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Deduction Explorer · 2023–24 income year

Average tax deductions by occupation

See what people in your job claimed, narrow it to people like you, and check where your own claim sits.

Australia-wide, 2023–24

In the 2023–24 income year, 10,678,121 people claimed work-related deductions, averaging $2,956 per claimant with a median of $1,434 (ATO Taxation Statistics 2023–24).

People claiming
10,678,121
Average per claimant
$2,956
Median per claimant
$1,434
Share of all deductions
53%

National figures as published by the ATO in Taxation Statistics 2023–24, Individuals Table 1. Total claimed: $31.6 billion. Share of all deductions is total work-related deductions divided by total deductions, both summed from Table 14A.

Coming in 2026–27: people who earn salary or wages can claim a $1,000 standard deduction for work-related expenses without receipts, or their actual expenses (with records) if those are higher. In 2023–24, 40% of people who claimed work-related deductions claimed $1,000 or less. ATO details.

Compare every occupation

Occupations with at least 500 people claiming. "Share claiming" is the share of people in the job who claimed any work-related deduction.

Sort by
Occupations ranked by average claim
#OccupationAverage per claimantShare claimingPeople claiming
1Surgeon$12,54067%2,881
2Legislator$12,29681%3,610
3Anaesthetist$9,94974%2,773
4Other medical practitioners$9,35987%27,882
5Internal medicine specialist$9,31378%8,543
6Land economist or valuer$8,15794%4,864
7Shearers and Wool Classers$7,99883%4,917
8Psychiatrist$7,81982%2,728
9Real estate sales agent$7,66789%68,432
10Railway track worker$7,49993%6,616
11Structural steel construction worker$7,42390%35,716
12General medical practitioner$7,41386%42,461
13Carpenter and joiner$6,90988%81,844
14Technical sales representative$6,53293%25,186
15Sportsperson$6,43469%11,891
16Crane, hoist or lift operator$6,39893%9,900
17Consultant - real estate representative$6,31385%3,089
18Air transport professionals$6,31294%15,383
19Apprentice or trainee - bricklayer, or carpenter and joiner$6,25888%32,511
20Concreter$5,77785%20,651
21Plumber$5,64290%56,056
22Plasterer$5,55580%11,520
23Apprentice or trainee - plumber$5,51490%16,781
24Construction manager$5,44590%77,734
25Dental practitioner$5,43376%7,486

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Browse by occupation group

Managers (39)
Professionals (102)
Technicians and trades workers (70)
Community and personal service workers (37)
Clerical and administrative workers (36)
Sales workers (19)
Machinery operators and drivers (22)
Labourers (47)
Consultants, apprentices and trainees (54)

Methodology

Occupation figures come from ATO Taxation Statistics 2023–24, Individuals tables 14A, 14B, 15 and 18B. Averages are per claimant: total work-related deductions divided by the number of people who claimed. Medians appear only where the ATO publishes them.

The ATO hides figures for small groups. We show these as "not published" and never fill them in or treat them as zero. Pages for occupations with fewer than 500 people claiming are kept out of search results.

Source: ATO Taxation Statistics 2023–24 (data.gov.au), CC BY 2.5 AU. Licence. Analysis and presentation by Your Tax Refund, operated by BRS Advisory Pty Ltd, a registered tax agent (TPB 26233684). General information, not tax advice.