Agents drive constantly and spend their own money on marketing and clients. Two of the biggest deductions hinge on one thing: whether you're entitled to earn commission.
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By the Nomo team · Last reviewed 24 September 2026
This is the rule that separates agents from most other employees. If you're a salesperson or property manager entitled to earn commission, or commission plus a retainer, you can claim gifts you buy for work purposes, and advertising your services through newspapers, letterbox drops, signage and bunting.
If you earn a fixed income and aren't entitled to commission, neither is deductible. Same expense, same job, different answer. One exception applies either way: gifts in the form of entertainment, like tickets to a live sporting event, are never deductible.
The trip from home to your usual office is private, however early or late you work. But most of an agent's driving isn't that trip. Claimable:
If you genuinely have no fixed workplace and move between properties all day, home trips can count too. Use either the cents per km method or a logbook, and you can't then claim fuel, servicing or insurance separately for the same car. The detail, with worked days: mileage tracker for real estate agents.
| Your set up | What you can claim |
|---|---|
| Your own car | Work trips by cents per km (up to 5,000 km) or the logbook method |
| Your own car plus a car allowance | Declare the allowance as income, then claim your actual work use |
| A company car | No running costs, because you didn't pay them |
| Novated lease or salary sacrifice | No running costs, fuel included. Parking and tolls on work trips can still count |
Business attire is conventional clothing, so the suit you'd never otherwise wear isn't deductible, even where the agency requires it. Two things do work: a compulsory uniform explicitly required and consistently enforced by your workplace, and a non-compulsory uniform your employer has registered on the Register of Approved Occupational Clothing. If you're not sure whether yours is registered, ask your employer.
Grooming is firmly out. Hairdressing and cosmetics are private expenses.
From 2026–27, employees can take a standard deduction of up to $1,000 with no receipts. For most agents who drive their own car, the kilometres alone clear it.
| Example (illustrative amounts) | Covered work expenses | Better option |
|---|---|---|
| Sales agent: 6,000 work km (cents per km caps at 5,000 km: $4,550), $800 of signage and letterbox drops, $300 phone work share | $5,650 | Claiming actual expenses |
| Property manager with a novated lease: $260 of parking and tolls on work trips, $300 phone work share | $560 | The $1,000 standard deduction |
Run your own numbers in the standard deduction calculator.
Nomo tracks the run between the office and every open home in the background. Tag each one Client meeting or Site visit, and snap the signage and letterbox drop receipts as you go. Nomo is an Australian tax deduction and mileage/work kilometre tracking app for PAYG employees and sole traders.
Tag the drive: Client meeting or Site visit.
Confirm the day's work trips in one go.
Receipts for signage and marketing, read and kept.
Plenty of agents work as contractors on an ABN. Then your car, advertising and gifts are business expenses, claimed in the business section of your return, and the standard deduction doesn't cover business income. See sole trader tax deductions.
Yes, from the office to open homes and appraisals for the same employer on the same day. Home to your usual office isn't claimable.
Only if you're entitled to earn commission, and never gifts that are entertainment, like event tickets.
No. Business attire is conventional clothing, even if the agency requires it.
You can't claim running costs like fuel. Parking and tolls on work trips can still count.
Yes, the annual renewal.
The trip rules are similar, but your costs are business expenses, claimed in the business section of your return.
Every open home counted.
Work trips and receipts, tracked as you go. 14 days free, no card needed.
Start 14-day free trialBy the Nomo team · Last reviewed 24 September 2026. We check these pages against current ATO guidance and update them when the rules change.
General information only, not tax advice. Rules change and everyone’s situation is different, so check ato.gov.au or talk to a registered tax agent about your situation. Nomo is a record keeping app, not a registered tax agent.