Bilbx vs myDeductions: which should you use for your receipts?

myDeductions is free, made by the ATO, and uploads straight into myTax. If you're happy to type each expense in yourself and back up your own phone, it does the job well. Bilbx reads the receipt for you and keeps everything in the cloud, and it handles more than one country and currency. Its tax features are part of a paid Premium plan.

Both are legitimate choices, and plenty of people will be well served by the free one. Here's the difference.

Side by side#

Prices and features were checked on 24 September 2026.

Where myDeductions is the better choice#

• It's free, and it's the ATO's own. Its expense types line up with the labels in your tax return, and it uploads directly to myTax. For a simple employee return, that is hard to beat.
• It records car trips and working-from-home hours. If you claim car expenses or work from home, myDeductions can keep a record of your trips and hours. Bilbx doesn't track either.
• It records sole trader income, for sole traders with simple tax affairs. Bilbx only handles expenses.

Where Bilbx is the better choice#

• You don't type the receipt in. Take the photo and Bilbx reads the details, including every line item, so a receipt for three things is three searchable items rather than one total.
• Your records aren't only on your phone. myDeductions stores records on your device, and the ATO says the app doesn't back up automatically. With a free account, Bilbx syncs up to 500 receipts to the cloud (Premium removes the limit), so a lost or broken phone doesn't take your records with it.
• More than one country or currency. Bilbx keeps Australian, UK and US returns side by side, and converts a foreign receipt at the rate for the purchase date.
• Receipts are for more than tax. Return windows and warranty periods come with reminders, which is what most receipts are actually for.

The catch with each#

myDeductions: it's only as safe as your backup. The ATO recommends backing up regularly, to iCloud or Google Drive from within the tool, or to another location, and before you update the app or change phones. It also means typing in every expense.

Bilbx: the tax features (tax categories, splitting, Tax Lab and exports) are part of Premium. It doesn't track car trips or working-from-home hours, and it can't upload to myTax, so you enter the totals yourself or give the export to your agent.

Using both#

You don't have to choose. A split that works well:

1. myDeductions for car trips and working-from-home hours, the records Bilbx doesn't keep.
2. Bilbx for receipts: photographed when you get them, read for you, and kept in the cloud.
3. At tax time, upload myDeductions to myTax, and enter the Bilbx totals yourself or give the export to your tax agent.

Whichever you use, the record-keeping obligation is yours. Keep the evidence for five years from when you lodge. See how long to keep receipts for the ATO. Clear photos count, so the paper can go. See are photos of receipts accepted by the ATO.