ASSESSABLE INCOME AND TAX TREATMENT

Course overview

Assessable income is the starting point for calculating taxable income. The material develops a structured approach to ordinary income, statutory income, exempt income, non-assessable non-exempt income, capital receipts and the principal employment, business, compensation, superannuation and asset-related inclusions relevant to professional practice.

The content is organised into five knowledge blocks, moving from classification principles to business and service receipts, termination and superannuation payments, compensation and asset transactions, and a practitioner review toolkit. The 2026–27 thresholds, tables, worked calculations and final assessment support practical application of the material.

Course objectives

Explain the distinction between ordinary income, statutory income, exempt income and non-assessable non-exempt income.
Apply the capital and revenue distinction to common business and investment receipts.
Identify the tax treatment of employment termination payments, superannuation lump sums and genuine redundancy payments.
Characterise compensation, lease incentives, balancing adjustments, barter transactions and crypto asset payments.
Use a structured checklist to review whether a receipt is assessable and which statutory regime applies.

Learning outcomes

You should be able to classify receipts by reference to ordinary income, statutory income, exempt income and non-assessable non-exempt income principles.
You should be able to distinguish revenue receipts from capital receipts and identify when capital gains tax or another statutory regime must be considered.
You should be able to apply the 2026–27 employment termination payment, superannuation lump sum and redundancy thresholds presented in the material.
You should be able to analyse compensation, non-cash consideration and asset disposals by reference to the character of the item replaced or received.
You should be able to document a professional assessable income review using the supplied decision tools and checklists.

CPD/CPE compliance mapping

The mapping indicates how the learning outcomes align with broad technical and professional development expectations. It does not determine whether a particular activity satisfies an individual member’s annual requirements.


Lesson	CPA Australia	CA ANZ	IPA	Tax Practitioners Board
Income classification principles	Australian taxation technical competence and analytical judgement.	Tax technical competence and application of legislation.	Taxation knowledge and professional competence.	Tax law knowledge relevant to competent tax agent services.
Business and service receipts	Business income, personal services and fringe benefit distinctions.	Commercial transaction analysis and professional judgement.	Applied income tax and business advisory knowledge.	Correct characterisation of assessable receipts and related obligations.
Termination and superannuation payments	Employment tax and superannuation technical knowledge.	Application of statutory caps, components and withholding outcomes.	Technical competence in employment and superannuation taxation.	Tax law knowledge for employment termination and superannuation advice.
Compensation and asset receipts	Capital and revenue analysis, compensation and asset transaction treatment.	Evidence-based analysis of mixed commercial receipts.	Applied taxation knowledge for business transactions.	Competent application of income tax, CGT and record-keeping rules.
Professional assessable income review	Professional judgement, documentation and risk identification.	Ethical and technically supported client analysis.	Professional competence and quality control.	Maintaining knowledge and competence for accurate tax agent services.