TAX DEDUCTIONS

Course overview

This course provides a comprehensive overview of tax deductions under Australian tax law. It covers general principles governing the deductibility of expenses, substantiation requirements, specific work-related deductions (such as motor vehicle, travel, clothing, and home office expenses), and other standard deductions (interest, prepayments, self-education, etc.). Through practical examples and case studies, participants will learn to apply current ATO rules and methods to real-world scenarios.

Course objectives:
– Understand the positive and negative limbs of section 8-1 of ITAA 1997 and how they determine what expenses are deductible.
– Apply the substantiation rules (written evidence, diary records, etc.) and identify exceptions to substantiation for minor expenses and allowances.
– Determine the deductibility of various work-related expenses, including motor vehicle and travel costs, clothing and laundry, and home office running expenses, using appropriate calculation methods.
– Differentiate between deduction methods (e.g. cents-per-kilometre vs logbook for car expenses; fixed rate vs actual cost for home office) and calculate deductible amounts under each method.
– Recognise special rules for certain deductions (e.g. interest and borrowing expenses, prepaid expenses, repairs vs improvements, self-education costs) and recent updates (such as changes to working-from-home rates and removal of the $250 self-education exclusion).

Learning outcomes:
– Understand the positive and negative limbs of section 8-1 of ITAA 1997 and how they determine what expenses are deductible.
– Apply the substantiation rules (written evidence, diary records, etc.) and identify exceptions to substantiation for minor expenses and allowances.
– Determine the deductibility of various work-related expenses, including motor vehicle and travel costs, clothing and laundry, and home office running expenses, using appropriate calculation methods.
– Differentiate between deduction methods (e.g. cents-per-kilometre vs logbook for car expenses; fixed rate vs actual cost for home office) and calculate deductible amounts under each method.
– Recognise special rules for certain deductions (e.g. interest and borrowing expenses, prepaid expenses, repairs vs improvements, self-education costs) and recent updates (such as changes to working-from-home rates and removal of the $250 self-education exclusion).