Most solo tradies claim tools and fuel. That's it. Then they hand their accountant a shoebox of receipts and wonder why their refund is disappointing.
The real number is $3,000–$8,000 in legitimate deductions sitting unclaimed every year for a typical one-man operation. Not because the tax rules are complicated. Because nobody told you what to look for.
Here are the seven categories most people miss entirely.
1. Your Phone Bill (the Whole Thing, Done Right)
You use your phone for quotes, scheduling, supplier calls, and job photos. If you're only claiming 50% because it "feels safe," you're guessing.
Track your usage for four weeks using a simple note on your phone — calls made, texts sent, apps used for work. In practice, most tradies come in at 70–85% business use. That difference on a $1,800 annual bill is real money.
2. The Home Office You're Ignoring
You do admin somewhere. Quoting jobs, chasing invoices, ordering parts. If you do that at home — even at the kitchen table — you can claim a portion of your home running costs: electricity, internet, rent or mortgage interest.
The ATO's fixed rate method makes this straightforward. You don't need a dedicated room. You need records.
3. Software and Subscriptions
Every app you pay for to run your business is deductible. Job management software. Accounting software. Cloud storage. GPS apps. Call-screening services like VettedCalls. Scheduling tools.
These add up fast. Twelve months of three or four subscriptions at $30–$80 each clears $1,000 without breaking a sweat, and most tradies don't have them on a single list anywhere.
4. Trade Licences, Registrations, and Memberships
Your contractor licence renewal. Your white card. Industry association fees. Union dues if applicable. All deductible. All routinely forgotten because they feel like a tax rather than a business cost.
Go back through your bank statements right now. You'll find at least two you haven't claimed.
5. Work Clothing and PPE
Not the general gear you'd wear anyway. Branded shirts with your business name. High-vis. Steel caps. Safety glasses. Gloves. Knee pads. Dust masks.
The rule is simple: if it's protective or branded, it's claimable. If it's just clothes you happen to wear to work, it's not. Most tradies blur this line in the wrong direction and under-claim.
6. Education and Training
Any course, book, YouTube channel subscription, or trade publication that helps you do your current job better is deductible. Refresher courses. First-aid recertification. Business skills training directly related to running a trade business.
It does not have to lead to a new qualification. It has to be relevant to what you already do.
7. Bank Fees and Interest on a Business Loan
If you have a business bank account — and you should — every monthly fee is deductible. If you financed a vehicle, trailer, or equipment for the business, the interest component of those repayments is deductible. Not the principal. The interest.
Your bank statements break this out. Your accountant needs those numbers. Most tradies never pull them.
Why This Keeps Happening
It's not laziness. It's that nobody tracks these as they go.
The tradies who consistently pull $5,000–$8,000 in legitimate deductions aren't smarter. They have a simple folder — physical or digital — where receipts, invoices, and statements land in real time. At tax time they hand over a system, not a shoebox.
Start that folder today. Even mid-year, you can reconstruct most of this from bank and card statements. Your accountant will charge you less and find more.
One last thing: talk to a registered tax agent before you lodge. This is a starting point for the conversation, not personal tax advice. The categories are real. The amounts depend on your specific situation.
But the opportunity? That's real too.
This week's move
Open your banking app, search transactions from the last 12 months for the word "subscription," and list every recurring charge — then forward that list to your accountant and ask which ones are claimable.
Forward this
If another tradie you know is still losing leads to voicemail, send them VettedCalls.