Wacky items you can claim at tax time

SEX toys, breast implants and Xbox consoles ... you won’t believe what some Aussies are successfully claiming on their tax returns.

Gamer. Concentrated female playing video games and X-Box. Picture: iStock.

SEX toys, breast implants and Xbox consoles are among some of the strangest tax deductions that Australians have made and successfully claimed.

Savvy taxpayers are being smarter about what they can get the green light on at tax time but the Australian Taxation Office has warned taxpayers that they are watching claims closely to ensure they are legitimate.

Findings from one of the nation’s largest tax accountancy firms H & R Block found adult performers have been reimbursed for sex toy purchases and exotic dancers have received money back for costly breast implant surgeries.

Xbox consoles, pool tables and ping-pong tables are also among some of the surprising but successful tax deductions lodged by businesses and even the cost of ceremonial swords for professional sword swallowers have been reimbursed.

H & R Block’s director of tax communications Mark Chapman said for Australians who have a wacky job, claiming what seems outlandish deductions may make perfect sense.

H & R Block’s director of tax communications Mark Chapman said for Australians with unusual jobs they are likely to be able to make unusual claims.

“For those with jobs a bit left of field, the chances are you might be putting in some unusual tax claims,’’ he said.

“Provided there’s a link between what you are claiming for and what your occupation is then by and large these wacky deductions are OK.”

ATO figures show already more than 716,000 Australians have lodged their 2014/15 financial year returns using MyTax — a quick and easy online tool to lodge using a smartphone, tablet or computer.

This is nearly double the amount at the same time last year.

The average return is about $2600.

And more than 355,000 Australians have used the ATO’s e-Tax service to lodge their return, a comprehensive online lodgement option for people with more complex tax affairs.

But the ATO’s assistant commissioner of small business and individual taxpayers, Graham Whyte, warned that sophisticated analytics and data-matching techniques would catch out cheating taxpayers.

“We are now able to analyse how you compare with your nearest neighbour, for example someone with a similar occupation and from a similar suburb to see those claims outside of the norm,’’ he said.

He said the three golden rules to makes a claim includes making sure the claim is relevant to your job, it’s not a private expense and there needs to be a receipt.