Can
You can claim a deduction for self-education expenses if your course relates directly to your current job
-e.g. human resource training for a manager.
Cannot
You can’t claim a deduction if your study is only related in a general way or is designed to help get you a new job
e.g. a health and wellbeing course.
What Self-education expenses records do I need to keep?
Record keeping is essential when you’re claiming deductions, and it’s a good idea to create a comfortable and reliable system to help you keep on top of this throughout the year. You don’t need to keep physical receipts, and it’s acceptable to keep a digital copy (such as a photo of a receipt or an email receipt) provided it is possible to read:
- The name of the supplier
- Amount of the expense
- Nature of the goods or services
- Date the expense was paid
- Date of the document
You also don’t need to keep receipts for expenses under $10 (as long as these don’t cumulatively come to more than $200) and for any hard to get receipts, it’s sufficient to make a note of the purchase in your diary of all the above details.
Should I engage a tax agent?
Getting a tax return extension is just one benefit of a tax agent.
Using a tax agent can often lead to more significant tax returns, and it’s a lot less stressful.
By the way, the tax agent’s fee is deductible.
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