The federal government is set to make COVID-19 tests tax-deductible for Australian individuals and exempt from fringe benefit tax (FBT) for businesses when they are purchased for work-related purposes.
How much do you get back?
Australians earning an income taxed at 32.5% are likely to receive a tax refund of a minimum of $6.50 for every two RATs purchased.
What kinds of tests are covered?
Only the COVID-19 RATs purchased for work-related purposes are tax-deductible.
So, while you may have bought and done a RAT to work on-site, any that have been used to test other household members such as your children are not eligible.
Will you be able to claim the tests you have already bought?
Any test that has been bought in the 2021/2022 financial year can be claimed.
The legislation will be in effect from the 2021-22 FBT and income years and will be backdated to July 1, 2021.
Should you produce past receipts?
In order to claim your COVID-19 tests, you’ll need to follow the same steps as any other work-related expense.
This means you’ll need to keep some form of record to prove that you spent money on it (like a receipt).
