Work stays in Albury Wodonga: tax invoices, ATO accommodation amounts and the records to keep

If you're coming to the border for work this financial year, the figure worth knowing is the ATO's reasonable accommodation amount for 2026-27. Albury and Wodonga share the same amount, and the ATO lists both as high-cost country centres in its current determination, TD 2026/4.

For employees in the lowest salary band (the determination's Table 1), that amount sits above Melbourne's and above the common amount for country centres the determination doesn't name. In the higher salary bands the order can change, so read the table that matches your salary.

There is a catch. The amount is not a price, and it is not an allowance anyone is owed. It is a benchmark that decides how much paperwork a claim needs. Below is what that means for the person booking and the person travelling, and what to sort out when you book a motel in Wodonga or Albury.

How Albury and Wodonga compare on the ATO's 2026-27 accommodation amounts

ATO reasonable accommodation amount per night, 2026-27

Pick your salary table (Tables 1 to 3 in TD 2026/4).
Find your location: Albury (NSW) and Wodonga (Vic) are both in Table 4, high-cost country centres, at the same amount.
Read the amount in the ATO's current determination.

A benchmark for record-keeping, not a price or an entitlement. Source: ATO TD 2026/4.

The figures come from the ATO's TD 2026/4, which covers the 2026-27 income year. In Table 1, Wagga Wagga and Canberra both sit lower.

Albury and Wodonga share the same figure. For this purpose it makes no difference which side of the river you sleep on.

The amount covers only short stays in commercial establishments such as hotels, motels and serviced apartments. It does not apply to hostels or caravan parks.

What the ATO's accommodation amount means, and what it doesn't

The reasonable amounts are an exception from keeping detailed records, not an entitlement. Three conditions apply:

the employee must have a travel allowance
the employee must have actually incurred the deductible expense
the expense must not have been reimbursed

Go above the reasonable amount and the whole claim needs substantiation, not just the part over the line.

A travel allowance does not on its own entitle anyone to a deduction. The claim is judged against the reasonable amounts, whether the allowance is higher or lower, and only deductible expenses actually incurred count.

Who pays matters too. The ATO includes motels in commercial accommodation, but an employee can't claim it if the employer pays directly or reimburses.

How the ATO tests meals and incidentals, 2026-27
Item	How it is tested
Breakfast, lunch, dinner	each meal is tested on its own; the amounts can't be combined
Incidentals	a daily amount, applied in full to each day away, no part-day apportioning

Amounts for each salary band and location: ATO TD 2026/4.

The ATO also sets amounts for meals and incidentals. For employees in the lowest salary band, the Table 1 amounts for high-cost country centres set a separate figure for each of these (the figures are in the current determination):

breakfast
lunch
dinner
incidentals, as a daily amount

Each meal is tested one by one, and the amounts can't be combined. Incidentals apply in full to each day away, with no part-day apportioning.

Incidentals can include a charge for using the phone or internet for work at your overnight accommodation.

The determination sets out three salary tables, each for a salary band set out in the determination. Part-time staff work out their band from a full-time equivalent.

What a tax invoice for a motel stay should show

Words showing it is intended as a tax invoice
Seller's identity
Seller's ABN
Date of issue
Brief description of the stay with quantity (nights) and price
GST amount, or the statement "Total price includes GST"
Which items are taxable
Buyer's identity or ABN: required at or above the threshold on the ATO's tax invoice page.

On request, a supplier must give a tax invoice within 28 days, unless the sale is at or below the small-sale amount on the ATO's tax invoice page. A PDF by email is fine.

For a sale below the threshold on the ATO's tax invoice page, a tax invoice needs seven details:

that it is intended as a tax invoice
the seller's identity
the seller's ABN
the date it was issued
a brief description, with quantity and price
the GST amount, or the statement "Total price includes GST"
which sales are taxable

At or above that threshold, the invoice must also show the buyer's identity or ABN. A multi-night stay can pass that line, so check the current threshold on the ATO page.

Albury Wodonga Motels' advice is simple: put the company name or ABN in the booking itself. Don't leave it for a phone call after check-out.

On request, a supplier must give a tax invoice within 28 days, unless the sale is at or below the small-sale amount on the same ATO page. The invoice can be emailed as a PDF or in another digital format. That suits an accounts team that never sees the traveller.

Receipts, travel diaries and how long to keep them

The paper trail of one work stay

Booking: give the company name or ABN if the stay could reach the ATO's buyer-details threshold.
Each night: keep written evidence showing the supplier's name, amount, what was supplied and the date; a travel diary is generally needed from 6 nights in a row.
Check-out: ask for the tax invoice; on request it must come within 28 days unless the sale is at or below the ATO's small-sale amount; PDF by email is fine.
Tax return lodged
Keep records for 5 years from the date the return is lodged

Employees generally need written evidence of travel expenses, such as receipts. Each one should show four things: the supplier's name, the amount, what was supplied, and the date.

