Personal trainers in 2026-27 can claim a surprisingly long list of work expenses — registration and CEC courses, car travel between clients, logoed kit, software, insurance and home programming hours. But the one deduction most trainers expect, their own gym membership, is the one the ATO almost always refuses. This guide works through what you can claim, what you cannot, and the exact dollar difference between itemising and taking the new $1,000 standard deduction.
The quick answer
If you are an employed personal trainer on a $68,000 salary, a realistic itemised claim in 2026-27 looks like this: car travel 3,200 km at 91c/km ($2,912), home programming hours ($201.60), work share of your phone ($840), logoed kit and laundry ($450), CEC courses ($1,100), first aid and CPR renewal ($180) and sun protection for outdoor sessions ($120) — a total of $5,803.60. At a 30% marginal rate that saves about $1,741 in tax. The $1,000 standard deduction would save only $300. Itemising wins by about $1,441 for this trainer. But if your itemised total is under $1,000, take the standard deduction and skip the receipts shoebox.
Employed, contractor or sole trader? It changes everything
Most personal trainers work under one of three arrangements, and the same expense is treated differently in each:
- Employed by a gym (casual or part-time). You claim work-related deductions on your individual return. You can only claim what you paid for yourself and were not reimbursed for.
- Contractor paying floor rent. You rent space in a gym, set your own prices and keep your client fees. Your floor rent, insurance, software and marketing are business expenses, claimed on the business schedule of your return.
- Mobile or online sole trader. You train clients at their homes, parks or online. Car travel, equipment, software and home-office costs are business expenses, and once your turnover passes $75,000 you must register for GST within 21 days.
The traps in this guide apply to all three, but the worked examples spell out which arrangement they assume. If you are on a commission split (say 60/40 with the gym), your assessable income is your share only — you cannot claim the gym’s 40% as an expense, because it was never your income.
What you can claim in 2026-27
1. Registration and CECs
AUSactive professional registration is the industry standard most gyms require before they will employ you, and the registration fee is deductible when you pay it yourself to maintain your current registration. To renew, AUSactive requires 20 Continuing Education Credits (CECs) completed in the two years before renewal, plus current first aid and CPR certification from a registered training organisation.
CEC courses that maintain or improve the skills of your current role are deductible: strength and conditioning workshops, group fitness qualifications, nutrition short courses, Pilates or reformer training you actually use with clients. Keep the invoice and the certificate of completion — the CEC record doubles as your substantiation.
The timing trap: the CEC clock runs on a two-year registration cycle, not the tax year. If you bunch all 20 CECs into June to renew in July, the whole cost lands in one tax year and the next year has nothing to claim. Spreading courses across June and July can smooth your claim, but never buy a course you do not need just for the deduction — a $600 course saves you $180 at a 30% rate and still costs you $420.
2. First aid and CPR
First aid and CPR renewal is deductible when it is a condition of your registration or employment — which, for AUSactive registration, it is. This is one of the few courses where the “required for your current job” test is unambiguous. If your employer pays for it, you cannot claim it; if you pay, keep the certificate.
3. Car travel: 91c per kilometre, and the trips that count
The 2026-27 cents-per-kilometre rate is 91c, capped at 5,000 work kilometres per car per year — a maximum claim of $4,550. It covers all running costs, so you cannot add fuel, rego or servicing on top. The rate is 89c base plus a one-off 2c uplift that applies to 2026-27 only.
What counts as work travel for a trainer:
- Driving between two workplaces on the same day — for example, morning PT sessions at one gym and an afternoon group class at another, or a gym shift followed by a swim-instructor shift at the local pool.
- Driving from your usual gym to an alternative workplace — a client’s home, a park bootcamp, a corporate session.
- Driving between client locations as a mobile trainer.
What does not count: the daily commute from home to your regular gym. That trip is private even if you go straight from bed to a 5:30 am client. The exception is narrow — home to an alternative workplace counts, home to your usual workplace does not. If you drive more than 5,000 work kilometres, the logbook method usually beats cents-per-kilometre: it lets you claim your actual business-use percentage of all car costs, with no kilometre cap, but requires a 12-week logbook and odometer records.
4. Clothing: logoed yes, activewear no
You can claim clothing that is a compulsory uniform or is occupation-specific and distinctive: a gym shirt, shorts or leggings carrying the gym’s or your business’s logo, and the cost of laundering them. You cannot claim plain activewear — track pants, shorts, tank tops, running shoes, socks and t-shirts — even if you bought them only for work and never wear them outside the gym. The ATO treats them as conventional clothing.
The exception that does help outdoor trainers: sun protection is deductible when you work outdoors. Hats, sunglasses and sunscreen for park sessions and bootcamps are claimable, and so are other genuinely protective items such as gloves for outdoor winter sessions.
