When it comes to claiming a deduction for a work-related expense, you must be able to satisfy three main rules: it must be directly related to earning your income; you must have a record to prove your claim; and, you must have personally incurred the expense and not have been reimbursed by your employer.
With the above in mind*, 64% of individuals claimed work-related expenses in their 2016-17 FY tax return, consisting of: 20% claiming <$500; 10% claiming $500-$1,000; and, 34% claiming >$1,000.
These pooled claims totalled $21.9B, consisting of: $8.6B in car expenses; $2.0B in travel expenses; $1.9B in clothing expenses; $1.1B in self-education expenses; and, $8.3B in other expenses, e.g. mobile/internet.
In this funny video, Jimmy Fallon talks to kids about what they think their parents do all day at work.
*ATO. Taxation statistics 2016–17 Individuals: Selected deductions, by deduction type, deduction claimed range and state/territory, 2016–17 income year. Data tables.