Top tax-time tips for anyone working in Australian mining

Work in Australian mining? Here’s what you should know for tax time.

Tax Return 2025-2026: Key Takeaways

• Mining employees can reduce tax-time stress by preparing early. Organising receipts, tracking deductions in the ATO app, and confirming employment and travel details.
• Common mistakes include incorrectly claiming travel, meals, and vehicle expenses without evidence, which can increase audit risk.
• Key 2025–2026 tax changes affecting miners include potential $1,000 no-receipt deduction, updated car rate claims (88c/km), and continued WFH deduction methods. Major deductible categories for mining workers include travel, tools, education, union fees, PPE items and work-related phone, software, and certain insurance costs.
• Investment income (shares and property) and government payments (like JobSeeker) must be correctly recorded, and lodging after mid-July can help ensure pre-fill data accuracy.

There are only two certainties in life. Death and taxes.

While death visits us once, taxation is an unfortunate constant in life. We can’t avoid tax time, but we can make it easier on ourselves by being prepared.

With EOFY sales upon us already, and tax time just round the corner, this article will offer you some tips, suggestions and recommendations.

Naturally, this advice can’t come from a mining recruitment agency, so we’ve asked West Perth-based accountant John Budrovich, who has many mining clients, for his advice on how mining industry employees can make their tax return as easy as possible.

What EOFY Tax Deductions Can Mining Employees Make?

“Most occupations are relatively straightforward, but with mining sometimes the salaries can be a little higher, so people are often looking to maximize what they can claim,” John said.

“But the Australian Taxation Office is tightening up on personal tax deductions these days, so what people might have assumed were standard deductions, or things they don’t need receipts for, while in the past you might have got away with it, now you can’t.”

John has provided a list of mining industry-specific tax deductions below. He said for those with a standard wage or salary, taxation should be straightforward. However, those who are contractors or have worked in labour hire roles, perhaps at several locations throughout the year, have more complicated returns.

“If you’re a contractor, there are additional deductions you can claim but there are also more specific rules around making sure you don’t claim more than you’re entitled to,” he said. “If you’re contracting through your own ABN, I definitely recommend you get an accountant involved.”

4 Things Mining Employees Can Do Now

Here are four things John recommends people in mining jobs do now in order to make tax time as easy as possible.

• Collect and summarise your receipts for your accountant or tax agent. “The more you summarise, the less time your accountant spends doing it, which ultimately reduces your tax agent fee,” John says.
• Keep track of your tax receipts by making use of the MyDeductions function from the ATO app.
• Familiarise yourself with the type of deductions you may be eligible to claim as a mining site employee, as mentioned by the ATO.
• Request and retrieve a copy of your employment contract and confirm with your employer where and when your employment started and whether you are being paid to travel to fulfil your employment duties. “This will have a substantial role to play when determining your eligibility to claim for certain travel and car deductions,” John says. 

Things To Know When Submitting Your Own Tax Return

“The warning areas if you’re trying to do your own return are if you’re trying to claim your motor vehicle or meal expenses going to and from site, because the general rule is those things are not deductible,” John said.

“Getting a taxi to the airport is not deductible; it’s like driving to and from work.

“If you’re trying to do your own return and you have reasonably high deductions, then you better be able to back it up, because you’re more inclined to get an audit from the tax office.

“Going to a tax agent generally helps you get a better tax outcome and you have a lower chance of getting audited, because we’re not going to put anything in there you can’t claim or that might stand out and result in a audit.”

If you need any further advice from John and the team, you can find them here: https://www.aspectaccountants.com.au/ 

Important Tax Tips For The 2025-2026 Tax Year

With the recent Labour budget still raising a few eyebrows, there are some specific tax implications that people working in mining should also be aware of. 

• Work-related expenses: If the government’s proposed draft legislation is passed before 1^st July, eligible Australian mining employees may be able to claim a $1,000 deduction on their tax return without needing receipts for certain work-related expenses. Read more here.
• Tax deductions for working from home: The ATO still allows a shortcut method of 70c per hour for people to work out any working from home deductions.
• Car expenses: If any of your work involves driving in your own vehicle, there’s been an increase in what you can claim per KM. This is now 88 cents per KM.
• JobSeeker payments: If you’ve received JobSeeker over the last 12 months, this is considered taxable income.
• Self-education expenses: If you’ve undertaken a course or particular study that’s related to your current employer/employment, you’re eligible to claim. 

