28/08/2026
Someone recently said to me:
“It’s under $300, so I don’t keep the receipt. I just claim it at tax time.” The $300 rule is real.
But that does not mean every business expense under $300 can go unsupported.
The commonly quoted $300 written evidence threshold relates to certain work related expenses for employees. It is not a blanket exemption from business record keeping requirements.
If you run a business, your records still need to explain your transactions and support the amounts you claim. This is where the bigger problem starts.
A bank transaction might tell you:
Bunnings
$186.40
12 March
But six or 12 months later, will you remember exactly what you bought?
Was all of it for the business?
Was any of it private?
How should it have been recorded?
One transaction is manageable, multiply it across an entire year and you get missing information, questions, chasing, bookkeeping clean-up, extra time and extra cost.
If the ATO ever asks you to substantiate an expense, you want the supporting records there. The better approach is not to become better at remembering. It is to stop relying on memory. Capture the record when the transaction happens. Match it to the transaction. Deal with questions while the information is still fresh.
Good systems make the work easier.
They create cleaner records, reduce stress, unnecessary clean-up and save time and money later.
The belief to change is not:
“I need to keep more receipts.”
It is:
“My business should not rely on me remembering what happened.”
That is the difference between bookkeeping you clean up later and a system that supports the way your business actually operates.
Have you heard the “under $300” rule before?
*General information only. Your tax treatment will depend on your circumstances. Speak with a registered tax agent about your specific deductions.
