How much parking can you claim on tax without receipts?

How much parking can you claim on tax without receipts?

Strictly speaking, you can claim up to $300 in work-related parking expenses without receipts.

If you do, however, you will not be able to claim any other work-related parking expenses in that financial year, because $300 is the limit for what you can claim for all work related-expenses for which you don’t have receipts in that 12-month period, including parking expenses.

You can, of course, claim parking expenses that you incur as part of your job if you do keep receipts, but there is another, slightly trickier way to claim parking fees, or airport parking, that’s related to your work, without keeping receipts. Read on to find out how.

We should advise at this point, however, that, as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) says: “You can't claim a deduction for parking at or near a regular place of work. You also can't claim a deduction for tolls you incur for trips between your home and work. These are private expenses.”

So when is parking tax deductible and when can you claim parking on tax?

While parking at your work is clearly out, parking for work purposes is a deductible expense. You can claim a deduction for parking fees when you use your car for work-related purposes, like attending a meeting off site, visiting a client or, if you’re self employed, travelling somewhere to do your job.

The ATO gives the following helpful example of Karlyn, a trainee lawyer: “She has to rush some legal documents to the court before it closes for the day. Karlyn drives from the office to the court. She parks directly in front of the court and pays a fee for parking, which her employer does not reimburse.

“Karlyn can claim the cost of the car parking as a deduction because her trip from the office to the court is work-related.”

The ATO adds that you can claim parking expenses in these following circumstances:

• You're parking for work purposes. For example, at a client site or job location.
• You're paying for work-related parking and are self-employed.
• If you're self-employed, you can deduct expenses for work-related parking fees. This includes travelling between work sites or client meetings.

(Image: Tom White)

In each of these cases, the ATO would expect that you keep receipts to prove how much you paid for parking, when and where. You must “have a receipt or proof to substantiate your claim”.

Can I claim parking for work on tax without receipts? Well, there are two ways to claim parking expenses as a tax deduction, the first is the 'Logbook Method', which allows you to claim all work expenses you’ve incurred related to the use of your own vehicle.

Under this method you need to keep strict records and receipts, in a logbook, detailing the date you parked, the location, the cost and the reason for parking - ie client meeting, job site visit.

The second method is the version that allows you to claim parking expenses without receipts, although you are not claiming them directly so much as incorporating them into the costs of your car expenses.

(Image: John-Paul Beirouty)

This is called the 'Cents Per Kilometre' method and it provides a set rate per kilometre that you can claim when you travel for work purposes. This covers all your car expenses, including fuel, depreciation, insurance and, of course, parking.

The current rate approved by the ATO is 88 cents per kilometre for the 2024/2025 financial year and claims are limited to 5000 business kilometres per car, per year. The cents per kilometre method doesn’t require receipts, as the rate you can claim includes all your car expenses, including parking.

When it comes to airport parking, you can only claim this with receipts, using the logbook method and the expenses must be directly work related.

You might be wondering are parking fines tax deductible? The answer, sadly, is no, never, not even if you incurred them in the course of doing your job.