If you receive an allowance from your employer (e.g. car, laundry etc.), it does not automatically entitle you to a deduction. You still need to show that you have spent the money and it was related to your job. 
The ATO will be paying extra attention to taxpayers whose deduction claims are higher than expected, in particular:
- car expenses claims including those for transporting bulky tools;
- travel;
- internet and mobile phone; and
- self-education.
The ATO will be focusing on taxpayers deliberately making incorrect claims. These include claims for car expenses where log books have been made up and claims for self-education expenses where invoices were supplied for conferences that the taxpayer never attended.
The ATO has introduced real-time checks of deductions for income tax returns completed online. If your claims are substantially higher than others in similar occupations, earning similar amounts of income, a message will appear, asking you to check them. This new process is about helping you to make sure your claims are correct.
If you make an honest mistake the ATO will help you fix it and correct your income tax return. They will not penalise you if you genuinely tried to get it right. But if you didn’t make a reasonable or genuine attempt to get it right or are intentionally doing the wrong thing, you may receive a penalty.
There is a range of guides including specific occupation guides on the ATO website to help taxpayers understand what they can claim.
WORK-RELATED ITEMS EXEMPT FROM FBT
Subject to the limitations below, a number of employee benefits are exempt from fringe benefits tax (FBT), including the following work-related items:
- portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, portable printers and GPS navigation receivers;
- computer software;
- protective clothing;
- briefcases; and
- tools of trade.
The FBT exemption is limited to:
- items primarily for use in the employee's employment; and
- one item per FBT year for items that have a substantially identical function, unless the item is a replacement item.
From 1 April 2016, the exemption extends to small businesses that provide employees with more than one work-related portable electronic device in an FBT year – even if the devices have substantially identical functions. You must be a small business for at least one income year that starts or ends in the relevant FBT year.