Tax deductions for real estate agents
As a real estate agent you can generally claim work-related car travel, marketing costs you fund yourself, your phone, and licence and training costs.
Build your checklistAgents carry real business costs — the car does the heavy lifting, alongside self-funded marketing. Here’s what usually counts.
The three rules for any claim
- You paid for it yourself and weren’t reimbursed.
- It directly relates to earning your income.
- You have a record — a receipt, invoice or bank statement.
Checked against ATO guidance: September 2026
What you can usually claim
Car and travel
Driving to inspections, appraisals, listings and auctions is generally claimable; the regular commute to your office isn’t. The logbook and cents-per-kilometre methods apply only to a car — built to carry under one tonne and fewer than nine passengers — which covers almost any vehicle used for this work, though a heavier van would be claimed at actual cost instead.
Marketing and client costs
Advertising, signage, listing photography and client-related costs you pay for yourself and aren’t reimbursed.
Phone, licence and self-education
The work portion of your phone, renewing your agent’s licence or registration, and training that builds on your current skills.
General information, not personal tax advice. What you can claim depends on your circumstances — check the ATO's own occupation guides or a registered tax agent, and keep records for every claim.
Keep in mind
- Grooming, haircuts, make-up or conventional business attire.
- Your commute between home and the office.
- Costs your agency reimburses.
Where mistakes happen
The claims most likely to get adjusted — not because they're disallowed outright, but because the split or the timing was off.
- Claiming the commute between home and the office as work travel.
- Claiming wardrobe or grooming as a marketing expense — conventional business attire stays private.
Take it further
Your income tax, Medicare levy and take-home pay on any salary.
2Fin for sole traders →One account, two lives, already sorted
Logbook method (car expenses) →Claim your car’s real business-use share of running costs.
GST (Goods and Services Tax) →Australia’s flat 10% tax on most goods and services.
ABN (Australian Business Number) →The 11-digit number that identifies your business.
Real estate agents — common questions
Can I claim my car?
The work-related portion of your car use — inspections, appraisals, showings — is generally deductible, and private use isn’t. Logbook and cents-per-kilometre are the two methods, and both apply only to a car: built to carry under one tonne and fewer than nine passengers, which almost any vehicle used for this work will be. This is general information, not personal tax advice — what you can claim depends on your circumstances, so check with the ATO or a registered tax agent, and keep records to back up every claim.
Can I claim my suits and grooming?
Generally no — conventional business clothing and grooming are treated as private, even in a client-facing role. This is general information, not personal tax advice — what you can claim depends on your circumstances, so check with the ATO or a registered tax agent, and keep records to back up every claim.
Can I claim advertising and signage I pay for myself?
Generally yes. Advertising, signage, listing photography and client-related costs you fund yourself and aren’t reimbursed for are typically claimable. Costs your agency reimburses come out of the claim, so keep track of who actually paid for each campaign — self-funded marketing is one of the two places an agent’s claim really sits, alongside the car. This is general information, not personal tax advice — what you can claim depends on your circumstances, so check with the ATO or a registered tax agent, and keep records to back up every claim.
Can I claim my licence renewal and sales training?
Generally yes. Renewing your agent’s licence or registration, and training that builds on your current skills, are typically deductible, as is the work portion of your phone. Study aimed at moving into a different field is treated differently, so keep the link to the work you already do when you claim a course. This is general information, not personal tax advice — what you can claim depends on your circumstances, so check with the ATO or a registered tax agent, and keep records to back up every claim.
Can I claim driving from home to the office as an agent?
Generally no. Your commute between home and the office stays private, and claiming it as work travel is one of the common mistakes on an agent’s return. Driving to inspections, appraisals, listings and auctions is a different matter and is typically claimable for the work-related portion. This is general information, not personal tax advice — what you can claim depends on your circumstances, so check with the ATO or a registered tax agent, and keep records to back up every claim.
Let Fin surface these for you
On a PAYG wage, an ABN or both, 2Fin tags each expense work-related, business or personal as it lands, keeps the receipt with it, and exports your deductions to ATO myDeductions. Record the PAYG withheld from each pay and it shows a live estimate of your refund or what you owe across your salary, business and rental income. See what it does. Free to start, no card needed.
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