Nurse tax return checklist 2025–26

The checklist at a glance

To lodge a complete 2025–26 tax return as a nurse, you need your tax-ready income statements, records of any other income, receipts and logs for your deductions, and your private health insurance and personal details. If you lodge yourself, you need them before 31 October 2026.

The 2025–26 income year runs from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. Work through the list below, then use the sections that follow for the detail.

Keep everything in one place as you find it: a folder, a notes app, or the myDeductions tool in the ATO app, which lets you record expenses and share them with a tax agent at tax time. Rosters, payslips and receipts are much easier to collect now than to reconstruct if the ATO asks a question later.

• Income statement from every employer you worked for, including agencies and second jobs.
• Bank interest, dividends and any other income.
• Receipts, invoices and logs for work-related deductions.
• Private health insurance details.
• Receipts for donations, income protection premiums and last year's tax agent fee.
• Your spouse's details, if you had a spouse during the year.

Key dates for 2025–26

There is little to gain from rushing. If you lodge before an income statement is tax ready, the ATO warns you may have to amend your return, which can mean repaying part of a refund.

• 30 June 2026: the 2025–26 income year ends.
• 14 July 2026: most employers had until this date to finalise their payroll data. Wait until your income statement is marked tax ready before you lodge.
• 31 July 2026: if an income statement is still not tax ready after this date, the ATO says to speak to your employer.
• 31 October 2026: the usual due date if you lodge your own return.
• Later dates: most registered tax agents run a lodgment program that allows later due dates for clients. To be included, contact a registered tax agent before 31 October 2026.

Income to gather

Your income statements are in ATO online services through myGov or the ATO app. Nurses often have more than one: a hospital and an agency, a public job and aged care shifts, or two health services in the same year. Each employer issues its own statement, and all of them belong on your return.

Do not use figures that are not yet marked tax ready, because your employer may finalise with different amounts. If you worked a few agency shifts early in the year and have lost track of the agency, the income statement list in ATO online services should still show it, provided the agency reports through Single Touch Payroll.

• Income statements from each employer or agency, including allowances shown on them.
• A payment summary from any employer not reporting through Single Touch Payroll.
• Interest from every bank account, including your share of joint accounts.
• Dividends, managed fund distributions and any shares or crypto you sold.
• Government payments, such as Parental Leave Pay.
• Income protection payments you received to replace your wages, which must be declared.
• Any income from work done under your own ABN.

• Shift work, overtime and allowances
• Nurse salary packaging and tax explained

Work-related deductions for nurses

Every work-related claim must meet the ATO's three golden rules: you spent the money and were not reimbursed, the expense directly relates to earning your income, and you have a record to prove it. For expenses used for both work and private purposes, claim only the work-related share.

• Compulsory or registered uniforms, protective footwear and laundry.
• AHPRA registration renewal (not your first registration).
• ANMF or other union fees and professional association memberships.
• CPD, courses and conferences connected to your current role.
• The work-related share of your phone and internet.
• Work travel between workplaces, with a log, and related parking.

• Nurse tax deductions 2025–26: the full guide
• Is AHPRA registration tax deductible?
• CPD and training deductions for nurses

Other deductions and personal details

A few items outside your nursing work are easy to forget.

• Donations to deductible gift recipients (DGRs). For gifts made on or after 1 July 2024, the old $2 minimum no longer applies. Keep a receipt, and check the organisation is a DGR, because not every charity or crowdfunding page is.
• The fee you paid a registered tax agent during 2025–26, which is usually the fee for last year's return.
• Income protection premiums you pay yourself outside super. Premiums paid through your super fund are not deductible on your return.
• Private health insurance details. These usually pre-fill; insurers only send a statement if you ask, so request one if the details are missing or you lodge on paper.
• HELP and other study loans. You do not enter your loan on the return; the ATO calculates any compulsory repayment on your notice of assessment. From 2025–26, a compulsory repayment only applies once your repayment income exceeds $67,000, and only on the part above that amount. Repayments are not deductible.

Records to keep

For most expenses, the ATO wants written evidence from the supplier showing the supplier's name, the amount, what you bought and the date. A bank or card statement on its own is not enough. You also need a note of how you worked out your claim and the work-related share.

If your total work-related expenses are $300 or less, you can claim without full receipts, but you still have to show you spent the money and how you calculated the claim. Above $300, you need written evidence for all of your claims. Keep records for five years from the date you lodge.

• Receipts and tax invoices for every work-related expense.
• A car logbook or trip diary if you claim work travel.
• Rosters and a laundry or phone-use diary, where relevant.
• Donation receipts, your income protection premium statement and last year's tax agent invoice.
• A copy of each income statement and your private health insurance statement.

Common mistakes before lodging

• Lodging before every income statement is marked tax ready.
• Leaving out income from a second employer, an agency or a short-term contract.
• Forgetting bank interest, or claiming all of the interest from a joint account.
• Claiming expenses your employer or agency reimbursed.
• Claiming HELP repayments, or income protection premiums paid through super.
• Estimating deductions without records.

• 5 tax mistakes nurses make

Lodging yourself or using a registered tax agent

You can lodge through myTax yourself, or use a registered tax agent. Only registered tax agents can charge a fee to prepare your return, and you can check an agent's registration with the Tax Practitioners Board. You remain responsible for the records you give your agent.

If you want a later due date through a tax agent's lodgment program, contact the agent before 31 October 2026. The fee you pay for this year's return is generally deductible on next year's return.

Common questions

When can I lodge my 2025–26 tax return?

After 30 June 2026, but wait until all your income statements are marked tax ready. Most employers had until 14 July to finalise, and the ATO sends a myGov notification when all of your statements are ready.

What if I cannot lodge by 31 October 2026?

Contact a registered tax agent before 31 October 2026. If you are on their client list by then, you can usually use their later lodgment program dates. If you have missed a year, get up to date as soon as you can.

Do I need a private health insurance statement?

Not always. Your policy details usually pre-fill in myTax and for tax agents. If they do not, or you lodge a paper return, ask your insurer for a statement.

I worked for a hospital and an agency. Do I need both income statements?

Yes. Every employer and agency you worked for during 2025–26 must be included, even for a few shifts. Check each statement is tax ready before you lodge.