Tutors and private instructors are taxed in one of two very different ways. If you work for a tutoring centre, school or college on wages, you claim work-related deductions like any other employee. If you run your own tutoring business with an ABN, you declare business income and claim business expenses, and GST may become an issue as you grow.

This guide explains both for the 2025-26 tax return, which is due by 31 October 2026 if you lodge yourself, and for 2026-27. Every rule and figure was checked on 7 October 2026 against the ATO’s teachers and education professionals guide, its employee or contractor guidance and its business and GST pages.

It covers academic tutors, music and language teachers, coaches and other private instructors. If you teach in a school, our tax deductions for teachers guide is the better fit.

Employee tutor vs self-employed tutor at a glance

Issue	Employee tutor	Self-employed tutor (ABN)
Income	Wages on your income statement	All lesson fees, including cash and platform payments
Where it goes	Salary and wages, work deductions	Business section of your individual return
Tax withheld	Employer withholds PAYG	No withholding; you may need PAYG instalments
Super	Employer pays super guarantee	Not compulsory for yourself
GST	Not applicable	Register within 21 days once turnover reaches $75,000
Car	88c/km (2025-26), 91c/km (2026-27), max 5,000 km	Same cents per km rate and cap, or logbook
Advertising, website	Not usually relevant	Deductible business expenses

Source: ATO business structures – key tax obligations, ATO registering for GST, ATO D1 car expenses 2026, checked 7 October 2026.

Are you an employee tutor or running a business?

This decides everything else. The ATO’s employee or contractor page looks at the whole working relationship, including:

• Delegation: can you pay someone else to take your lessons?
• Payment basis: are you paid for hours worked, or for a result you quote for?
• Equipment: who supplies the materials and tools?
• Commercial risk: who bears the cost of mistakes?
• Control: who decides how, when and where you work?
• Integration: are you part of the centre’s business or running your own?

A tutor on a centre’s roster, paid by the hour with paid leave, is usually an employee. A tutor who finds their own students, sets their own fees and invoices families is usually running a business. Many people are both: a casual job at a centre plus private students on the side. In that case you claim employee deductions against the wages and business expenses against the private income. Our ABN vs TFN guide explains the registrations.

What can employee tutors claim?

Employee tutors follow the ATO teacher guide rules. You can claim, if you paid and were not reimbursed:

• Teaching resources such as workbooks, stationery and posters; gifts for students are not deductible
• Equipment such as a laptop or tablet, for the work-use portion. Under the $300 rule, items of $300 or less are claimed in full and dearer items are depreciated
• Working with children check renewals, and checks you need to keep earning income, under the ATO’s working with children check page. A first check to start working with children is generally not deductible
• Self-education that maintains or improves skills for your current tutoring role
• Union and professional association fees
• Phone and internet for the work portion, unless you use the working from home fixed rate

For working from home, the fixed rate method is 70 cents per hour for 2024-25 and 2025-26, covering energy, internet, phone and stationery. You need a record of actual hours for the whole year.

How do self-employed tutors report income?

According to the ATO’s key tax obligations for sole traders, you use your individual TFN, report all income in your individual return using the business items section, and pay tax at your individual rates. You may be required to pay PAYG instalments during the year to prepay tax. You don’t have to pay super for yourself, though you can choose to contribute.

Every lesson counts, including cash, bank transfers and payments through online platforms. Keep a simple register of students, lessons and payments, and bank the money in a separate account.

What business expenses can self-employed tutors claim?

The ATO’s operating expenses page lists the types of costs a business can claim. For a tutor that usually means:

• advertising, flyers and online listings
• website hosting and maintenance, and software subscriptions such as video or scheduling tools
• insurance premiums for the business
• stationery, workbooks and teaching resources
• bank fees on the business account
• tax agent and bookkeeping fees
• phone and internet for the business portion

Equipment such as a laptop or keyboard is claimed under the business depreciation rules. Small businesses may be able to use the instant asset write-off; see our instant asset write-off guide for the current threshold.

Car and home office

Sole traders can use the cents per km method for up to 5,000 business km per car, at 88c for 2025-26 and 91c for 2026-27. Travel between students’ homes is business travel.

If you tutor from home, the ATO’s home-based business page lets you claim extra running expenses, or a fixed rate for each hour the business operates from home. Occupancy costs such as rent or mortgage interest are only claimable if part of your home is set aside exclusively as a place of business, and that can have capital gains tax consequences when you sell.

When does a tutor have to register for GST?

The ATO’s GST registration page says you must register within 21 days once your GST turnover reaches $75,000 or more. Turnover is tested two ways: the current month plus the previous 11 months, and the current month plus the next 11 months. If either reaches the threshold, you must register.

You can register voluntarily below the threshold, but you generally must stay registered for at least 12 months. Once registered, you lodge activity statements. Our GST registration guide covers the process.

Common mistakes tutors make

• Not declaring cash lessons: all tutoring income is assessable.
• Using old rates: 67c per hour and 85c per km are out of date. Use 70c, and 88c or 91c per km.
• Mixing employee and business claims: employee deductions go against wages; business expenses go against business income.
• Claiming the home office as a place of business without meeting the test: occupancy costs need an area set aside exclusively for the business.
• Missing the GST threshold: check projected turnover, not just last year’s.

FAQ about tutor and private instructor tax deductions

Talk to a registered tax agent

Nanak Accountants helps employee and self-employed tutors set up their ABN, track income, claim the right expenses and manage GST. Call 1300 626 258 or book a free 15 minute consultation.

This article is general information only and is not personal tax or legal advice. Figures and rules were checked against the ATO teachers and education professionals guide, employee or contractor guidance, sole trader obligations, GST registration, business deductions, car expenses and working from home pages on 7 October 2026. Rates and thresholds change, so confirm the current position before acting.