Claiming Vehicle Expenses as an NDIS Support Worker: What to Know at Tax Time

If you're an NDIS support worker using your car for work, you're probably racking up a lot of kilometres. Whether it’s driving to a participant’s home, or taking them to appointments or community activities, your car plays a big role in the support you provide. But come tax time, many workers aren’t sure what they can actually claim—or how it ties into their invoicing through the NDIS.

Let’s break it down so you can claim what you’re entitled to and stay compliant with both the NDIS and the ATO.

Two Kinds of Vehicle Use = Two Types of Claims

Under the NDIS, there are two main ways you might be using your car—and they’re treated differently for both invoicingand tax purposes:

1. Transporting Participants (Activity-Based Transport)

If you're driving a participant as part of their funded support (e.g. to appointments, outings, work, etc.), you can invoice them (or their plan manager) a per-kilometre rate. The default rate in the NDIS Price Guide is $0.97/km, but a different rate can be agreed to in your service agreement.

You invoice this through the NDIS as part of their Core Support funding. At tax time, this transport income must be declared.

✅ ATO Tip: You can’t claim this same vehicle use again as a personal tax deduction—it’s already been reimbursed through your invoice.

2. Traveling to Deliver a Support (Provider Travel)

This is when you’re using your car to get to or from a support job, but not transporting the participant. You might invoice this time (not the kilometres) as provider travel under the NDIS if the rules allow it.

Unlike transport, this does not reimburse your car costs, which means...

✅ ATO Tip: You can claim this car use as a tax deduction at the end of the financial year.

What Can You Claim at Tax Time?

Only the travel you don’t get reimbursed for through NDIS invoices can be claimed as a tax deduction. This includes:

• Driving to and from participant homes

• Picking up groceries or supplies for work (if not reimbursed)

• Attending training or professional development

• Any travel between jobs where you're not charging the participant

You can choose to claim using:

• The cents per kilometre method (up to 5,000 km/year, no receipts needed), or

• The logbook method (track all car expenses and business use percentage)

Either way, keeping a record is key.

Tips to Stay Ahead

• 💼 Keep a logbook or digital tracking app if using the logbook method

• 📄 Record all kilometres and work trips not claimed through NDIS invoices

• 🧾 Keep receipts for fuel, registration, maintenance, and insurance (for logbook claims)

• 📑 Store copies of your NDIS invoices to show which kilometres you’ve already claimed

• 📆 Review your totals quarterly so tax time isn’t overwhelming

  
  

Final Thoughts

Being a support worker means juggling a lot—but don’t miss out on legitimate tax deductions because you weren’t sure what applied. If you’re invoicing for transport under the NDIS, you can’t also claim that same trip as a deduction. But if you’re just driving to a job or between jobs and not charging for travel, then those kilometres can count towards your tax claims.

When in doubt, chat to your accountant or tax agent about how to make the most of your vehicle usage—and make tax time a little less stressful.