Australian content creators running a business can deduct most costs directly tied to earning their creator income: camera and audio gear, editing software, home studio running costs, internet and phone (apportioned), travel for content, contractor fees and vehicle expenses. For FY2025-26, small businesses can immediately write off eligible equipment costing under $20,000 under the instant asset write-off, and once your turnover from all income streams hits $75,000 you must register for GST. Everything you earn as a creator, including gifted products with strings attached, is assessable income.
Here is the full deduction list by category, how the ATO treats each revenue stream, and the traps that catch creators at tax time.
First, the Ground Rule: Business vs Hobby
You can only claim business expenses if you are actually carrying on a business. Most monetised creators are: profit-making intention, regular posting, invoicing brands. If that’s you, you should have an ABN, and the deductions below are on the table. The golden rule for every expense: it must be incurred in earning your assessable income, you can only claim the business-use portion, and you need a record to prove it.
The Full Deduction List by Category
Camera, Audio and Tech Gear
Cameras, lenses, microphones, lighting, drones, computers, monitors, capture cards, hard drives and SD cards are all deductible to the extent you use them for your creator business.
How you claim depends on cost. Under the instant asset write-off, eligible small businesses (aggregated turnover under $10 million, using simplified depreciation) can immediately deduct the full business portion of assets costing less than $20,000, provided the asset is first used or installed ready for use between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. The threshold applies per asset, so a camera body, a lens kit and an editing computer can each be written off in the same year. Assets at $20,000 or above go into the small business depreciation pool and are deducted over time instead.
A timing note: the $20,000 threshold is legislated only to 30 June 2026. The government announced in the 2026-27 Budget that it intends to make it permanent from 1 July 2026, but that measure is not yet law, so don’t bank a purchase plan on it.
Gear used partly for personal purposes is apportioned: a camera used 80% for content gives you 80% of the claim.
Home Studio: Running Costs vs Occupancy Costs
This is the category creators get wrong most often, because there are two very different types of home expense:
- Running costs — electricity, gas, internet, phone, stationery, cleaning of a dedicated work area. Almost every creator working from home can claim these.
- Occupancy costs — rent, mortgage interest, council rates, home insurance. You can generally only claim these if part of your home is a genuine place of business (a dedicated studio that isn’t suitable for ordinary domestic use), not just a desk in the spare room.
For running costs you have two methods. The ATO’s fixed rate method allows 70 cents per hour worked from home for 2025-26, bundling electricity, gas, internet, phone and stationery into one rate, and it requires a contemporaneous record of your actual hours, not a year-end estimate. The actual cost method claims the work-related portion of each bill instead, which often produces a bigger deduction for full-time creators with a dedicated studio but demands more records.
One warning for homeowners: claiming occupancy costs means part of your home is being used to produce income, which can expose that portion of the home to capital gains tax when you sell. Get advice before claiming rent or mortgage interest against your house.
Software and Subscriptions
Recurring tools are fully deductible where used for the business: Adobe Creative Cloud, Final Cut Pro, Canva, music licensing (Epidemic Sound, Artlist), analytics tools (TubeBuddy, vidIQ), cloud storage, website hosting, stock footage, AI tools used in production, and accounting software like Xero.
Props, Wardrobe and Sets
Props, backdrops, set dressing and consumables bought specifically for content are deductible. Wardrobe is stricter. Conventional clothing is not deductible even if you only wear it on camera; the ATO treats everyday clothes as private regardless of how good they look in a thumbnail. Costumes and character outfits that aren’t ordinary streetwear can qualify, and the same logic separates everyday makeup and grooming (private) from special-effects or character makeup used purely for content.
Internet and Phone
If you claim the 70 cents per hour fixed rate, internet and phone are already included and cannot be claimed again on top. If you use the actual cost method, apportion each bill between business and personal use and keep a four-week diary or usage records to support the percentage. For a full-time creator uploading large video files, a high business-use percentage is defensible, but it has to be evidenced, not guessed.
Travel and Content Trips
Flights, accommodation and transport are deductible where the primary purpose of the trip is creating content or attending industry events. A holiday with some incidental vlogging is not a business trip. Where a trip is mixed, apportion the costs and keep a travel diary showing what you did each day.
Contractors, Editors and Outsourcing
Payments to video editors, thumbnail designers, scriptwriters, virtual assistants, photographers and managers or agents are deductible, as are accounting and legal fees. Overseas freelancers are deductible too; keep invoices and payment records as you would for a local supplier.
Vehicle
Driving to shoot locations, client meetings, equipment pickups and events is business travel (ordinary commuting to a regular external workplace is not). For 2025-26 the cents per kilometre method pays 88 cents per kilometre, capped at 5,000 business kilometres per car, a maximum claim of $4,400. For heavier vehicle use, the logbook method claims the business percentage of all running costs and depreciation, based on a 12-week logbook.
Deduction Snapshot
| Category | How to claim in FY2025-26 | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Gear under $20,000 | Immediate deduction (instant asset write-off, business portion) | Must be installed ready for use by 30 June 2026 |
| Gear $20,000+ | Small business pool depreciation | Threshold is per asset, GST treatment affects the cost test |
| Home studio running costs | 70c/hour fixed rate or actual costs | No double-claiming phone/internet on top of the fixed rate |
| Occupancy costs (rent, mortgage interest) | Only if home is a genuine place of business | Possible CGT consequences for homeowners |
| Software and subscriptions | Fully deductible if business use | Apportion anything with personal use |
| Wardrobe | Costumes and character outfits only | Conventional clothing is never deductible |
| Vehicle | 88c/km (max 5,000 km) or logbook | Commuting isn’t business travel |
| Contractors and editors | Fully deductible | Keep invoices, including for overseas freelancers |
Book a free consultation if you’d rather have content creator accountants map your deductions properly before 30 June.
