Real estate agents in Australia are the professionals who can legitimately claim the highest tax deductions of all workers across the country.
This is according to new analysis of data from the Australian Taxation Office carried out by online tax service provider etax.com.au, which comprises a list of the ten types of worker who are able to claim the biggest tax deductions down under.
Real estate agents top the list, claiming an average of $8,634 off their tax bill each year due to the amount of expenses they are owed because of the travelling involved in their job and the fact that they often have to eat while on the go.
Lawyers came in second place, claiming $7,156 on average per financial year, followed by truck drivers ($5,059).
Fourth place goes to tradesmen ($4,871), fifth to farmers ($4,428), sixth to engineers ($4,115) and seventh to accountants ($3,224).
Completing the top ten are teachers in eighth place, claiming an average of $3,164 off the total of their final tax bills each year, followed by nurses in ninth place with deductions of $2,622 and lastly bankers in tenth place ($2,223).
The report authors highlighted that these figures are often wrongly interpreted, as some think they suggest that workers in certain fields are trying to dodge paying their taxes.
However, Simone Gielis, a senior tax agent for etax.com.au, explained: "The top claiming fields tend to have two things in common: the nature of their work means they have a lot of work-related expenses and the employing company doesn't offset or reimburse them for these costs.
"So, checkout operators who have minimal expenses will have lower claims - as reflected in the occupation's average deduction of $814."
The analysis also found that lawyers are the most charitable professionals in Australia, claiming $1,173 worth of gifts and donations each year, which is significantly above the national average of $650.
