New figures revealed that the region's MPs claimed on average £138,127 from the public purse - compared to the £135,850 average for the UK's 645 MPs.
Their claims helped cover the cost of London housing, staff and office costs, travel, stamps, IT and stationery.
Sheffield Heeley MP Meg Munn claimed the most in South Yorkshire in 2006/07 - £156,462.
This made her the 42nd most expensive MP in the country
Her total included £14,882 in postage and £3,326 on other stationary.
Her combined £18,208 claim for postage and stationary was the 16th highest in the country.
Ms Munn's other major costs were the £83,544 she claimed for staff and the £22,110 for living away in London.
She told the Star: "I think I have reduced my travel expenses by the fact we have a better system in place now. We can buy cheaper tickets, and I am doing that.
"My staff costs are well within the allowance and in terms of postage this is very much in line previous years.
"I have got 40,000 constituents. If you divide it by the number of constituents, it's not that high.
"When looking at expenses it is important to remember that this is not just money that goes into the pockets of MPs."
High staffing costs of £79,912 and office costs of £27,508 contributed to Wentworth MP John Healey being the second most expensive MP in South Yorkshire with a total claim of £150,551.
He said: "All the money is to help me to do my job as an MP. It stands to reason that if you offer a good constituency office, then the costs will reflect that."
The figures show that car usage differed widely between the region's MPs.
Doncaster North MP Ed Miliband claimed £909 from the MPs' 40p a mile car mileage allowance, while Rother Valley MP Kevin Barron claimed £8,509
Rotherham MP and former Europe minister Denis MacShane's regular trips to the continent meant he claimed the most in South Yorkshire for air travel - £1,284.
Liberal Democrat leadership contest frontrunner Nick Clegg claimed £146,022 - £7,191 more than his only declared rival, Chris Huhne.
Mr Clegg, MP for Sheffield Hallam, claimed almost the full allowance for London housing costs as well as £4,539 in train fares and £4,148 on postage.
Meanwhile, two of Barnsley's three MP had the region's lowest claims - Jeff Ennis claimed £104,243 and Michael Clapham £102,510
Nationally, the most expensive MP in the country was the international development minister Shahid Malik. He cost the taxpayer £185,421 in 2006/07.
MPs claimed £87.6 million in allowances overall last year - a like-for-like rise of around 5% on the sum for the previous 12 months.
Liberal Democrat MP Nick Harvey, who represents the Members Estimate Committee, insisted British taxpayers got "excellent value for money" compared to those in other countries.
But the TaxPayers' Alliance pressure group said MPs should be "ashamed" at the scale of the claims.
Chief executive Matthew Elliott said: "Families are struggling to pay higher tax bills whilst MPs are spending more and more of our money on themselves each year."
Prime Minister Gordon Brown - who was still Chancellor during the period the latest figures refer to - claimed a total of £135,525.
His Tory rival David Cameron - who represents Witney in Oxfordshire, claimed £7,860 more - including £20,563 on London housing and £12,775 on postage and stationery.
TOTAL EXPENSES
Meg Munn (Sheffield Heeley; Lab) £156,462
John Healey (Wentworth; Lab) £150,551
Angela Smith (Sheffield Hillsborough; Lab) £150,549
Clive Betts (Sheffield Attercliffe; Lab) £148,545
Denis MacShane (Rotherham; Lab) £147,572
Nick Clegg (Sheffield Hallam; Lib Dem) £146,022
David Blunkett (Sheffield Brightside; Lab) £143,111
Kevin Barron (Rother Valley; Lab) £142,703
Richard Caborn (Sheffield Central; Lab) £138,014
Eric Illsley (Barnsley Central; Lab) £137,791
Rosie Winterton (Doncaster Central; Lab) £136,803
Caroline Flint (Don Valley; Lab) £136,005
Ed Miliband (Doncaster Central) £131,024
Jeff Ennis (Barnsley East & Mexborough) £104,243
Michael Clapham (Barnsley West and Penistone) £102,510
Where it goes....
• Yorkshire MPs can claim an allowance of up to £23,083 towards a second home in the capital.
This can be spent on rent, the interest on a mortgage or hotel bills.
MPs can also claim back costs for groceries, furniture, white goods, electrical equipment, utility bills, council tax and even decoration and TV licences incurred in London.
• They can claim up to £21,339 a year for constituency office rental and maintenance costs, office supplies and equipment, utilities, repairs, postage from the constituency, and newspaper subscriptions.
• There is an allowance of £90,505 a year for secretarial and research staff in the constituency and Commons offices. It is up to individual MPs to decide where to locate their staff and how much to pay.
• MPs get unlimited first class travel within the UK, a car mileage rate of 40p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p per mile over 10,000 miles, 24 per mile for motorbike travel and 20p per mile for bicycle travel.
• They can also claim for three trips a year in Europe, as long as the destination has a parliament.
• There are several more categories of expenses, such as MPs' staff travel, special House of Commons stationery and postage, and the cost of IT.
RETURN TO BARNSLEY NATIONALISTS
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