it went into the work behind the chair, or it went into your own life. (This is for employees; if you rent a chair or run your own salon, extra business rules apply.)
The test behind every claim
Three conditions decide every claim, and a cost has to clear all three.
Miss one and the deduction is gone, however much it feels like part of the job. When something is used for both work and home, like the phone your bookings come through, you claim only the work-related share.
Tools and equipment
The tools of the trade you buy yourself are deductible, and the only question is how quickly you claim them.
Anything costing $300 or less, like brushes, combs or clippers, comes off in full in the year you buy it.
A good pair of scissors or a dryer over $300 is claimed gradually as it declines in value.
Repairs and insurance on your equipment count too, and if you use a tool privately as well, you claim only the work share.
Uniforms and protective gear
A compulsory or logo uniform is deductible, along with the cost of laundering it, and so is protective gear you buy yourself, like gloves for colour work and an apron against bleach and dye. Ordinary clothing is not, even if the salon expects a certain look, and plain black clothes and everyday closed shoes stay private however strict the dress code.
The colour, foils and product used on clients are usually the salon's stock, not a cost you claim, and the styling products you buy for your own hair are private.
The deductions that get missed
On the floor all day, the little running costs are the ones that vanish:
What you can't claim
A handful of everyday costs look deductible but don't survive a closer look:
- Your commute. Home to the salon and back is private, however far it is.
- Everyday clothing. Ordinary clothes aren't deductible, even the ones the salon asks you to wear.
- Your own grooming. Your own haircuts, colour and cosmetics are private, even in a job that's all about appearance.
- Getting qualified. The apprenticeship or course that made you a hairdresser is what it cost to get into the trade, not to work in it.
No docket, no deduction
Lose the docket and you lose the deduction, simple as that. Over a year behind the chair the paper piles up: the good shears and clippers, the foils, colour, gloves and capes you top up yourself, a technique or product course, your industry association membership, the apron you launder each week. The ATO expects written evidence for each expense and a note of how you landed on any work-use percentage. The habit that saves you is snapping each docket the moment it's handed over, rather than digging through a shoebox the night before you lodge, which is where a real claim on a $400 pair of scissors quietly disappears. The ATO's free myDeductions app will handle the basics.
The bottom line
Behind the chair the claimable list runs long, but each item still has to be something you paid for yourself, used to earn your income, and can prove. Claim the tools and their repairs, the protective gloves and apron you fund, the uniform and its laundering, and the training that keeps your technique current. Leave off the drive to the salon, the everyday clothes and plain shoes even when the look is expected, and your own cuts, colour and products. Get those two lists straight, keep the dockets, and your tax bill will come down to what's genuinely yours to pay.
See what your tools, products and training are worth against your income and tax.
Related: deductions by occupation · income tax calculator. General information only, not tax advice. Check the ATO or a registered tax agent for your situation.