Performing Artist Tax Deductions 2025-26: What You Can and Can't Claim

General information only. Speak with a registered tax agent for advice.

This guide is for employee performing artists — a category the ATO defines broadly to cover anyone using intellectual, artistic, musical or physical skills in front of an audience or on camera: actors and actresses, musicians, singers, dancers, variety and circus performers, plus “production associates” such as directors, choreographers, costume and set designers, and film editors. Radio and TV presenters count too (see the separate media professionals guide for journalists, reporters and camera operators). What makes this occupation’s deduction list distinctive is a set of rules built around performance itself: agent commissions, costumes bought for a specific role, coaching to maintain or acquire a skill, and — for irregular-income earners — special professional income averaging. The trap that catches more performers than any other: an audition is how you get work, not how you do it, so audition preparation and travel aren’t deductible at all.

What you can claim

Dollar ranges above are indicative of typical spending, not ATO limits. Claim what you actually incurred and can substantiate.

The audition trap

Preparing for or attending an audition is one of the clearest “getting work, not doing work” distinctions the ATO draws. Travel to and from auditions, and any costs of preparing for them, aren’t deductible — even for an established performer auditioning for a new production — because the expense is incurred to gain employment, not while carrying out your existing employment duties. Once you’re engaged for the role, travel to rehearsals and performance venues is a different story and is generally deductible.

The fitness exception — narrower than it looks

Gym and fitness expenses are private for most performing artists, even where a role requires you to pass fitness standards. The genuine exception applies only where your role requires you to both maintain an extremely high level of fitness well above the general occupation standard and perform ongoing strenuous physical activity as an essential, regular part of your duties — trapeze artists, tumblers and professional ballet dancers who rehearse and perform physically demanding routines multiple nights a week are the ATO’s own examples. A choreographer who keeps fit with a private gym membership but doesn’t perform the strenuous physical routines as part of the role doesn’t qualify. Conventional gym wear (tracksuits, running shoes) is never deductible under any circumstances, even for performers who do qualify for the exception.

What you cannot claim

• Audition preparation and travel. You incur this expense to get work, not to do it — see above.
• Pay TV and streaming services. Unlike the media professionals guide, which allows a work-related portion in limited cases, the performing artists guide treats streaming subscriptions as private even for an actor who watches current shows to stay across the industry.
• General grooming, hairdressing and cosmetics not tied to a role or costume. Private, even for a performer who maintains a professional appearance between engagements.
• Gifts for fellow performers, producers or directors — flowers, alcohol and similar gestures stay private.
• Conventional clothing you might use as a costume, bought as a range rather than for a specific role. The connection has to run to an actual role, not a general wardrobe top-up.
• Theatre and film tickets bought for general interest or entertainment, as opposed to content directly related to your current work.
• Prescription glasses and contact lenses, unless they’re required as part of a costume (tinted lenses to alter eye colour for a role, for example) or are protective items.
• Gym memberships and fitness expenses for most performers. The exception above is genuinely narrow.
• Child care and your children’s education costs, even where touring or filming schedules make home-schooling necessary.
• Fines and penalties.

Worked example

Elena is a professional dancer engaged by a touring theatre company, earning $69,000 in 2025-26. She pays a 10% agent commission, buys a costume for a specific production, and takes weekly technique classes to maintain her performance skills.

At Elena’s marginal rate of 30% (plus 2% Medicare levy), these deductions reduce her tax by approximately $733. Run your own numbers through the Tax Return Calculator.

Notice what isn’t in the table: the cost of two auditions Elena attended before landing this contract, and her Netflix subscription. Both are private under the ATO’s own guide — the auditions because they’re a cost of getting work rather than doing it, and the streaming subscription because performing artists don’t get the limited “required for work” exception that applies to media professionals. If Elena’s income varies significantly between years, she may also be able to smooth her tax through special professional income averaging. Compare your ABN-income position with the Sole Trader Tax Calculator if you also take on freelance or contracted engagements.

ATO audit triggers

• Audition travel or preparation costs claimed as a deduction. These are costs of getting work, not doing it, and aren’t deductible under any circumstances.
• Gym fees or fitness equipment claimed without meeting both limbs of the fitness exception — an extremely high fitness standard and ongoing strenuous physical activity as an essential, regular part of your specific role.
• Pay TV or streaming subscriptions claimed as a work expense. The performing artists guide treats these as private, unlike some other occupation guides.
• A general wardrobe of conventional clothing claimed as “costumes” rather than an item bought and used specifically for a particular role.
• The upfront or joining fee paid to an agency claimed as a deduction. Only ongoing commissions and contract-renegotiation costs qualify.
• The initial cost of building a photographic portfolio claimed as a deduction. Only its ongoing maintenance is deductible.

Records you need

• Agent or agency statements showing the commission amounts deducted from or paid on your performing income.
• Receipts for costumes, coaching and equipment, with enough detail to show the connection to a specific role or your current performing duties.
• A record of your working hours and use of any practice space, if you claim lighting, heating or cooling for a home studio.
• Evidence connecting research materials (books, tickets, streaming content) to a specific role or performance you’ve been engaged to undertake.
• A record of your taxable professional income over the past 4 income years, if you’re using special professional income averaging.
• Evidence you weren’t reimbursed for any item you claim — costumes, coaching and equipment in particular.
• If your total work-related claim (excluding car, travel and overtime meal allowance expenses) is $300 or less, you don’t need written evidence for that portion — but you still need to be able to show how you worked it out.

Key takeaways

• Auditions are a cost of getting work, not doing it — travel and preparation for them are never deductible, even for an established performer.
• Costumes are deductible even when the item itself is conventional clothing, as long as it’s bought and used specifically for a role — buying a general wardrobe “just in case” doesn’t qualify.
• Pay TV and streaming subscriptions are private for performing artists, unlike the limited work-related exception that applies to media professionals.
• The fitness exception is genuinely narrow — it needs both an extremely high fitness standard and ongoing strenuous physical duties as an essential, regular part of the role.
• Employee performing artists with irregular income above $2,500 in taxable professional income may access special professional income averaging under Division 405 of the ITAA 1997.

Sources

• ATO: Performing artists – income and work-related deductions

Next step

• Run your estimate in the Tax Return Calculator
• Check your ABN-income position in the Sole Trader Tax Calculator

Occupation guides

These role-specific guides cover the practical deduction rules, record-keeping checkpoints, and the best calculator to use next.

• Tax for Musicians — instruments, equipment, and home studio costs
• Tax for Actors — agent commissions, wardrobe, and income averaging