Is AHPRA registration tax deductible for nurses?

The short answer

Your annual AHPRA registration renewal is generally tax deductible if you need that registration to keep working as a nurse or midwife and you paid the fee yourself. The ATO treats renewing a registration you need for your job as a cost of earning your current employment income.

The exception is your first registration. The ATO says the initial cost of getting a practising certificate or registration cannot be claimed, because you pay it to be able to start work, not while you are earning income from that work.

The fee is paid through AHPRA on behalf of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). Whether your receipt says AHPRA or NMBA, it is the same expense for tax purposes.

Renewal versus first registration

The difference comes down to timing and purpose. A renewal keeps an existing income stream going, so it is incurred in the course of earning your wage. A first registration opens the door to a job you do not have yet, so the ATO treats it as a cost of getting into the profession.

The ATO's own nurse example makes the same point: a registered nurse can claim the cost of renewing her registration each year, but not the cost of the registration she needed before she could start working as a nurse.

• Renewing your general registration each year while you work as a registered nurse, enrolled nurse or midwife: generally deductible.
• Your first registration as a new graduate, paid before you start your graduate year: not deductible.
• Registering in Australia for the first time after qualifying overseas: generally treated as an initial cost, so not deductible. Later renewals, once you are working here, are.
• Renewals in the years after your first registration, while you are employed in nursing or midwifery: generally deductible in the year you pay them.

Which tax return the fee goes on

The NMBA requires nurses and midwives to renew general or non-practising registration by 31 May each year, with a one-month late period after that. A renewal paid in May or June 2026 therefore falls in the 2025–26 income year (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026) and goes on your 2025–26 return.

Generally, you claim the fee in the income year you paid it, even though the registration period it buys runs into the following year. Use the payment date on your AHPRA receipt, not the date on your registration certificate.

Registration is often one of the larger items on a nurse's deduction list. Once you add it to uniforms, laundry, union fees and CPD, many nurses' total work-related claims go above $300. Above that amount, the ATO requires written evidence, such as receipts, for all of your work-related claims, not just the large ones.

Situations that need a closer look

Most ward, agency and aged care nurses who renew each year while working have a straightforward claim. The situations below are less clear-cut and are worth checking with a registered tax agent before you claim.

• Your employer or agency paid or reimbursed the fee: you cannot claim it, because you are out of pocket for nothing.
• You held non-practising registration, or were not working in nursing when you paid the renewal (for example, during a career break): the connection to your current income may be missing.
• You were on extended leave from a nursing job you were returning to: the answer depends on your circumstances.
• You hold registration as both a nurse and a midwife but only work in one role: the claim should relate to what your current work needs.
• Your registration lapsed and you applied to have it restored: this can look more like a new application than a renewal.
• Your current job does not require registration at all, such as some non-clinical roles: the claim is harder to support.

Registration and your other professional costs

Registration sits alongside other professional costs that follow their own rules. Union and professional association fees are generally deductible when they relate to your current work. The CPD you complete to meet the NMBA registration standard falls under the self-education rules, which ask whether the learning is sufficiently connected to your current job.

Claim each cost once, in the right place, and keep the records for each separately. That makes it easy to answer an ATO question about any one item.

• Nurse tax deductions 2025–26: the full guide
• Nurse union fees tax deduction
• CPD and training deductions for nurses

Records to keep

The ATO expects written evidence from the supplier showing who you paid, what for, how much and when. For registration, the tax invoice or receipt in your AHPRA online account is the simplest record, so download it once you renew rather than hunting for it at tax time.

A bank or card statement on its own is not written evidence, because it does not come from the supplier and does not show what the payment was for. Keep your records for five years from the date you lodge the return that includes the claim.

• The AHPRA renewal receipt or tax invoice showing the amount and payment date.
• Any letter or payslip line showing an employer or agency reimbursement, so you can show you did not claim a reimbursed amount.
• A note of where you were working when you paid the fee, especially if you changed jobs or took leave that year.

Common mistakes

• Claiming your first registration as a graduate, or your first Australian registration after moving from overseas.
• Claiming a fee your hospital, health service or agency reimbursed.
• Claiming the same renewal in two different years because the registration period spans both.
• Claiming a partner's or family member's registration fee on your return.
• Estimating the amount from memory instead of using the figure on the AHPRA receipt.
• Claiming a renewal paid in a year you were not working in nursing without first checking whether it is connected to your income.

Where it fits on your return

Registration is claimed as a work-related expense, alongside other costs such as union fees and work equipment. If you lodge through a registered tax agent, bring the AHPRA receipt with your other records and they will put it at the correct label.

If you lodge yourself, check that the amount matches your receipt, that nobody reimbursed you, and that you have not already included it elsewhere on the return.

Common questions

Can graduate nurses claim their AHPRA registration?

Not the first registration you pay to be able to start work as a nurse or midwife. Once you are working, the annual renewals you pay yourself are generally deductible in the year you pay them.

Is the AHPRA fee claimed in the year I pay it or the year it covers?

Generally the year you pay it. A renewal paid in May 2026 goes on the 2025–26 return, even though the registration period runs into 2026–27.

My employer reimburses my registration. Can I still claim it?

No. If your employer or agency pays or reimburses the fee, you have not borne the cost and cannot claim a deduction for it.

Can I claim AHPRA registration while I am not working as a nurse?

It depends. The fee needs a connection to earning your current income. If you held non-practising registration or were on a career break when you paid it, ask a registered tax agent before claiming.