Can nurses claim CPD and training on tax?

The short answer

Nurses can claim CPD, courses, conferences and study as self-education expenses when, at the time they pay, the learning has a sufficient connection to their current nursing job. The ATO accepts that connection when the study either maintains or improves the specific skills and knowledge you need for your current duties, or is likely to increase your income from your current job.

The test is applied at the time you incur each expense. A course that helps you in the job you have now can be deductible. The same course taken to get a different job, or taken before you started working as a nurse, generally is not.

What counts as a sufficient connection for nurses

The ATO's nurse and self-education guidance uses several nursing examples. Here is what they mean in practice.

• A registered nurse whose duties include caring for children studies paediatric nursing: deductible, because it improves skills used in the current role.
• A registered nurse studies intensive care nursing and will be paid more once qualified: deductible, because it is likely to increase income from the current job.
• An enrolled nurse working in a hospital completes a Bachelor of Nursing to become a registered nurse: deductible, because it maintains and improves nursing skills and is likely to increase nursing income.
• A personal care worker or assistant in nursing completes a Bachelor of Nursing: not deductible, because the course leads to new employment with different duties.
• A registered nurse in aged care studies midwifery for a new position elsewhere: not deductible, because the study has limited use in the current role.
• A nurse completes a medical degree to become a doctor: not deductible, because it is study for a new career.

CPD hours, short courses and online modules

The CPD you complete to meet the NMBA registration standard is assessed under the same self-education test. Online modules, webinars, workshops, clinical skills days and specialty short courses are generally deductible when they relate to your current duties and you paid for them yourself.

Training your employer requires, or that keeps your clinical skills current in your area of practice (for example, advanced life support for an emergency or ICU nurse), will usually meet the test. If your employer pays the course fee, you cannot claim the fee, but you may still claim your own costs, such as parking at the venue, if they were not reimbursed.

Conferences, seminars and travel for courses

You can claim the cost of seminars, conferences and training courses that relate to your work as a nurse or midwife, including registration fees and fares to the venue. If you have to travel and stay away from home overnight, accommodation and meals can also be claimed.

Mixed trips need care. If the private part is incidental, such as a catered lunch or a delegates' reception, you can still claim all your expenses. If the main purpose of a trip is a holiday and you attend a conference along the way, you can generally claim only the direct costs, such as the registration fee. If you add a week of holiday to a week-long course, only the work-related part is claimable.

For local courses, travel from home to the venue and back, or from work to the venue and back to work, is generally deductible, as is parking at the venue. Trips that combine a shift, a course and home are treated differently depending on the facts, so keep a log of each leg and ask before claiming the whole journey.

Study costs you can claim

If a course meets the test, the ATO lists the kinds of costs you can claim. For a full fee-paying university place, the tuition fees are deductible even if you defer them through FEE-HELP. They are claimed in the income year the debt becomes a legal obligation, usually the census date, not when you repay it.

Assets used for study, such as a laptop or desk, can be claimed outright if they cost $300 or less and you mainly use them for work-related study. More expensive assets are claimed over their effective life. Either way, you only claim the study-related share.

• Course, tuition, conference and seminar fees, and student and amenities fees.
• Textbooks, professional and academic journals, and stationery.
• Internet and data used for study (not connection fees), and computer consumables.
• Transport and parking for attending the course, and accommodation and meals when you must stay away overnight.
• Interest on a loan used to pay deductible course fees (but not repayments of the loan itself).

HECS-HELP and HELP repayments are never deductible

Student contributions for a Commonwealth supported place are not deductible, whether you pay them upfront or through HECS-HELP. This covers most undergraduate nursing degrees.

Repayments of a study or training support loan are not deductible either, whether they are compulsory repayments raised on your notice of assessment or voluntary repayments you choose to make. That includes HELP, FEE-HELP, HECS-HELP and VET Student Loans.

The $250 reduction no longer applies

Older guides mention having to reduce self-education claims by the first $250. That rule only applies to self-education expenses incurred before 1 July 2022. For your 2025–26 return, you claim the eligible amount without that reduction.

Records to keep

Self-education claims are often larger than other nurse deductions, so records matter. Keep them for five years from the date you lodge the return. For assets you claim over several years, keep them for five years from your last claim.

• Enrolment confirmations, tax invoices and receipts for each course, conference or module.
• Certificates of completion and your NMBA CPD log.
• The conference program or course outline, which shows how the content relates to your duties.
• Your duty statement or position description, which the ATO uses to identify your employment activities.
• A travel log for trips to courses, plus parking, fare and accommodation receipts.
• Evidence of any employer payment or reimbursement.

Common mistakes

Most self-education problems come from claiming study aimed at the next job rather than the current one.

• Claiming a nursing degree while working as an assistant in nursing or personal care worker.
• Claiming course fees paid before you started working as a nurse, or while you were between jobs.
• Claiming HECS-HELP contributions or HELP repayments.
• Claiming a course, conference or trip your employer paid for or reimbursed.
• Claiming the holiday part of a conference trip.
• Claiming the full cost of a laptop or phone that is also used privately.

• Nurse tax deductions 2025–26: the full guide
• Graduate nurse tax checklist
• Tax tips for ICU nurses

Common questions

Can I claim a graduate certificate or master's degree in nursing?

Often, yes, if it relates to the work you do now, such as a graduate certificate in critical care while you work in ICU. If it prepares you for a role with substantially different duties, it may not have enough connection to your current job.

Can I claim CPD my employer paid for?

Not the fee your employer paid. You may still be able to claim your own unreimbursed costs of attending, such as travel or parking, if the course relates to your current job.

Can I claim a course I did while on a break from nursing?

Generally not. The ATO looks at whether the expense was connected to earning income when you paid it. Costs paid while you were not working are usually not deductible, even if you return to nursing later.

Is a subscription to a nursing journal or CPD platform deductible?

It can be, where the content relates to your current duties and you pay for it yourself. Keep the invoice and claim only the work-related share if others in your household also use it.