The PT tax-time survival kit: how to make next year less painful

Most trainers meet their tax for the first time in a rush: a shoebox of receipts, a bank statement full of coffees and kettlebells mixed together, and a bill nobody saved for. None of that is hard to fix, but it has to be fixed during the year, not in the fortnight before your accountant's deadline.

This is a checklist for a sole-trader PT in Australia. It is general information to help you get organised and ask your accountant better questions, not tax advice. The figures are the ATO's for the 2026-27 year, which runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.

1. Give the business its own bank account

The single change that saves the most time is a separate account that only business money goes through. Client payments land in it, business expenses come out of it, and you pay yourself a regular amount into your personal account.

It does not need to be a fancy business product. A second everyday account in your name works for a sole trader. What matters is that every line on the statement is a business line, so you are not sorting personal groceries from gym rent in June. If you take payments through a platform like Stripe, point its payouts at this account too.

2. Keep the receipt and the tax code on every expense

An expense you cannot prove is an expense you may not be able to claim. The ATO expects a record of each one: who you paid, what for, how much, and when. Bank statements show the money left, but not always what it bought.

Get into the habit of recording each expense when it happens:

• Photograph the receipt on the spot, or save the emailed invoice, and attach it to the expense.
• Give it a category: rent, equipment, insurance, education, marketing, software, vehicle, phone.
• Give it a tax code: GST (10%), GST-free, input-taxed or no GST. This matters even if you are not registered for GST yet, because it is what lets your accountant claim the right credits once you are.
• Add a note for anything unusual, such as the business share of a mixed-use item.

Ten minutes a week does it. Leaving it to the end of the year turns it into a weekend of hunting through emails and fading thermal paper.

TrainerStack's expenses page is built around this habit: each expense carries its Australian tax code with the GST split out, the receipt stays attached, and the year exports as one CSV for your accountant. Whatever you use, a spreadsheet works too, as long as every line has its receipt and its code.

3. Know where you stand on GST and the BAS

You must register for GST once your GST turnover reaches $75,000 in a 12-month period, or you expect it to. Turnover here is your gross business income, not your profit, so a busy trainer can cross it sooner than they think. Below that, registration is optional.

Once registered, you charge 10% GST on your sessions and packs, claim back the GST on business purchases, and lodge a Business Activity Statement, usually quarterly. The BAS is where the tax codes from step 2 pay off: if every expense is coded, the GST you paid is a total, not a project. For anything you buy over $82.50 including GST, ask for a tax invoice so the credit is safe to claim.

The full picture, with an example quarter, is in our guide to GST for personal trainers.

4. Know what you can usually claim

For a sole trader, an expense is generally deductible when it is spent earning your business income, you paid it yourself, and you can show the record. If something is used partly for private purposes, you claim only the business share. The common ones for trainers:

• Equipment. Kettlebells, bands, a rower, a bench for the garage studio. Small businesses with an aggregated turnover under $10 million can generally claim an immediate deduction for each eligible asset costing less than $20,000, under the instant asset write-off the ATO confirms is permanent from 1 July 2026. Assets costing $20,000 or more are depreciated over time.
• Gym rent and floor fees. Rent to a gym, studio hire, or the fee a gym charges you to train clients there.
• Insurance. Public liability and professional indemnity cover. Income protection premiums held outside super are generally claimed on your own return as well.
• Courses and registration. Continuing education to keep your registration current, first aid and CPR renewals, and courses that maintain or improve the skills you already use in the business. A course to move into a new career is generally not deductible.
• Phone and internet. The business-use share. Keep a diary of calls and use over a typical four-week period so the percentage you claim has a basis.
• Car. Driving between clients, between gyms, or to buy equipment is generally business travel; the trip from home to a regular gym is generally private. You can claim 91 cents a kilometre for 2026-27, up to 5,000 business kilometres per car, with a record of how you worked out the kilometres. Above that, or if your costs are higher, a 12-week logbook lets you claim the business share of actual costs.
• Home studio. If part of your home is set up as a place of business, such as a garage studio where clients train, you may be able to claim a share of occupancy costs like rent or mortgage interest, rates and insurance, as well as running costs. This can affect the capital gains tax exemption on your home when you sell, so talk it through with your accountant first. If you only do admin at home, it is running costs such as power and internet, not occupancy.
• The rest of the business. Software and your coaching platform, marketing, a logo uniform, sunscreen and a hat for outdoor sessions, bank and merchant fees, accounting fees.

What generally does not count, however fitness-related it feels: your own gym membership for your own training, plain activewear and running shoes, supplements, everyday meals and haircuts.

Personal super contributions are worth a word with your accountant too. A sole trader can usually claim a deduction for contributions made from after-tax money, provided they give their fund a notice of intent and get it acknowledged before lodging.

