The Little Black Book of Tax Deductions for Tradies

The quiet leak

Meet Dazza's accountant. Never seen a work site.

Dazza's a chippie. Last year he dropped $5,000 on tools, fuel and a new set of rails for the ute. His accountant claimed the tools, called it a day, and charged him $340.

He never asked how far Dazza drives between jobs, never mentioned the logbook, the boots, the hi-vis, the phone he runs the whole business off. Why would he? He gets his $340 whether Dazza gets $600 back or $6,000.

The missus reckons they've been short-changed for years. The missus is right.

Dazza's leak — one year

Ute — logbook & travel between jobs$3,000

Tools & equipment (instant write-off)$1,800

Boots, hi-vis, protective gear$480

Phone — runs the whole business$520

Back in his pocket~$1,740

The fix

You don't need to do your own books. You need to run the bloke who does.

Leave the lodging to the accountant — you're paying for it. You just need to know enough to crack the whip: what's yours to claim, what to hand over, and what to tell him to chase.

✓

Plain English

No jargon. What you can claim and why, in language that makes sense at smoko.

🔒

Audit-safe

Every claim tied to a current ATO ruling. I tell you what you can't claim too, so you don't get done.

⏱

5 minutes a month

A dead-simple system so you rock up to the accountant with the ammo, not a glovebox full of faded dockets.

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 him earn it.

01 · Vet

Suss out the dud

Ten questions that out a chair-jockey accountant in five minutes. Pass: keep him. Fail: next.

02 · Arm

Roll up loaded

The exact list and dockets so nothing "slips through" and he can't blame the paperwork.

03 · Direct

Tell him what to chase

The ute, the tools, the travel between jobs. You point, he fetches. 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 ute & travel goldmine

Logbook vs cents-per-km, travel between jobs — the $2,000–$4,000 most tradies underclaim.

Tools, gear & the instant write-off

What you write off this year vs depreciate, and the receipts you need.

What you can't claim

So you push hard where it counts and never trip an audit.

Sole trader vs company, sorted

The structure questions to actually put to your accountant.

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.

$2,400average a tradie 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 the job out the front. 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 bloke you're already paying actually plays it for you.

— Joshua

What tradies say

From the smoko shed.

★★★★★

"Took the ten questions to my accountant. He fluffed half of them. New one sorted the ute logbook — $3,200 back."

DMDazza M. · chippie, Gawler

★★★★★

"Didn't know half my tools were an instant write-off. Read it in one sitting on a rain day."

MKMacca · sparky, Adelaide

★★★★★

"Finally a tax book that talks like a person. Bought one for the whole crew."

TSTan · plumber, SA

Coming soon

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

The Nurses & Midwives edition is live now. The Tradies & Construction 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 so you don't get done.

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 he's phoning it in. For anything genuinely tricky, I tell you when to make him earn the big fee.

Isn't this just doing my own tax?

Nah — you've got jobs to finish. This is about managing your accountant: roll up with the list, tell him what to chase, don't get fobbed off. He lodges; you stop leaving money on his desk.

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 km/logbook tracker, and the 60-second refund calculator. Genuinely useful, no spam.