Real estate agent expenses in Australia: the complete guide

For an Australian real estate agent, the biggest controllable expense is the car, and the biggest tax mistake is claiming it at 100%. The ATO allows the business-use share only, worked out either with cents per kilometre for up to 5,000 kilometres or with a logbook. A car that an agency provides to staff brings fringe benefits tax. After the car come client entertainment, which is neither deductible nor creditable, marketing and portal fees, the phone and home office, and super for contractor agents paid mainly for their labour. This guide walks through the whole ledger with a verdict before the detail. Every figure is sourced to the ATO in the Sources section, retrieved 10 October 2026.

What this guide covers: the car and the two methods, FBT on agency cars, client entertainment and gifts, marketing and portals, the phone and home office, equipment, contractor agents and super, and the BAS and records that tie it together.

The agent’s ledger at a glance

The rest of this guide walks through each row, and every section opens with its verdict.

Where ExpenseFlow fits

An agent’s purchase ledger is fuel dockets, servicing invoices, parking, portal and signboard invoices, photography, phone bills and the odd client coffee. ExpenseFlow captures each document (email forward, upload or phone), reads the line items and GST, codes each line with a written reason, and routes anything uncertain to a person before it posts. Its vehicle check comes from the rules on this page: a line that reads as fuel, petrol, servicing, tyres, car insurance, roadside assistance, a car wash or parking is flagged so only the business-use share is claimed, by cents per kilometre or the logbook method, with a note that a car available for an employee’s private use may also attract FBT. A document over $82.50 with no ABN is flagged too. After approval the bill syncs to Xero with the source document attached, or to QuickBooks Online as a coded bill.

What it does not do: it never keeps the logbook, never sets the business-use percentage and never prepares an FBT return.

The ExpenseFlow for real estate agents page covers these checks across all five countries.

The car: cents per kilometre or logbook

The cents per kilometre method is for sole traders and partnerships with at least one individual partner, claiming for a car ^[1] . It uses a set rate per business kilometre, 91 cents for 2026-27 and 88 cents for 2024-25 and 2025-26 ^[19] , allows a maximum of 5,000 business kilometres per car per year, needs no written evidence of the exact kilometres (though the ATO may ask how you worked them out), and the rate covers all running costs and depreciation ^[1] . Because the rate covers everything, you don’t claim fuel or servicing separately.

The logbook method claims the business-use percentage, business kilometres divided by total kilometres, of total car expenses plus depreciation ^[2] . In the first year you keep the logbook for at least 12 continuous weeks that represent your travel across the year, and each logbook is valid for five years if you keep odometer readings in later years ^[2] . Keep evidence of fuel and every other car expense ^[2] . Log every trip with its purpose, because the percentage is only as good as the log.

FBT on agency cars

A company or trust can’t use the sole trader car methods ^{[1] [2]} . Where it provides a car that employees, including working directors, can use privately, the private use is a fringe benefit, and the ATO’s FBT guidance on cars sets out how it is valued ^[3] . Keep the records your chosen FBT valuation method needs from the first day the car is provided.

Client entertainment and gifts

There is no FBT on benefits provided to clients, and the employer can’t claim an income tax deduction or GST credits for the food, drink or travel provided ^[4] . An office Christmas party with staff and clients follows the same rule for the client share ^[4] . For staff, a gym membership of $480 attracts FBT because the minor benefit exemption needs a value under $300 ^[4] . Record who attended on every hospitality receipt.

Marketing, portals and signage

Advertising and other operating costs are deductible ^[5] , with GST credits from tax invoices for purchases over $82.50 ^[6] . When the vendor pays for a campaign, the cost belongs to the vendor; record it as recoverable from the vendor, not as your own marketing expense.

Phone, home office and equipment

The fixed rate method allows 70 cents per work hour for 2024-25 and 2025-26, covering energy, phone and internet, stationery and computer consumables, with a record of hours ^[7] . Occupancy costs like rent and mortgage interest need an area set aside and used exclusively as a place of business ^[8] . A small business with turnover under $10 million can immediately deduct each asset costing less than $20,000 ^[9] , and that limit is permanent from 1 July 2026 ^[10] . The phone, vehicle and mileage guides cover the detail.

Contractor agents and super

If you pay independent contractors mainly for their labour, they are employees for super guarantee purposes, regardless of an ABN ^[11] . That applies where more than half the dollar value of the contract is for their labour, they are paid for their personal labour and skills rather than a result, and they must do the work themselves ^[11] . The super guarantee rate is 12%, and Payday Super applies from 1 July 2026 ^[12] .

BAS and records

GST credits need a tax invoice for purchases over $82.50 and can be claimed within four years ^[6] . The logbook and odometer readings support the car claim for five years ^[2] . The GST and BAS guide, record-keeping guide and year-end checklist cover the rest.

Common mistakes

• Claiming fuel and servicing at 100% ^[2] .
• Claiming cents per kilometre and fuel receipts for the same car ^[1] .
• Claiming more than 5,000 kilometres under cents per kilometre ^[1] .
• Using cents per kilometre through a company or trust ^[1] .
• Deducting client lunches or claiming their GST ^[4] .
• Assuming an ABN means no super for a commission agent ^[11] .