What are police informant expenses?
Police informant expenses are out-of-pocket expenses you pay to another person for information they provide about specific police matters you are involved in.
You may make a payment to an informant in the form of:
- cash, or
- goods, such as cigarettes or a snack including sandwiches, orange juice or a cup of tea or coffee.
Each police service has policies and procedures about making these payments. Before making a claim, you should familiarise yourself with these policies and procedures.
When can you claim a deduction for police informant expenses?
Payments you make to informants are tax deductible where:
- the payments are authorised or permitted under the policies and procedures issued by your employing police service
- you can prove you paid the expense, and
- you were not entitled to claim a reimbursement for this expense from the police service.
How do you prove you paid a police informant expense?
You will need to prepare your own documentation (such as a diary) that must show the:
- amount of the expense
- nature of the goods or services
- date the expense was incurred
- date the record was made.
Do you report a police informant reimbursement?
You do not need to report any informant expenses that were reimbursed to you by your employer on your tax return.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 29 June 2010