Recruitment Consultant Tax Deductions 2025-26: What You Can and Can't Claim

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

Recruitment is one of the few occupations with an ATO-sanctioned client-gifts deduction — but only if your pay actually includes commission or a retainer. Buy a hamper, a bottle of wine or flowers to thank a client and you can claim it if your income is commission-based; buy the exact same gift on a fixed salary with no commission entitlement and there’s nothing to claim, because the ATO’s own example draws that line explicitly. The other genuinely distinctive claim is a LinkedIn Premium subscription — Recruiter Lite and similar tiers are deductible for the work-related portion where the specific features (candidate tracking, advanced search, unlimited browsing) connect to your recruiting duties. And because recruitment consultants are one of the roles most likely to work from home part of the week, this is exactly where the working-from-home fixed-rate trap bites hardest: the 70c-an-hour rate already bundles your phone, internet, electricity, gas and stationery running costs — you cannot claim any of those items again separately on top of it.

What you can claim

Dollar ranges above are indicative of what recruitment consultants commonly spend — they are not ATO limits. Claim what you actually incurred and can substantiate.

The fixed-rate double-claim trap is the single most important thing to get right in this guide. The ATO’s own worked example for recruitment consultants shows exactly how the two pieces fit together: a consultant who works from home elects the fixed rate method for running expenses (hours worked × 70c) and separately claims decline in value on a computer he bought for the home office — because the computer itself sits outside the running-cost bundle. What that same example does not do is add a further phone or internet claim on top — doing so would double up on costs the fixed rate already covers. If you’d rather track actual work-use percentages for your phone, internet and electricity instead of hours, the actual cost method is the alternative — but don’t run both methods over the same period for the same expense.

What you cannot claim

• A separate phone, internet, electricity or stationery deduction alongside the 70c fixed rate for the same period. These running costs are already built into the rate — this is the most common over-claim in this occupation.
• Client gifts if you’re on a fixed salary with no commission entitlement. The ATO’s own example is explicit: no commission, no deduction, even for a genuine client thank-you gift.
• Entertainment-style gifts, such as event tickets, even for commission-earning consultants.
• Client entertainment — meals, drinks, and networking functions. Buying lunch for a client, or attending a “meet and greet” breakfast, is private for income tax purposes even where business is discussed, and even if your employer would have reimbursed you but didn’t.
• Removal and relocation expenses. Moving to take up or continue a role — even a temporary interstate transfer — is not deductible, whether or not the move is a condition of employment.
• Ordinary business attire. A polo shirt, blouse or pants with no logo or distinctive feature is conventional clothing, even under a strict dress-standard policy.
• A pre-employment assessment, such as a hearing test required to get the job.
• Fines and penalties, including a parking fine incurred while attending a client meeting.
• Prescription glasses and contact lenses. Private, even though you need them to work. Only protective/anti-glare eyewear is deductible.
• Self-education aimed at starting your own recruitment business or changing careers entirely, rather than improving your current employed role.
• Anything your employer paid for or reimbursed.

Worked example

Josh is a recruitment consultant in Melbourne earning $72,000 in 2025-26 plus commission on placements. He buys a bottle of wine and a gift voucher for two long-standing clients, subscribes to LinkedIn Recruiter Lite, and works from home 2 days a week where he bought a new laptop for the role.

At Josh’s marginal rate of 32.5% (plus the 2% Medicare levy), these deductions reduce his tax by approximately $970. Run your own numbers through the Tax Return Calculator.

Notice what isn’t in that table: a separate phone or internet claim. Josh uses the fixed-rate method for his working-from-home hours, and that 70c rate already covers his phone and internet running costs — claiming them again on top would be exactly the double-claim the ATO’s own worked example is careful to avoid. What he did add on top of the fixed rate is the laptop, because equipment decline in value sits outside the running-cost bundle. His client gifts also stand up because his income genuinely includes commission — if he were on a fixed salary with no commission entitlement, the same gifts wouldn’t be deductible at all. Compare your own claim shape in the Work-Related Deductions Calculator.

ATO audit triggers

• Claiming phone, internet, electricity or stationery separately on top of the 70c fixed rate for the same hours. The highest-frequency error in this occupation, given how common part-time home working is.
• Client gift claims with no commission or retainer entitlement behind them. The ATO checks whether your income structure actually includes commission before accepting the deduction.
• Entertainment-style gifts claimed as client gifts. Event tickets and similar items don’t qualify even for commission earners.
• Client entertainment (meals, functions) claimed as a work expense. Private for income tax purposes regardless of business discussed.
• Removal or relocation costs claimed for a work transfer. Not deductible even for a temporary interstate posting at your employer’s request.
• Self-education pointed at starting your own agency. A course to launch your own recruitment business, rather than improve your current employed role, fails the current-employment test.

Records you need

• A record of the hours you worked from home, whichever method you use — a timesheet, roster, or diary entry.
• Evidence your income includes commission or a retainer, to support any client gift claim.
• Receipts for gifts, subscriptions and equipment, with purchase date and cost, and a note of the client or purpose for gifts.
• A logbook or travel record for client visits, distinguishing them from your ordinary commute.
• Confirmation of which working-from-home method you used, and evidence you didn’t also claim the same running costs a second time under a different heading.
• Confirmation you weren’t reimbursed, particularly for subscriptions, gifts and equipment.

Key takeaways

• The 70c working-from-home fixed rate already bundles phone, internet, electricity, gas and stationery — never claim those items again separately for the same hours; equipment decline in value is the one thing that stacks on top.
• Client gifts are only deductible if your income structure genuinely includes commission or a retainer — the identical gift on a fixed salary isn’t deductible.
• A LinkedIn Premium subscription is deductible for its work-related portion where the specific paid features connect to your recruiting duties.
• Client entertainment (meals, drinks, networking functions) stays private for income tax purposes regardless of the business discussed.
• Removal and relocation costs for a work transfer are never deductible, even where the move is required by your employer.

Sources

• ATO: Recruitment consultants – income and work-related deductions
• ATO: Taxation Determination TD 2025/4 – reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance amounts 2025-26

Next step

• Run your estimate in the Tax Return Calculator
• Compare your claim shape in the Work-Related Deductions Calculator

Occupation guides

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

• Tax for Recruitment consultants — client gifts, LinkedIn Premium and the WFH fixed-rate trap