5. Equipment you buy to train clients
Kit you buy yourself to deliver client sessions is deductible: resistance bands, mats, kettlebells, skipping ropes, a stopwatch, a heart-rate monitor you lend to clients. Items costing $300 or less are immediately deductible; items over $300 are depreciated over their effective life. For a sole trader, larger purchases may also qualify for the instant asset write-off.
The line the ATO draws is purpose, not product. The same kettlebell is deductible when you bought it for client sessions and private when you bought it for your own training. If you use an item for both, apportion it and keep a note of the split — a 70/30 work/private split on a $500 item gives a $350 claim, not $500.
6. Phone, software and home programming
Your phone is deductible at its work-related share, established with a four-week usage diary. If 70% of your calls, messages and data are client bookings, programming apps and check-ins, 70% of the handset and plan cost is claimable. Apply the same percentage consistently across the year.
Software you pay for yourself is deductible: client-management and programming platforms such as Trainerize, TrueCoach or My PT Hub, booking systems, meal-planning apps and accounting software. If you run your own studio and pay a music licence yourself so you can play music in classes, that licence is a business expense too — but if the gym pays it, you cannot claim it.
Programming and admin from home is claimable at the ATO fixed rate of 70c per hour for hours genuinely worked at home: writing programs, client check-ins, nutrition plans, invoicing. Six hours a week for 48 weeks is 288 hours, worth $201.60. You need a record of actual hours, not an estimate. If you run a dedicated home studio, occupancy costs (a share of rent or mortgage interest) are a different and riskier claim: they require an exclusively-used area, and claiming them can affect the main residence exemption on your home. Most trainers are better off with the 70c fixed rate and leaving occupancy alone.
7. Insurance and super (sole traders and contractors)
Public liability and professional indemnity insurance you pay for your own business are deductible business expenses. Income protection premiums on a policy you hold personally are deductible too — but premiums paid through your super fund are not deductible to you personally, because the fund claims them. Never claim the same premium twice.
Sole traders can also claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions up to the $30,000 concessional cap for 2026-27, provided you lodge a notice of intent with your fund. The fund pays 15% contributions tax, so the net saving is your marginal rate plus Medicare levy minus 15% — worked in the example below.
Worked example 1: Emma, employed trainer, $68,000
Emma works 30 hours a week at a suburban gym. She pays her own AUSactive registration, does her CECs, drives to a weekly park bootcamp and programs clients from home. Her 2026-27 itemised claim:
| Expense | Amount |
|---|---|
| Car: 3,200 work km × 91c | $2,912.00 |
| Home programming: 288 hours × 70c | $201.60 |
| Phone: 70% of $1,200 | $840.00 |
| Logoed kit and laundry | $450.00 |
| CEC courses | $1,100.00 |
| First aid and CPR renewal | $180.00 |
| Sun protection (outdoor sessions) | $120.00 |
| Total | $5,803.60 |
At her 30% marginal rate, the claim saves about $1,741 in tax. The $1,000 standard deduction would save $300. Itemising is worth $1,441 more — but only because Emma kept records: a log of work kilometres, a diary of home hours, a four-week phone record and invoices for every course.
Worked example 2: Jake, mobile sole trader, $95,000 turnover
Jake trains clients at their homes and in parks. His 2026-27 business expenses total $11,000: car 4,800 km at 91c ($4,368), equipment ($1,800), software ($720), insurance ($850), phone ($900), AUSactive and CECs ($1,400), home office ($350) and kit and sun protection ($612).
Without any super contribution, his taxable income is $84,000. Tax at 2026-27 resident rates is $15,720, plus $1,680 Medicare levy — $17,400 in total. If he makes a $10,000 concessional super contribution, taxable income falls to $74,000: tax $12,720 plus $1,480 Medicare levy = $14,200. The gross saving is $3,200; after the fund’s 15% contributions tax ($1,500), the net saving is $1,700 — and the money is now in his super.
Because Jake’s turnover exceeds $75,000, he must also register for GST within 21 days of passing the threshold, charge 10% GST on his sessions and lodge quarterly BAS statements. GST is separate from income tax: it is collected for the ATO, not kept. If his $95,000 of fees is GST-inclusive, $8,636 of it is GST payable, not income.
The gym membership trap, in dollars
The ATO’s position is blunt: gym fees are private expenses except in very limited circumstances where strenuous physical activity is an essential and regular element of the work and the person is regularly tested for a very high level of fitness — think special operations personnel, not personal trainers. H&R Block states it plainly: personal trainers and fitness instructors are specifically ruled out, even though they need to be fit for work.
The distinction that matters: rent is deductible, membership is not. If you pay floor rent to a gym so you can train your clients there, that rent is a business expense. If you pay a membership so you can train yourself there, it is private — even at the same gym, even on the same invoice. If your invoice bundles the two, ask the gym to split it. A trainer who wrongly claims a $1,040 annual membership at a 30% rate overstates their deduction by $1,040 and risks an amended assessment plus interest when the ATO’s data-matching picks it up.
