Guards and Security Workers – Income and Work-related Deductions: Maximizing
- Baron Tax & Accounting
- 2 hours ago
- 11 min read
Tax time is often messy for security staff because income rarely arrives in one neat pattern. A guard might have base wages, casual loading, weekend penalties, overtime, site allowances, and out-of-pocket costs for uniforms, boots, phone use, or training, all appearing across different rosters and employers. For FY 2025-26, the safest approach is to treat guards and security workers – income and work-related deductions as a record-keeping exercise first and a tax return exercise second.
The starting point is simple. Employment income from guarding is treated as ordinary salary and wages, PAYG withholding generally applies before pay is received, and any deduction claim depends on three things: the worker paid for it personally, it directly relates to earning income, and records are kept. The same framework also explains why some common security expenses can be claimed while others clearly can't.
In practice, many security workers only realise there is a problem when they try to reconstruct a year of scattered shifts from bank statements and faded receipts. That is where errors usually start. At Baron Tax & Accounting, a common pattern is seeing otherwise valid expenses fail because the worker can't show the work-related portion clearly enough, especially for phones, travel between sites, and mixed-use items.
Table of Contents
What Income Guards and Security Workers Must Declare - Salary wages and payroll amounts - Allowances and other payments
Common Work-Related Deductions for Guards and Security Workers - Employment status changes the tax treatment - What usually falls inside a valid claim
Expenses Security Workers Usually Cannot Claim - Private expenses that are often claimed by mistake - Why the distinction matters
Record-Keeping Essentials for Your Deduction Claims - What records should actually be kept - How to apportion phone internet and car use
Practical Examples of Security Worker Tax Claims - Example one uniform laundering - Example two travel between sites - Example three mixed phone use - Example four plain clothing and boots
Frequently Asked Questions - Can a security worker claim laundry for a uniform allowance - Can a guard claim the cost of a personal mobile phone - Can security workers claim travel from home to the first shift - Does receiving an allowance mean the expense is automatically deductible - What if the employer reimbursed part of the expense
What Income Guards and Security Workers Must Declare
Most guards start with salary and wages. That includes ordinary rostered pay, casual earnings, and any taxed employment income shown through payroll reporting. In Australia, labour market reporting tracks security-related roles within ANZSCO classifications, and wage reporting shows the sector sits materially below the national all-occupations average, reflecting the industry's large share of part-time and casual work.
Salary wages and payroll amounts
Security workers should check income statements carefully before lodging. Common amounts to confirm include:
Ordinary pay for rostered shifts
Penalty rates and overtime for nights, weekends, and public holiday work
Casual loading where applicable
Bonuses or incentive payments if an employer paid them
Allowances that appear separately on payroll records
PAYG withholding generally applies before the worker receives pay, so take-home pay is already reduced before any deduction claim is considered. That often causes confusion because a worker may feel they have "already paid enough tax", but the return still needs all assessable income reported correctly.
Practical rule: If an employer paid it through payroll or it appears on the income statement, it usually needs to be checked as part of assessable income before any deduction is considered.
Allowances and other payments
Allowances are where mistakes happen most often. A uniform, meal, travel, or site-based allowance doesn't automatically create a deduction. The amount may still need to be declared as income, and the worker then separately considers whether a related expense was incurred and properly recorded.
That distinction matters because security work often involves irregular shifts across venues. A worker may receive an allowance on one shift and spend nothing personally on another. The tax result follows the actual expense and the evidence, not the name of the payment.
A practical review should separate income into two questions:
What was received?
What was personally spent to earn that income?
If the second part can't be shown, the deduction position is weak even if the allowance was genuine.
Common Work-Related Deductions for Guards and Security Workers
A deduction for security work depends less on the job title and more on the character of the expense, the worker's status, and the quality of the records. For guards, potentially claimable categories can include clothing and laundry for qualifying uniforms, protective gear, union fees, tools, training, and mobile-phone use, but private or reimbursed costs aren't deductible. The substantiation side also matters because the ATO generally requires written evidence for claims over AUD 300 and records where deductions aren't automatic.
Employment status changes the tax treatment
An employee and an ABN contractor don't always reach the same tax outcome from the same type of expense.
Employees usually look at whether the cost was personally incurred in earning employment income.
Contractors may also need to think about business-use apportionment, GST, and whether the expense sits inside a business activity rather than an employee deduction.
Mixed arrangements need extra care when a worker does some shifts as an employee and separate work under an ABN.
The tax treatment of licence-related costs still depends on the exact circumstances and whether the expense maintains an existing income-earning activity or relates to getting started in a new one.
What usually falls inside a valid claim
Some categories come up regularly in guards and security workers – income and work-related deductions discussions.
