The Little Black Book of Tax Deductions for Real Estate Agents

The quiet leak

Meet Steph's accountant. Thinks the car's "personal."

Steph lists, opens, drives all over town, and pays for her own photography, signboards and social ads to win listings. Her accountant did a tidy return, claimed her phone, and charged her $400.

He treated her car like a commute and her marketing like a hobby. Never set up the logbook, never asked what she funds herself. Why would he? He pockets his $400 whether Steph gets $1,000 back or $10,000.

On commission, with a car that's basically a mobile office, Steph's been leaving the biggest deductions of any profession sitting on his desk.

Steph's leak — one year

Car — logbook (listings, opens)$5,500

Self-funded marketing & advertising$2,000

Phone, subscriptions & licence$1,600

Client gifts & home office$400

Back in her pocket~$2,850

The fix

You don't need to do your own tax. You need to run the one who does.

Leave the lodging to the accountant — you're paying for it. You just need to know what's yours to claim, what to bring, and exactly what to tell them to chase.

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Plain English

No jargon. What you can claim and why — sorted between opens.

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Audit-safe

Every claim tied to a current ATO ruling. I tell you what you can't claim too — important when the car and marketing are big.

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5 minutes a week

A dead-simple system so the logbook and ad spend are captured as you go, not reconstructed in July.

The maths

It's a tool, not a book. And it can't really cost you.

01 · It's a tool

Comes with the Accountant Brief

Fill in the one-page brief + the deduction index, hand them over, and watch nothing slip through. You don't read this once — you use it. See the brief →

02 · It's a write-off

The cost is itself deductible

Managing your tax affairs is deductible (ATO s25-5). Keep the receipt and have your accountant claim it — a tax tool that's also a tax deduction.

03 · It's guaranteed

Pays for itself, or it's free

If it doesn't claw back more than it cost, email me within 60 days for a full refund. Keep the book.

Pays for itself · deductible · guaranteed — the only way to lose is to keep overpaying.

How it works

Vet. Arm. Direct. Then watch them earn it.

01 · Vet

Appraise your accountant

Ten questions that out a coaster in five minutes. Pass: keep them. Fail: list elsewhere.

02 · Arm

Bring the file

The logbook, the ad invoices, the lot — so nothing "slips through" and they can't blame the paperwork.

03 · Direct

Tell them what to chase

The car, the marketing, the subscriptions. You point, they fetch. That's the fee.

What's inside

The cheat sheet — plus the boring detail, for the keen.

Is your accountant actually any good? (Spoiler: maybe not)

The ten questions that out a coaster in five minutes.

The car: your biggest deduction

Logbook vs cents-per-km, what counts as a work trip, and the records that win it.

Self-funded marketing & the agent's kit

Photography, signage, social ads, subscriptions, licence — what's yours to claim.

What you can't claim

Grooming, the suit, client lunches — where the ATO draws the line, so you don't.

Sole trader, PAYG & structure

The questions to actually put to your accountant on commission income.

By the numbers

This isn't dodgy. It's the money that's already yours.

Minimisation, never evasion — every figure tied to current ATO guidance.

$2,850average an agent was leaving behind, every year

88¢per km, or full logbook — whichever pays you more

100%of claims cited to current ATO rulings · audit-safe

Who's writing this

"I'm not an accountant. I'm the bloke who reads the rules everyone else skips — and tells you which ones are quietly costing you money."

I'm Joshua. I'm 30, and I've spent my life pulling systems apart to see how they really work. I've made a fortune, lost it, and learned more from the losing than the winning.

Everything's a system — tax, money, even a negotiation. Every one has a way in once you can see it. Tax is just the first one worth learning to beat, because it's the one quietly costing you the most. I'm not turning you into an accountant. I'm showing you how the game works so the person you pay actually plays it for you.

— Joshua

What agents say

From the open home.

★★★★★

"My accountant treated my car like a commute. Set up the logbook properly — $4,800 back. Best $24 I've spent."

SRSteph R. · sales agent, Adelaide

★★★★★

"Never claimed my own marketing spend. Turns out it's all deductible. Read it in a slow week."

DLDom · property, SA

★★★★★

"Straight talk, a bit of a laugh, and real money back. Shared it with the whole office."

ACAmara · leasing

Coming soon

This one's not out yet — get first dibs.

The Nurses & Midwives edition is live now. The Real Estate Agents edition is in the works. Join the waitlist — you'll be first to know, and first to the launch price.

Straight answers

The questions you're actually thinking.

Is this legal?

Completely. Tax minimisation — claiming what the law already lets you — not evasion. Every claim's tied to a current ATO ruling, and I tell you what you can't claim (the suit, the grooming, the client lunch) so you never overstep.

Are you an accountant?

No — and you don't need another one. I teach you to run the one you've got and spot when they're phoning it in. For the commission-income stuff I tell you exactly when to make them earn the fee.

Isn't this just doing my own tax?

No — you've got listings to win. This is about managing your accountant: bring the logbook and invoices, tell them what to chase, don't get fobbed off.

What if it doesn't help me?

Then you don't pay. 60-day, no-questions refund. If it doesn't claw back more than $24, email me — keep the book, I'll wear it.

Not ready? Start free.

The 5 deductions your accountant keeps "forgetting."

Drop your email and I'll send the free cheat sheet — the checklist, a logbook template, and the 60-second refund calculator. Genuinely useful, no spam.