Common mistakes
- Claiming your own training. Your own coach, your own program, your supplements and your protein powder are private. A course that teaches you how to coach others is deductible; coaching that improves your own body is not.
- Claiming the initial qualification. The Certificate III or IV that first qualifies you as a personal trainer is generally not deductible — it gets you the job rather than maintaining it. Short courses and CECs once you are working are a different story.
- Claiming the commute. Home to your regular gym is private, however early the session. Only travel between workplaces, or home to an alternative workplace, counts.
- Claiming what the gym already paid for. Kit, courses, insurance or music licences your employer or the gym provides or reimburses cannot be claimed again by you.
- Double-claiming the phone or car. If you claim the 91c rate, you cannot also claim fuel or servicing. If you claim the 70c home rate, you cannot also claim the same hours’ electricity and internet separately.
- Taking the standard deduction and itemising. The $1,000 standard deduction replaces itemised work deductions, it does not sit on top of them. Price both, then choose one.
- Forgetting the second job. If you also work a second job, travel between the two workplaces on the same day is deductible — and a second job without a second tax-free-threshold claim can still leave a bill, because the thresholds stack across both incomes.
Tips that actually save money
- Price the standard deduction every year. In a quiet year — few courses, low kilometres — $1,000 with no receipts may beat a thin itemised claim. In a busy year, itemise. The right answer changes year to year.
- Keep a rolling kilometre note. A phone note per trip (date, from, to, purpose) takes seconds and is worth hundreds of dollars at 91c/km. Reconstructing a year of trips from memory is how claims get cut.
- Batch CECs with intention. If a renewal falls in July, doing one course in June and one in July splits the deduction across two tax years instead of stacking it in one.
- Separate business money. A separate account for client fees and business spending makes BAS, GST and the super notice of intent straightforward — and makes an ATO review boring, which is exactly what you want.
- Check the GST threshold quarterly. Turnover creeping past $75,000 triggers a 21-day registration clock. Registering late means GST you should have collected comes out of your own pocket.
FAQ
Can personal trainers claim gym membership in Australia?
Almost never. The ATO allows gym fees only where the job depends on maintaining a very high level of fitness for which you are regularly tested. Personal trainers are specifically excluded from that exception. Floor rent you pay to train clients is deductible; a membership for your own training is not.
Can I claim my Cert III or IV in Fitness?
Generally no, if it is the qualification that first lets you work as a trainer — that is a cost of getting the job, not maintaining it. Once you are working, CEC courses, workshops and specialist training that maintain or improve your current skills are deductible.
Can I claim my own coach or my supplements?
No. Coaching for your own performance, supplements, protein powder and your own workout programming are private expenses, even though fitness is your profession. A course that teaches you to coach clients is deductible; coaching that trains your body is not.
I train clients from a home gym. Can I claim rent?
Running costs for home programming hours are covered by the 70c-per-hour fixed rate. Occupancy costs such as rent or mortgage interest are claimable only for an area used exclusively for business, and claiming them can reduce the main residence exemption when you sell. Get advice before claiming occupancy.
Do I need an ABN, and when does GST apply?
If you contract to gyms or train clients directly, you generally need an ABN and you invoice as a business. You must register for GST within 21 days of your turnover passing $75,000 in a 12-month period, then charge 10% GST and lodge BAS statements.
Is the $1,000 standard deduction better than itemising?
It depends on your year. At a 30% marginal rate it is worth $300. Emma’s $5,803.60 itemised claim is worth $1,741 — nearly six times as much. But a trainer with under $1,000 of genuine expenses is better off with the standard deduction and no record-keeping burden. Work both numbers before you lodge.
The bottom line
The personal trainer deduction list rewards the boring expenses — registration, CECs, kilometres, software, insurance — and refuses the glamorous one, your own membership. Keep a kilometre note, a home-hours diary and every course invoice, price the $1,000 standard deduction against your itemised total, and watch the GST threshold if you are building a mobile or online business. Done that way, a typical employed trainer’s claim is worth over $1,700 in tax saved, and a sole trader’s super contribution adds another $1,700 on top.
This guide is general information based on ATO guidance and 2026-27 rates, not personal tax advice. If your arrangement is unusual — a company structure, a trust, or a home studio with occupancy claims — check with a registered tax agent before lodging.
Work out your own numbers with the income tax calculator, check the super contributions calculator before making a concessional contribution, and see the GST calculator if your turnover is near $75,000. Related guides: Tax Deductions Australia 2026-27: The Complete Checklist, Car Expenses Tax Deduction Australia 2026-27, Work From Home Tax Deduction Australia, Sole Trader Tax Australia 2026-27, Super Contribution Caps Australia 2026-27, and Side Hustle Tax Australia 2026-27. Sources: ATO cents per kilometre method, ATO Employees guide for work expenses, and AUSactive professional registration FAQ.
