Taxi and rideshare fares for work: what the ATO lets you claim
In Australia a taxi or rideshare fare is generally claimable when the trip itself is part of the work: between two workplaces, to a client or job site, or to the airport for a work trip. The trip between home and your regular workplace generally is not, except in limited cases. You must have paid it yourself, and you need a record of why the trip was for work.
Trips that usually count
The ATO’s test is whether the trip happened while you were doing the work, not on the way to it. A cab from the office to a client meeting, a rideshare between two of your employer’s sites, and a taxi to the airport for a work trip all usually pass.
Travel between two work locations, where neither is your home, is ordinarily deductible when the work is the reason for the trip. Taxation Ruling TR 2021/1 sets out that principle and applies it to taxi and rideshare fares the same way it applies it to a car.
Trips that usually do not
The trip between home and your regular place of work is treated as private, because it gets you to work rather than being part of it. Working late, living far away or having no public transport nearby does not change that.
There are limited exceptions, such as when home is a base of employment or when you have to carry bulky tools or equipment. A fare your employer paid or reimbursed is not yours to claim either.
The record to keep for each fare
Keep the receipt and a short note of how the trip was for work: where you were, what you were doing, and the start and end times. A bank line that says only “UBER *TRIP” or the name of a cab network does not say any of that on its own.
Once your total claim for work-related expenses is more than $300, you need written evidence for it, so the receipt matters even for small fares. This is general information, not personal tax advice — check what applies to you with your accountant or the relevant tax authority.
Take it further
Pick your work and how you earn, and get a checklist of what to claim and where each claim goes.
2Fin for employees →Work expenses found, your refund in view
Substantiation (proving a deduction) →The records that turn a claim into a defensible deduction.
Logbook method (car expenses) →Claim your car’s real business-use share of running costs.
Common questions
Is an Uber to the airport for a work trip deductible?
Generally yes. The ATO gives a taxi from your office to the airport for a work trip as an example of a fare you can claim, and a rideshare is treated the same way. Keep the receipt and a note of the trip it was for. This is general information, not personal tax advice — check what applies to you with your accountant or the relevant tax authority.
Can I claim a taxi home after working late?
Usually not. The trip between your regular workplace and home stays private even when you work late or public transport has stopped running, unless one of the limited exceptions applies, such as home being a base of employment. This is general information, not personal tax advice — check what applies to you with your accountant or the relevant tax authority.
What should the note for a work fare say?
Where you were, what you were doing and the start and end times, alongside the receipt. That is the ATO’s own description of the record, and it is what turns a fare on a statement into a claim you can show. This is general information, not personal tax advice — check what applies to you with your accountant or the relevant tax authority.
Do I need a receipt for a small fare?
Once your total claim for work-related expenses goes over $300, you need written evidence for it, small fares included. Keeping every receipt from the start avoids having to find them later. This is general information, not personal tax advice — check what applies to you with your accountant or the relevant tax authority.
Sources
- ATO: Taxi, ride-share and public transport expenses
- ATO: Trips you can and can’t claim
- ATO: Taxation Ruling TR 2021/1 — When travel between work locations is deductible
General information computed from published government guidance, not personal tax advice.
More on tax & compliance
A Business Activity Statement (BAS) reports the GST you have collected and paid to the ATO, usually every quarter. Here is what actually happens, step by step.
What “GST treatment” means on your activity statement (and the three codes people mix up)A GST treatment is the code that says what kind of supply a transaction is, and therefore which label on your activity statement it feeds. Three of those codes carry zero GST and still mean different things: GST-free, input-taxed and BAS Excluded. Here is the difference, worked through on real lines from a bank feed.
Tax deductions for sole traders: what you can actually claimSole traders can generally claim any expense genuinely incurred in running the business. Here are the categories that come up most often.
Let Fin handle it automatically
Connect your bank and Fin keeps this sorted for you all year — free to start, no card needed.
Get 2Fin free →Back to all guides, or explore the glossary.