Need an idea of what you tax return could look like? Try this tax return calculator for an estimated tax return. 

EOFY Checklist 2026: Other Tax Deductions Relevant To The Mining Industry

If you're wondering what you can claim on tax this year, here's specific tax deductions checklist relevant to mining site employees:

• Car expenses
• Overtime meal expenses, if an allowance was received
• Travel expenses
• Laundry (50c to $1 per load)
• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses for outside work
• Self-education costs
• Union fees
• Renewal of certain licences
• Work-related subscriptions
• Work tools and equipment
• Work-related phone call costs
• Donations
• Accounting fees
• Travel to your accountant
• Stationery and software costs for keeping tax records
• Income protection insurance
• Personal deductible superannuation contributions.

Tax tips for mining employees who also have shares 

Many people who work in the Australian mining industry also have a share portfolio, often as part of their retirement plan.

If that’s you, here are a few tasks you can get onto now, to make tax time easier.

• Collect and summarise your shares purchased, shares sold and dividend received for the financial year (from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026)
• Familiarise yourself with the different tax treatments between investing in shares (on capital account) versus trading shares regularly (on trading account):
• Investing in shares is normally treated as a capital gain and is subject to capital gains tax. Any gain is added to your taxable income to determine the tax on the gain. If you hold the shares for 12 months or more before selling, you can then apply the 50% discount and effectively declare half of the capital gain as income. Any capital loss is offset to any current or future capital gain. You cannot reduce your taxable income from a capital loss.
• Shares trading on a regular basis and in a business manner (with an ABN) are treated as a business income or expense and added or subtracted from your taxable income in the year they are incurred.

Tax tips for Australian miners who also have real estate investments

Perhaps even more common than a share portfolio, many Australian mining industry employees have invested in real estate. 

• Collect and summarise your rental income and expenses for the year
• Contact your real estate agent to obtain a summary of the above if they offer this service, as it will save you time
• Consider if a tax depreciation report will be beneficial (speak with your accountant to find out more).

If you're in any doubt about how to lodge your 2026 tax return, visit the ATO website for a comprehensive breakdown. 

One final tip: As the ATO pulls in data from various sources to format your tax return, it may be best to wait until the 2nd or 3rd week in July to lodge it. This will save you any time searching for data, as well as giving you a better final decision. 

Does tax time have you looking at your income and thinking it’s time to look for a new mining job? MPI Recruitment has been a mining industry recruitment specialist for more than 30 years. Register with us here and let us help you find the right FIFO mining job.

FURTHER READING: Financial tips for FIFO workers 

FURTHER READING: Your mining retirement checklist 

FURTHER READING: 5 things you can do right now to secure your financial future 

Tax Return FAQs for Australian Mining Employees

How can I lodge a tax return?

Australian mining workers can lodge their tax return through the ATO’s myTax system via myGov, through a registered tax agent, or by using accounting software connected to the ATO. If your tax situation involves investments, travel claims, FIFO work, shares, or rental properties, speaking with a tax agent may help reduce errors and ensure you’re claiming correctly.

When can I lodge my tax return?

The Australian financial year ends on 30 June each year, with tax returns generally available to lodge from 1 July. However, many accountants recommend waiting until the second or third week of July so the ATO has time to pre-fill income, superannuation, dividend, and health insurance information into your return.

How long does a tax refund take?

According to the ATO, most online tax returns are processed within two weeks, although some refunds can arrive sooner. Delays can happen if the ATO needs to review deductions, verify information, or wait for missing employer or investment data to be submitted.

Are there late tax return penalties in Australia?

Yes. If you fail to lodge your tax return on time, the ATO may apply a Failure To Lodge (FTL) penalty. The amount can vary depending on how overdue the return is and whether you have outstanding obligations from previous years. If you think you may lodge late, it’s worth speaking with a tax agent early, as registered tax agents may have extended lodgement deadlines for eligible clients.

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