Tax Accountant for Lawyers & Barristers
Discreet, precise tax and accounting for solicitors, barristers, and legal consultants. We understand practising certificates, chambers costs, PI insurance, CPD, and PSI.
What can a lawyer or barrister claim on tax in Australia?
A legal professional in Australia can generally claim work-related costs incurred in earning their income, including practising certificate fees, professional indemnity insurance, Law Society and Bar Association memberships, continuing legal education and CPD, legal journals and database subscriptions, and computer and legal software. Barristers and sole practitioners can also claim chambers costs, and a portion of home office and vehicle expenses for work-related travel such as attending court. What you can claim depends on how you practise: an employed solicitor on PAYG, a sole practitioner on an ABN, and a barrister in chambers each have a different position, and some are affected by Personal Services Income (PSI) rules. Tax7 are ATO registered tax agents who specialise in professional-services returns and claim every deduction that is supportable, and only those.
Why Legal Professionals Need a Specialist Accountant
Legal practitioners sit at the higher end of the income scale, which makes precision and defensible deductions matter more than a low fee. The costs of practising law, from your practising certificate and professional indemnity insurance to chambers, CPD, and a legal library, are specific to the profession and are easy to under-claim or mislabel without specialist knowledge.
How you practise changes everything. An employed solicitor reports salary and claims work-related deductions; a sole practitioner on an ABN runs a business with GST and BAS obligations; a barrister in chambers is almost always a sole practitioner whose income may be caught by Personal Services Income rules. The right structure and the right treatment protect you on audit and can materially change your position.
Tax7 are ATO registered tax agents. We are not lawyers and do not give legal advice, and we do not perform statutory trust-account audits; what we do is prepare accurate tax and business returns for legal professionals, apply the deductions that are genuinely available, and work discreetly and to deadline. For a self-guided list of what your occupation can claim, see our deduction finder for lawyers.
Who We Help
Solicitors
Employed and principal solicitors
Barristers
Sole practitioners working from chambers
Sole Practitioners
Legal practices operating on an ABN
Legal Consultants
Consultants and in-house legal advisers
What Can Legal Professionals Claim?
The categories below reflect the deductions most relevant to lawyers and barristers. Eligibility and apportionment depend on your circumstances; we confirm each before it is claimed.
Practising Certificate & Registration
Professional Indemnity Insurance
CPD & Education
Chambers & Home Office
Robes/Wig & Court Attire
Legal Library & Subscriptions
Travel & Parking
Bar Association & Society Fees
Employed Solicitor vs Sole Practitioner vs Barrister
| Consideration | Employed solicitor (PAYG) | Sole practitioner (ABN) | Barrister (chambers) |
|---|---|---|---|
| How income is taxed | Salary taxed at marginal rates; tax withheld through PAYG | Business net profit taxed at your marginal rates | Practice income taxed at marginal rates; usually a sole practitioner |
| Deductions available | Work-related deductions (certificate, CPD, PI, subscriptions) | Full business deductions plus practice running costs | Chambers costs, plus the professional deductions above |
| GST/BAS obligations | Generally none | GST registration and BAS once turnover reaches the threshold | Typically registered for GST; lodges BAS |
| PSI rules apply? | No | May apply | Often relevant |
| What Tax7 does | Prepares your individual return and maximises supportable deductions | Business return, BAS, and structure advice | Return, BAS, PSI assessment, and chambers apportionment |
Not sure which position applies to you? We confirm it in the free assessment.
Are barristers caught by PSI rules?
Barristers and sole practitioners who earn income mainly from their personal skills and effort, rather than from business assets or a genuine business structure, may be affected by Personal Services Income (PSI) rules. PSI can change which deductions are available to you and how your income is attributed. Because it turns on the specific facts of how you work, we treat this as general information rather than a determination for any individual reader.
We assess whether PSI applies to you as part of your engagement and explain the result in plain terms. Learn more about how we approach PSI tax returns, or book a consultation to discuss your position.
How Tax7 Works With a Legal Professional
- 1
Free, confidential assessment
We review your role, income sources, and structure to understand whether you are an employed solicitor, sole practitioner, or barrister, and flag anything that needs care, such as PSI.
- 2
Fixed-fee quote
You receive a fixed-fee quote for the work before anything begins, so there are no surprises. Our professional fees are generally deductible against your practice income.
- 3
Records and reconciliation
We gather your income and expense records, reconcile chambers, home office, and private use, and work alongside your trust-account auditor where relevant so the figures agree.
- 4
Deductions and structure review
We claim every supportable deduction, from your practising certificate and PI insurance to CPD and your legal library, and advise on whether your current structure remains appropriate.
- 5
Prepare, review, and lodge
We prepare your return and any BAS, review the position with you, and lodge as your ATO registered tax agent, with year-round support afterwards.
Planning ahead for the next year? See our tax planning advice or estimate your position with the tax calculator.
What Legal Professionals Need for a Tax Return
Income records
- PAYG payment summary (if employed)
- Practice income and fee invoices (if on an ABN)
- Chambers or clerk statements (barristers)
- Bank statements showing income received
- ABN and GST registration details
Expense records
- Practising certificate and registration receipts
- Professional indemnity insurance certificate
- CPD, conference, and subscription receipts
- Chambers and home office expense records
- Vehicle logbook (if claiming car expenses)
Records incomplete? We can reconstruct much of it from your bank statements and advise on what to keep going forward.
Speak With an Accountant Who Understands Legal Practice
Discreet, precise tax and accounting for solicitors, barristers, and legal consultants. Start with a free, no-obligation assessment.
Book Your Free Assessment
We are ATO registered tax agents. We prepare your tax and business returns and can work alongside your trust-account auditor.
Last updated: July 2026