It’s that time of year again and we’ve decided to take a different approach to our coverage and find out about the weirdest claims taxpayers have tried to make over the years.

The Mudgee Guardian spoke to several local tax agents and accountants and asked them all the same question.

“What is the weirdest thing someone has tried to claim on their tax?”

Simon Byrnes, Director at Lawrence Bennett Portelli in Mudgee sent us a list of strange claims he’s seen which included things like a swimming pool; gym memberships; bras and underwear; spinal adjustments; a hair cut; cigarettes and inexplicably, table salt.

“The ones concerning pool, haircuts and gym membership involve individuals who believe they are required to look “presentable’ for work purposes, Simon said.

“They draw a fuzzy line where somehow this means expenses in keeping fit and maintaining or improving appearance should be deductible against their income.

“It has become a bit of a game amongst taxpayers of recent years, to the extent I have seen examples in various industries of similar employees often comparing their refund with co workers to see who got the ‘best’ result.

“If you are a nurse as an example and the deductions you have claimed exceed an industry average I would expect some form of follow up to verify your expenses. Additionally the ATO now also performs data analysis across Agents in order to determine any accounting practices that as a whole may be claiming inappropriate or excessive deductions.”

A spokesperson at H&R Block, shared some of the outlandish claims taxpayers have tried to make over the years to their agents. A warning that some of these are a bit racy.

Tasty

‘Why would edible underwear be tax deductible? No, we don’t know either so we politely declined the claim put forward by one taxpayer.’

Nice try tradie

‘A tradie left Australia for a European trip. On his return, he tried to claim back expenses from his sojourn as ‘researching his craft’. Sure, he’d taken a few nice photos and brushed up his French but his craftsman skills weren’t noticeably advanced so the deduction wasn’t allowable.’

Sun crazy

‘It’s well established that you can claim sunscreen if you work outdoors and clothes to protect you from the elements can also be deductible where you work in a harsh climate.

But we drew the line with the client who wanted to claim sunscreen and an umbrella because his office forced him to go to the park across the road to have a smoke, where he was occasionally exposed to either sun or rain.’

Up in smoke

‘We all know smoking is bad for you but those who indulge have been known to argue that it reduces their stress levels. On that basis, one taxpayer argued for a tax deduction for his habit as a form of ‘stress relief’. We sent that one up in smoke.’

A cut above

‘Lots of people try to claim for the cost of travelling from home to work and back again.

Usually, they are unsuccessful because the daily commute is regarded as private - not work-related – travel and hence not claimable. The only exception is where you’re required to carry bulky tools and equipment and you have nowhere secure at work to store them.

That exception didn’t apply to the hairdresser who tried to claim the daily commute because she had to transport her scissors and clippers, which might have been sharp but certainly weren’t bulky.’

The spokesperson said the key to claiming any tax deduction, is to keep records such as invoices, receipts and bank statements.

“If you are claiming something unusual, expect to be challenged by the ATO, but if the way you earn your assessable income is aligned with the items you’ve claimed a deduction for, you should be OK, no matter how strange it is, they said.

“One final piece of advice; if in doubt about what you can claim, talk to a tax adviser who’ll be able to give you specific guidance on your situation”.