5. Set money aside every month

The tax bill is a surprise only if nothing was put away for it. As a sole trader no one withholds tax from your client payments, so you have to do it yourself.

Open a second account and move a share of each month's profit into it. To get a feel for the size, here are the 2026-27 resident rates:

Most residents also pay the 2% Medicare levy. As an example, a trainer with $70,000 of profit and no other income would owe about $11,520 in income tax plus $1,400 Medicare levy, close to $12,900 for the year, or roughly $1,080 a month. That is before offsets, study loan repayments and anything else particular to you, so treat it as a rough budget figure. If you also earn wages, remember the tax-free threshold has usually been used by your job, so your business profit is taxed from a higher starting point.

If you are registered for GST, the GST inside each payment is not yours either. One eleventh of every GST-inclusive payment belongs in the set-aside account until the BAS is paid.

After your first year with a decent profit, the ATO is likely to put you into PAYG instalments. Individuals, sole traders included, are entered automatically once their latest return shows $4,000 or more of business and investment income, $1,000 or more of tax payable and notional tax of $500 or more. You then pay towards the current year's tax each quarter, usually on your BAS. The first year can feel like a double hit, with last year's bill and this year's instalments arriving close together, which is exactly why the monthly saving habit matters.

In TrainerStack, the Set aside for tax card on My Analytics works this out month by month from your recorded profit, for a sole trader, a company or a flat rate you choose, with room for other income. Like any estimate it is a budgeting guide, not your actual bill.

6. Keep a simple rhythm through the year

You do not need a big system. A few fixed habits cover it:

• Weekly: record the week's expenses with receipts and codes, and record any cash payments.
• Monthly: move the month's set-aside into the tax account, and look at your profit and loss for the month. A cost creeping up is easier to see month to month than in a year-end total.
• Quarterly: lodge the BAS if you are registered, and pay any PAYG instalment.
• Before 30 June: buy equipment you genuinely need for the business if the timing suits, check any super contribution has reached your fund, and note your car kilometres and phone percentage for the year.
• July to October: book your accountant early, while the year is fresh, and send everything in one go. Individuals lodging their own return are due on 31 October; a registered tax agent can usually lodge later for you.

At the end of the year, take ten minutes to ask what to change: which services paid well for the hours, which expenses grew without a reason, whether you set aside enough, and what would make next year easier.

7. The records your accountant will ask for

Arrive with these and the meeting is short, and usually cheaper:

• Income for the year. Every payment, by month, including cash. If you take card payments, the platform's payout and fee statements.
• Expenses for the year. Each one with its category, tax code and receipt, ideally as a single export with totals per category.
• A profit and loss statement for 1 July to 30 June, showing income, costs and net profit.
• BAS and PAYG. Copies of each BAS lodged and the instalments you paid.
• Assets bought. Date, cost and business-use share for each piece of equipment, so the write-off or depreciation is right.
• Car and phone records. Your kilometre record or logbook, and your phone use diary.
• Home studio details. The floor area used for the business and the household costs, if you are claiming occupancy.
• Other income. Your wages income statement from myGov, interest, and any other earnings.
• Super. Contributions made and the fund's acknowledgement of your notice of intent.

The ATO's general rule is to keep most business records for five years from when you made them or the transaction finished, whichever is later. A digital copy is fine if it is a true and clear copy of the original.

TrainerStack's profit and loss on My Analytics lays out income and costs, and GST if you are registered, for a month, a BAS quarter or the financial year, and exports as CSV or prints to PDF, so the list above is mostly two downloads. It keeps your records tidy; your accountant still does the return.

Frequently asked questions

What can personal trainers claim on tax in Australia?

Generally, costs spent earning your training income: equipment, gym rent or floor fees, insurance, courses that keep your skills and registration current, the business share of your phone, internet and car, software, marketing and a logo uniform. Your own gym membership, plain activewear and supplements are generally private. Check anything unusual with your accountant.

How much should a personal trainer set aside for tax?

It depends on your profit and other income. Using the 2026-27 rates, a sole trader with $70,000 of profit and no other income would owe roughly $12,900 including the Medicare levy, about 18% of profit. With wages on top, or a higher profit, the share is larger. If you are registered for GST, set aside one eleventh of GST-inclusive takings as well.

Can I claim my own gym membership as a PT?

Generally no. The ATO treats keeping yourself fit as private, even when fitness is your job. Rent or floor fees you pay a gym to train clients there are a business expense.

Do I need a separate bank account as a sole trader?

It is not a legal requirement, but it makes your records far easier to keep and check, and it is the first thing most accountants recommend.

How long do I need to keep receipts?

The ATO's general rule is five years from when the record was made or the transaction was completed, whichever is later. Records for assets you are depreciating are kept longer. Digital copies are accepted if they are clear and complete.