Uniforms and laundryA branded or employer-mandated uniform may be deductible, and laundry may also be claimable if the clothing qualifies. Ordinary clothing usually doesn't qualify just because the employer expects black pants or a neat appearance.
Protective itemsEmployer-required PPE and protective gear may be deductible if the worker paid for them and wasn't reimbursed. The practical test is whether the item protects against risk at work, rather than fitting a dress standard.
Phone useA worker who uses a personal phone to receive roster updates, respond to supervisors, check site instructions, or deal with shift changes may be able to claim the work-related portion. Private use must be excluded.
Training and union feesTraining that maintains or improves skills used in current work may be relevant. Union fees can also be considered where personally paid and not reimbursed.
A more detailed occupation-specific overview is available in Baron Tax & Accounting's tax guide for guards and security employees.
The strongest claim isn't the expense with the biggest receipt. It's the one with a clear work connection, no reimbursement, and records that make sense.
A quick scan helps:
Expense type | May be claimable | Common limit |
|---|---|---|
Branded uniform laundry | Often yes | Only if the clothing qualifies |
Protective gear | Often yes | Must not be private or reimbursed |
Personal phone use | Sometimes | Work-related portion only |
Union fees | Often yes | Must be personally paid |
Plain black trousers | Usually no | Ordinary clothing |
Expenses Security Workers Usually Cannot Claim
The most common mistakes are ordinary items that feel work-related because they were necessary to keep the job. Tax law draws a narrower line than workplace expectation. A guard may need black pants, polished shoes, meals on shift, or transport to get to site, but that doesn't make each cost deductible.
Private expenses that are often claimed by mistake
Home-to-work travel is usually private. Driving from home to a regular workplace, even for an early start, night shift, or inconvenient roster, doesn't usually become deductible just because the role is difficult.
Everyday clothing is another frequent error. Plain black trousers, standard shoes, and conventional clothing items usually remain private even if the employer requires a certain appearance.
Meals and drinks during a normal shift are usually private as well. Buying food before, during, or after a shift doesn't usually create a deduction because the worker was rostered for long hours alone.
A similar issue appears with equipment purchased for general household or personal use. A worker may read about broader security infrastructure costs, such as security camera pricing and installation factors, but that kind of reference doesn't convert private home equipment into a work-related deduction for an employee guard.
Why the distinction matters
The question isn't whether the expense was helpful. The question is whether it was incurred in earning income and isn't private in nature.
That is why these claims usually fail:
Commuting costs because travel to start work is ordinarily private
Ordinary clothing because it can be worn outside work
Personal grooming because appearance costs are private
Reimbursed costs because the worker didn't bear the expense
Private portions of mixed-use items because only the work-related part may be claimed
A security worker can spend money because of the job and still have a non-deductible expense. Necessity at work and deductibility aren't the same test.
Record-Keeping Essentials for Your Deduction Claims
Record keeping is where most deduction quality is won or lost. The ATO's occupation guidance emphasises three basic rules. The worker must spend the money personally, the expense must directly relate to earning income, and records must be kept. For security workers with fragmented rosters across multiple venues, the harder issue is often not whether an item appears on a checklist, but how to apportion mixed work and private use in a defensible way, as explained in the ATO material on occupation-specific deduction rules and apportionment.
What records should actually be kept
Receipts matter, but they aren't the full picture. A strong file usually includes a mix of supporting material:
Invoices and receipts showing supplier, date, amount, and item description
Bank or card records that support payment
Rosters and timesheets linking the expense to actual work
Diary notes where work use needs explanation
Employer communications for phone-heavy roles or multi-site instructions
Bank statements alone often don't explain enough. A debit card entry can prove money left the account, but it may not show what was purchased or why it related to security work.
For a practical checklist, Baron Tax & Accounting has a useful guide on essential records to keep ATO compliant in 2026.
How to apportion phone internet and car use
This is the area most generic articles skip. A worker with one personal phone and shifting work sites needs a reasonable method, not guesswork.
For phone use, a sensible approach is to review a representative period and identify work contacts, shift messages, roster calls, and job-related app use. The worker then calculates a reasonable work-related share and keeps the basis of that calculation.
For internet use, the same logic applies if work tasks are performed at home, such as mandatory online inductions, roster management, or incident report access. The private share has to be excluded.
For car use, the difference between commuting and deductible travel needs to be documented carefully. Travel between separate work sites on the same day may be relevant, while normal travel from home to a regular workplace usually isn't.
A practical apportionment file should show:
What the item is used for
Which part is work-related
How the percentage or split was calculated
What documents support that calculation
Record standard: A reasonable method is one that another person can follow from the documents without needing the worker to fill in the gaps from memory.
