Tax
Tax Deductions for Hair and Beauty Professionals in Australia
I work with a number of hairdressers and beauty therapists, and the same pattern comes up every tax time. There are deductions people are entitled to and never claim, and there are deductions people assume are fine and genuinely are not. Both cost you money — one in a missed refund, the other in a potential problem if the ATO reviews your return.
Here is the practical breakdown, based on the ATO’s own guidance for this occupation.
Tools and Equipment
Scissors, clippers, hairdryers, straighteners, waxing kits, and other tools you use specifically for work are deductible. If a single item costs $300 or less, you can claim the full cost in the year you bought it. Above $300, you claim the cost over the useful life of the item through depreciation, rather than all at once.
Claim in full immediately
The full cost is deductible in the financial year you purchased the item. Keep the receipt.
Depreciate over useful life
Claim the cost progressively over the item’s effective life rather than all at once in year one.
Uniforms and Protective Clothing
You can claim a uniform if it is unique and distinct to your job — a branded salon apron, for example, or protective clothing required for chemical treatments. You can also claim the cost of laundering these items.
Conventional clothing — black pants, plain shirts, standard footwear — cannot be claimed even if your employer has a dress code requiring it. If it is something you could reasonably wear outside of work, the ATO does not consider it deductible, regardless of any workplace requirement.
Personal Grooming: The One That Surprises People
This is the deduction that catches more hair and beauty professionals out than almost any other. Personal grooming, cosmetics, skincare, and haircuts are private expenses under ATO rules, even in an industry where presentation is part of the job. Even if your employer expects a certain standard of grooming, or pays you an allowance for it, the ATO still treats these as personal expenses.
Sun protection products may be claimable under specific conditions: your role requires extended time outdoors, the product has sun protection as its primary listed purpose with an ARTG identification from the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and you only use it for work. A tinted moisturiser marketed primarily as a cosmetic, even with SPF, generally does not qualify.
Education and Training
Courses, seminars, and certifications that relate directly to your current role are deductible — including associated costs like textbooks, stationery, and travel to attend. A colourist doing an advanced colour techniques course is on solid ground.
Upskilling in your current role
Advanced colour techniques, nail technology courses, lash extension training — anything that develops your existing skillset.
Training for a new career
A hairdresser doing a makeup artist course is generally not deductible — it is training for a new line of work, not upskilling in the current role.
Phone, Internet, and Stationery
If you use your personal phone to schedule client appointments, or your home internet to manage bookings or complete work-related study, you can claim the work-related portion of those costs. You need a reasonable basis for splitting work use from personal use — a diary or log for a representative period is the easiest way to establish that.
Appointment books, stationery, and other small supplies used directly for work are also deductible. These tend to be the deductions people forget about simply because the amounts feel too small to bother tracking.
Travel
- Claimable: Travel between two different workplaces on the same day
- Claimable: Travel to training courses or industry events
- Claimable: Travel between client locations for mobile hairdressers and therapists
- Not claimable: Ordinary travel from home to your regular workplace — this is treated as a private commute regardless of occupation
Professional Memberships and Insurance
Membership fees for professional associations relevant to your industry are deductible. Insurance on your tools and equipment is also deductible. Both are commonly overlooked simply because the amounts are modest and people forget they qualify.
If You Have an ABN
Self-employed hairdressers and beauty therapists with an ABN have access to a broader range of deductions than employees — business insurance, marketing costs, equipment used in a home studio or mobile setup, and a wider scope for vehicle and travel claims. If you are operating under an ABN, it is worth a proper conversation about your structure, because the deduction landscape genuinely changes.
Record-Keeping
You need to have spent the money yourself, without reimbursement from your employer, and the expense needs to directly relate to earning your income. Keep receipts — digital copies are fine — for five years after you lodge.
The ATO’s myDeductions tool in the ATO app is a genuinely useful way to track expenses through the year rather than trying to reconstruct twelve months of purchases the week before your tax appointment.
Make sure you’re claiming everything you’re entitled to
Book your tax appointment with 123 Financial Group and we’ll make sure nothing gets left on the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Generally no. Personal grooming, cosmetics, skincare, and haircuts are private expenses under ATO rules, even in an industry where presentation is part of the job. The one narrow exception is sun protection products used outdoors, where the product must have sun protection as its primary listed purpose with an ARTG identification from the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and must only be used for work.
You can claim a uniform if it is unique and distinct to your job — a branded salon apron, for example, or protective clothing required for chemical treatments. You can also claim the cost of laundering these items. Conventional clothing such as black pants or plain shirts cannot be claimed, even if your employer requires them as a dress standard, because they are items you could reasonably wear outside of work.
Yes, if the course directly relates to your current role. A colourist doing an advanced colour techniques course is on solid ground. Where this gets complicated is if the course is for a different career path — a hairdresser doing a makeup artist course, for example, is generally not deductible because it is training for a new line of work rather than upskilling in your existing role.
You need to keep records for five years after lodging. Digital copies of receipts are fine. For very small purchases under $10, you do not need a receipt provided the total of these does not exceed $200 across the year, though a diary note is still worth keeping. The ATO myDeductions tool in the ATO app is a useful way to track expenses through the year rather than reconstructing twelve months of purchases at tax time.