Occupation guide · Reviewed 17 August 2026
Tax deductions for truck drivers
What truck drivers can legitimately claim, what the ATO routinely disallows, and the records that make the difference at review time.
What can truck drivers claim on tax?
Drivers can claim overnight travel expenses — meals and incidentals, using the ATO's reasonable amounts for long-haul drivers where an allowance is paid — plus heavy vehicle licence renewals and medicals, work gear and protective clothing, tools and equipment, log books and diaries, work-related phone use, union fees, and the work-use share of your own vehicle where you travel between depots. What isn't claimable: home-to-depot travel, meals on day trips without an overnight stay, and fines.
- Occupation-specific checklist below
- Written evidence needed above $300 total
- We ask from the right list, not “anything else?”
- Returns prepared within 48 hours
Claimable
What you can claim.
- Overnight meals and incidentals (long-haul rules)
- Accommodation on overnight trips
- Heavy vehicle licence renewals and medicals
- Fatigue management and dangerous goods training
- Work boots, hi-vis, gloves and wet weather gear
- Sleeping bag, pillow and bedding for sleeper cabs
- Tools, load restraints and equipment
- Log books, diaries and record apps
- Phone and CB radio work use
- Union and industry association fees
- Travel between depots or yards in a shift
- Sunglasses, sunscreen and hats
What the ATO disallows
- Home to depot travel
- Meals on day trips with no overnight stay
- Fines, tolls incurred privately and infringements
- Ordinary clothing
- Grooming and personal care
- Expenses your employer reimbursed
- Family travel in the cab
Claiming these is the fastest route to an amended assessment and a shortfall penalty. If you’ve claimed them before, we can review prior years.
Records
What to keep.
Written evidence is required once your total work-related claims exceed $300 — and for vehicles, home office and laundry there are specific record rules regardless of amount.
- Receipts or invoices for every claim once the $300 total is passed
- A vehicle log book — 12 consecutive weeks, valid five years
- Home-office hours recorded for the full year at the 70c rate
- A diary basis for phone and internet work-use percentages
- Your income statement and any allowance details
FAQ
Questions from truck drivers.
How do meal claims work for long-haul drivers?
If you receive a travel allowance and sleep away from home, you can claim meals up to the ATO's published reasonable amounts for employee truck drivers without full receipts — but you must have actually incurred the cost and be able to show the pattern of travel through your work diary. Exceed the reasonable amount and you need written evidence for the whole claim.
Can I claim accommodation if I sleep in the cab?
You can't claim accommodation you didn't pay for, but sleeper-cab drivers can still claim meals and incidentals under the overnight rules, plus the cost of bedding and sleeping equipment for the cab.
What records does the ATO expect?
Your work diary is the backbone — it establishes which nights you were away and where. Keep it with your allowance details on your income statement and receipts for anything above the reasonable amounts.
Can I claim my own car to get to the truck?
Generally no — that's home-to-work travel. Travel between depots or yards during a shift is claimable, as is travel to an alternative workplace rather than your usual base.
Related
Related pages.
Personal tax returns from $150
Occupation-specific deduction checklists, prepared in 48 hours.
Learn more →Work from home deductions
The 70c fixed rate against actual cost, with worked examples.
Learn more →Vehicle claim calculator
Log book versus cents per kilometre on your own numbers.
Learn more →Other occupation guides
Ready when you are
Get every deduction you’re entitled to.
Returns from $150, prepared within 48 hours, by accountants who work from an occupation checklist rather than guesswork.