Creator Income Streams in Australia: All of It Is Assessable
Most full-time creators in Australia earn from five or more streams, and the mix shifts month to month. The tax position is simpler than the income: every stream is assessable income of the one creator business, and it all counts toward your GST turnover.
| Income stream | Tax treatment |
|---|---|
| Ad revenue (AdSense, TikTok Creator programs) | Assessable business income, declared in AUD at the exchange rate when paid |
| Brand deals and sponsorships | Assessable, including the market value of non-cash payments |
| Affiliate commissions | Assessable business income |
| Subscriptions (Patreon, OnlyFans, YouTube memberships, Twitch subs) | Assessable business income |
| Merchandise sales | Assessable; GST applies on Australian sales if registered |
| Licensing and UGC content fees | Assessable business income |
| Tips and live-stream gifts (Super Chat, Twitch bits) | Assessable business income |
| Gifted products with an obligation attached | Assessable at market value |
Gifted products trip up creators constantly. If a brand sends you a $2,000 camera and expects coverage in return, that’s $2,000 of assessable income, even though no cash changed hands. Genuinely unsolicited freebies of trivial value are a different matter, but anything received under an agreement to create content is income at its market value. The upside: the gifted item becomes a business asset you can depreciate or write off.
The ATO doesn’t rely on your honesty alone. Electronic platforms report Australian users’ income under the sharing economy reporting regime, and the ATO data-matches bank deposits from Google, PayPal, Stripe and brand payments. Declare every stream.
If YouTube is your main platform, our tax guide for YouTubers in Australia goes deeper on AdSense, ABNs and channel-specific issues.
GST: The $75,000 Trigger
You must register for GST once your GST turnover reaches $75,000, or as soon as you expect it to. Two things creators routinely miss:
- Turnover means gross income across all streams, not profit. AdSense plus Patreon plus brand deals plus merch all count together.
- AdSense income still counts toward the threshold even though payments from Google’s overseas entity are typically GST-free exports on which you don’t charge GST. A creator earning $70,000 from AdSense and $10,000 from Australian brand deals is over the threshold.
You have 21 days to register once you cross the line. After registering, you charge 10% GST on invoices to Australian brands and on Australian merch sales, lodge Business Activity Statements (usually quarterly), and claim GST credits on business purchases, including that new camera.
Record-Keeping That Survives an Audit
The ATO requires business records to be kept for five years. The practical minimum for a creator:
- A separate business bank account so creator income doesn’t blur into personal spending
- Receipts or tax invoices for every claimed expense (digital copies are fine)
- A contemporaneous record of home-studio hours for the fixed rate method
- A usage diary supporting internet, phone and equipment percentages
- Records of gifted products and their market value
What You Can’t Claim
- Conventional clothing, everyday makeup, haircuts, gym memberships and cosmetic work, even if your appearance is part of your brand
- The personal-use portion of any asset or bill
- Occupancy costs without a genuine home place of business
- Holidays with incidental content shot along the way
- Entertainment, like dinner with friends loosely called a “collab”
- Fines, penalties, and anything you can’t substantiate with records
Common Mistakes Creators Make
- Not declaring gifted products. Brands and platforms leave a paper trail; the ATO can find it.
- Missing the GST threshold because no single stream is near $75,000 but the combined total is.
- Claiming 100% business use on a phone, laptop or internet plan that obviously has personal use.
- Double-claiming internet and phone on top of the 70c fixed rate.
- No records of work-from-home hours, which sinks the fixed rate claim entirely.
- Spending the tax money instead of setting it aside, then facing the bill at lodgment.
If you create across platforms or mix creator income with freelance client work, the creative freelancer tax guide covers the freelance side of the ledger.
FAQ: Content Creator Business Expenses
Can I claim my camera as an instant tax deduction in 2025-26?
Yes, if you’re running a business as a small business entity. The instant asset write-off lets eligible small businesses immediately deduct the business portion of assets costing under $20,000 that are first used or installed ready for use by 30 June 2026. If you also use the camera personally, you can only write off the business-use percentage.
Are gifted products from brands taxable in Australia?
Yes, if there’s an obligation attached. A product received in exchange for a post, review or coverage is assessable income at its market value, even though no cash changed hands. The item then becomes a business asset you may be able to depreciate or write off.
Do all my income streams count toward the $75,000 GST threshold?
Yes. GST turnover is your combined gross income from the whole creator business: ad revenue, brand deals, affiliate commissions, subscriptions, merch and licensing. AdSense counts toward the threshold even though it’s typically a GST-free export. Once you reach or expect to reach $75,000, you have 21 days to register.
Can I claim rent for my home studio?
Only if part of your home is a genuine place of business, such as a dedicated studio not suitable for ordinary domestic use. Most creators instead claim running costs at the ATO fixed rate of 70 cents per hour worked from home, or using actual costs. Homeowners should get advice first, because claiming occupancy costs can create capital gains tax exposure.
Is the clothing I wear in my videos deductible?
Generally no. Conventional clothing is private expenditure even if bought specifically for content. Costumes, character outfits and items that aren’t ordinary streetwear can be deductible, as can props and set pieces used purely for production.
How long do I need to keep receipts?
Five years. Keep tax invoices for expenses, records of all income streams including gifted products, a log of work-from-home hours if using the fixed rate method, and usage records supporting any apportionment percentages.
Get Your Deductions Sorted Before 30 June
Creator businesses leave money on the table in two ways: missed deductions, and aggressive claims that unravel under review. We work with content creators every week on exactly this line, from instant asset write-off timing to GST registration across multiple income streams. Book a free consultation and bring your messiest spreadsheet.