Keep those records for 5 years from the date the tax return is lodged.

The diary rule turns on one number. A travel diary is generally not needed if you are away fewer than 6 nights in a row. From 6 nights in a row it generally is, with some allowance-related exceptions.

In practice, arriving Sunday and leaving Friday is five nights, which is under the line. Stay through to Saturday and it is six (our count).

Short work trip or long project: when a stay stops counting as travel

Away overnight for work, staying in a motel.

Question 1Settled accommodation for a relatively long period near a new regular workplace?

YesThe ATO treats this as living at a location: expenses are private, not deductible. Check with your employer or accountant before booking.

Question 26 or more nights in a row?

NoTravel diary generally not needed. Keep receipts.

YesTravel diary generally needed (some allowance-related exceptions). Keep receipts.

General ATO information. Your employer or accountant confirms your own case.

A long project stay can stop being travel altogether. Settled accommodation for a relatively long period near a new regular workplace is what the ATO calls living at a location, and those expenses are private, not deductible.

The ATO's travelling-overnight test assumes short-term accommodation such as a hotel, and short periods away.

If a job on the border will run for weeks or months, talk to your employer or accountant before you book the nights, not after. Booking for a whole crew? Our group accommodation tips cover the practical side.

Choosing a motel in Wodonga or Albury for a work trip

A generic motel-room desk at night set up for work: an open laptop, a notebook and pen, a mobile phone charging, a takeaway dinner container to one side.

The paperwork is half the job. The other half is a room you can actually work and sleep in. These are worth asking any motel before you book:

Wi-Fi. Will it hold a video call at 8am? Is there any charge? A work-use charge for internet at your accommodation is the kind of cost the ATO counts as an incidental.
A desk and a proper chair. The edge of a bed is fine for one night, not for five.
A quiet room. Ask for one away from the road and the car park if you start early.
Parking. Make sure there's room for a ute, a trailer or a work van.
Late food. Ask what's open after a long day on site. Our guide to eating near your Wodonga motel covers the Victorian side.

If you have a list like this, asking the motel directly is the quickest way to get answers. Here's why booking direct helps.

Wodonga motel or Albury motel: does the side of the river matter?

A right-hand-drive electric hatchback plugged into a charging post on an open upper deck of a regional Australian car park in late afternoon light, gum trees and low hills beyond.

For the ATO's accommodation amount, no. Both cities share the same amount.

For the clock, no as well. Daylight saving began in both NSW and Victoria, so there is no time difference at the border for meetings on either side.

So pick the side closest to the site or office you're visiting. The one calendar trap is school holidays, which don't line up across the Murray. Our NSW and Victorian school holidays guide shows when each state's families are on the road.

Driving an EV? The Border Mail reports that Tesla has had 16 charging points at the Commercial Club car park in Albury since 2023. A development application for 37 charging posts on Diamond Drive, Thurgoona was on public display as of the paper's 8 October update. It is a proposal only, so plan your charging around Albury for now.

Work-stay paperwork at a glance

Same amount both sides
Albury (NSW) and Wodonga (Vic) share one ATO accommodation amount (TD 2026/4, Table 4)
Source: ATO TD 2026/4
28 days
time a supplier has to give a tax invoice on request
Source: ATO, Tax invoices
6 nights in a row
travel diary generally needed from here
Source: ATO, Keeping travel expense records
5 years
keep records from the date the return is lodged
Source: ATO, Keeping travel expense records

These numbers carry most of the rules above. If you only save one part of this page, save this panel. Then check how it applies to you with your employer or accountant.

Booking your work stay in Albury Wodonga

Before you book a work stay

Company name or ABN for the invoice (needed at or above the ATO's buyer-details threshold)
Number of nights in a row (diary generally needed from 6)
Ask for the tax invoice and how it's sent (PDF by email is fine)
Confirm who pays (if the employer pays directly or reimburses, the employee can't claim it)
Keep every receipt showing supplier, amount, what was supplied and date
Long project near a new regular workplace? Check "living at a location" with your employer or accountant first.

When you're ready to book, have four things ready for the motel:

your dates and how many nights in a row
the company name or ABN the invoice should carry
where the tax invoice should be emailed
anything the room needs for work, from a desk to parking for a trailer

Then book with the motel directly: this site is a local guide and does not take bookings, as our How to Book page explains.

This page is general information drawn from ATO guidance, not tax advice. Your employer or accountant should confirm what applies in your own case.