A short comparison helps:
Mixed-use item | Better evidence | Weak evidence |
|---|---|---|
Phone | Bill plus diary or usage review | Rough estimate with no notes |
Internet | Bill plus explanation of work tasks | Full monthly claim with no apportionment |
Car | Travel records tied to sites and shifts | General statement that the car was used for work |
Practical Examples of Security Worker Tax Claims
Example one uniform laundering
A guard wears an employer-branded shirt and jacket on every shift and washes them separately from ordinary household clothes. The laundering cost may be claimable because the items are part of a qualifying uniform and the worker paid for the cleaning personally.
The records should include purchase evidence for the uniform if relevant and a reasonable basis for the laundry claim. A vague annual estimate without any working is weak.
Example two travel between sites
A security worker finishes a morning shift at one venue and travels directly to another venue for an evening shift with the same employer. That travel may be deductible because it is between work locations rather than a normal home-to-work commute.
If the same worker drives from home to the first venue at the start of the day, that first trip is usually private. The useful records are rosters, shift times, and a travel log showing the movement between sites.
The same car can produce deductible and non-deductible travel on the same day. The log needs to separate the trips, not bundle them together.
Example three mixed phone use
A casual guard uses a personal mobile phone for roster confirmations, emergency shift changes, and contact with supervisors. The worker may be able to claim the work-related portion, but not the full monthly bill.
A supportable claim would include phone bills and a note showing how the work-use share was identified. If the phone is mostly private and only occasionally used for work, the claim should reflect that reality.
Example four plain clothing and boots
A venue requires black trousers and black shoes. If the trousers are ordinary clothing and the shoes are not protective, the expense is usually private and not deductible.
By contrast, protective footwear purchased because the job requires protection against workplace hazards may be treated differently if the worker paid for it and keeps the records. The practical question is whether the item protects the worker or fulfills an appearance standard.
How Baron Tax & Accounting Can Help With Your Return
Security workers often don't need aggressive tax strategies. They need clean reasoning, good records, and a review that separates valid claims from assumptions. That matters even more where work is split across multiple employers, mixed employee and ABN arrangements, or heavy phone and travel use.
A Registered Tax Agent can review whether a claimed expense is connected to earning income, whether any private use has been excluded properly, and whether the records are strong enough before lodgement. That is often more valuable than merely adding more categories to a return.
For readers who prefer digital lodgement with professional review, Baron Tax & Accounting offers an online tax return service for individuals with simple to moderately complex situations. Support can also be useful where a worker wants a second check on deduction records in the same way professionals in other fields review risk settings such as CPA professional liability insurance. The point is consistency and documented support, not over-claiming.
In more complex cases, a professional review may help check compliance, records, and accuracy before lodgement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a security worker claim laundry for a uniform allowance
Possibly. The allowance and the deduction are separate issues. If the allowance is assessable income and the worker personally incurs deductible laundry costs for qualifying work clothing, a claim may be available if properly supported.
Can a guard claim the cost of a personal mobile phone
Only the work-related portion may be claimable. The private share should be excluded, and the worker should keep bills and a reasonable calculation showing how the work-use percentage was worked out.
Can security workers claim travel from home to the first shift
Usually not. Normal travel between home and a regular workplace is generally private. Travel between separate work sites during the day is a different question and may be claimable if properly recorded.
Does receiving an allowance mean the expense is automatically deductible
No. An allowance doesn't create an automatic deduction. The worker still needs to have spent the money personally, the expense must directly relate to earning income, and records need to support the claim.
What if the employer reimbursed part of the expense
The reimbursed part usually can't be claimed. Only the amount personally borne by the worker may be relevant, and any private use should still be excluded.
Summary and Key Considerations
For guards and security workers, the strongest tax return usually isn't the one with the longest deduction list. It's the one that reports income correctly, separates private costs from work-related costs, and supports each claim with records that make sense.
The practical trouble spots are consistent across the industry:
Allowances must be reviewed as income first
Uniform and PPE claims depend on the nature of the item
Ordinary clothing and commuting usually remain private
Phone, internet, and car costs need apportionment, not guesswork
Reimbursements reduce or remove the claimable amount
Some taxpayers can prepare and lodge through myGov or ATO online services where their affairs are straightforward. Where work patterns are mixed, records are incomplete, or there is uncertainty around apportionment, a review by a Registered Tax Agent may help improve compliance and accuracy before lodgement.
“This article is general information only and is based on ATO guidance. It does not take into account your personal circumstances. You should seek advice from a registered tax agent before lodging your tax return.”
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