You must meet one of the four following conditions for each student for whom you want to claim the ETR.
Condition 1: Receiving Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A
On the day you or your partner incurred the expense in respect of the child, were you eligible to receive FTB Part A for that child?
If you are not sure whether you were eligible to receive FTB Part A for that child, contact the FAO (see How to contact the FAO).
Yes |
|
|---|---|
No |
Read Condition 2: receiving payments other than FTB. |
Condition 2: Receiving payments other than FTB
You met this condition if, on the day you or your partner incurred the expense in respect of the child, that child was not your FTB child only because one of these payments was paid for the child*:
- a social security pension or benefit
- a Labour Market Program payment, or
- a prescribed educational scheme payment.
Did you meet this condition?
Yes |
|
|---|---|
No |
Read Condition 3: child stops school. |
*These payments include:
- Youth Allowance
- disability support pension
- ABSTUDY living allowance
- payments under the Veterans' Children Education Scheme
- payments under the scheme to provide education and training under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.
If you are not sure whether a payment for the child is one of these types of payment, contact the payer.
Condition 3: Child stops school
You met this condition for the child only if:
- on the day you or your partner incurred the expense in respect of the child, the child was 16 years old or older and met the schooling requirement
- the child was not undertaking primary or secondary school studies on 30 June 2011, and
- you would have satisfied condition 1 or 2 for the child on the day the expense was incurred if the child had earned no income in the 2010-11 income year.
If all these criteria are satisfied the Commissioner will accept that you have met condition 3 when you or your partner incurred the expense.
Did you meet this condition?
Yes |
|
|---|---|
No |
Read Condition 4: independent student. |
Condition 4: Independent student
You met this condition if, on the day you incurred the expense, you were under 25 years old and:
- you were receiving a social security pension or benefit, a Labour Market Program payment or a prescribed educational scheme payment*
- you met the independence requirements for the payment
- you were an Australian resident (under the Social Security Act 1991) or a special category visa holder (under the Migration Act 1958)
- you were residing in Australia, and
- no one else, such as your parent or an approved care organisation, was entitled to the ETR for you.
Did you meet this condition?
No |
You are not eligible for the ETR. |
|---|---|
Yes |
Read on. |
*These payments include:
- Youth Allowance
- disability support pension
- ABSTUDY living allowance
- payments under the Veterans' Children Education Scheme
- payments under the scheme to provide education and training under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.
If you are not sure whether a payment for the child is one of these types of payment, contact the payer.
Meeting the schooling requirement
Did the student meet the schooling requirement?
No |
You are not eligible for the ETR. |
|---|---|
Yes |
Read on. |
Education expenses
Were the expenses you want to claim eligible education expenses?
No |
You are not eligible for the ETR. |
|---|---|
Yes |
Read on. |
Completing your claim
Use the following steps and worksheets to calculate your ETR.
If you are an independent student go to Completing worksheet 1.
Before you can work out how much you can claim, you need to know whether you had an FTB agreed percentage or an FTB shared-care percentage for the child.
If both you and your partner met condition 2 or 3, you can make a written agreement with your partner stating which of you will claim the ETR. Otherwise, you will each have to claim half the ETR.
You have to calculate your education tax refund if:
- you had an FTB shared-care or FTB agreed percentage that changed during the year
- you met condition 1 for a child during part of the income year and you met condition 2 or 3 for the same child during another part of the income year, or
- you and your partner met condition 2 or 3 unless
- you had a written agreement that one of you would claim the ETR for every day in the year, or
- you did not have a written agreement at all.
Completing worksheet 1
Complete worksheet 1 to work out the maximum ETR you can claim (your ETR limit).
If you were an independent student, use any column in the worksheet and disregard any instruction that relates to a child.
If you have more than five children for whom you want to claim the ETR, use a separate piece of paper to continue your calculations.
Step 1
For a student who attended secondary school on a day during 2010-11, write $794 at (a). For a student who attended only primary school during 2010-11, write $397 at (a).
Step 2
Write at (b), for each student, the number of eligible days, that is, days when:
- you met any of the four conditions with respect to the student and
- the student met the schooling requirement.
If both of the above dot points are satisfied for the whole income year, then write 365 at (b).
Step 3
- If you met condition 4, write 1 at (c).
- If you met condition 1 and had an FTB agreed percentage, write this percentage at (c) as a decimal (for example, write 0.65 not 65%).
- If both you and your partner met condition 2 or 3, and you do not have a written agreement with your partner, your agreed percentage is 50%. Write 0.5 at (c).
- Otherwise, your agreed percentage is 100%. Write 1 at (c).
Step 4
- If you met condition 4, write 1 at (d).
- If you and your partner did not share the care of the child with someone else, write 1 at (d).
- If you met condition 1, write your FTB shared-care percentage for the child at (d) as a decimal.
- If you met condition 2 or 3, work out the number of days that the child was with you and your partner during 2010-11 that were also eligible days (see step 2). Divide that number by the number of eligible days at (b) and write the answer at (d).
Worksheet 1: Working out your ETR limit
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Child 1 |
Child 2 |
Child 3 |
Child 4 |
Child 5 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amount from step 1 |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
(a) |
Number of eligible days |
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(b) |
Agreed percentage |
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(c) |
Shared-care percentage |
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(d) |
Multiply (b), (c) and (d). |
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(e) |
Divide (e) by 365 |
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(f) |
Multiply (a) by (f). |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
(g) |
Add up all the amounts at (g) and round up to the next dollar. |
$ |
(h) |
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The amount at (h) is your ETR limit.
Work out the total eligible expenses you can claim the ETR for
Note: Eligible expenses are eligible education expenses you incurred at a time when:
- you met either condition 1, 2, 3 or 4, and
- the student met the schooling requirement.
Step 5
If you were an independent student, add up all your eligible expenses and write the total at (p) in worksheet 2. Ignore rows (j) to (o). Write any excess eligible expenses carried forward from 2009-10 at (q) and complete (r) and (s). Go to step 7.
If you were single for the whole income year and you did not share the care of the child, add up all the eligible expenses that you incurred when you met condition 1, 2 or 3. Write the total at (p) in worksheet 2. Ignore rows (j) to (o). Write any excess eligible expenses carried forward from 2009-10 at (q) and complete (r) and (s). Go to step 7.
Otherwise, go to step 6.
Step 6
Add up all the eligible expenses that you and your partner incurred when you met condition 1. Write the total at (j) in worksheet 2.
Write at (k) in worksheet 2 your FTB agreed percentage from (c) in worksheet 1.
Add up and write at (m) in worksheet 2 all the eligible expenses that you and your partner incurred when:
- you both met condition 2 or 3, and
- you did not have a written agreement with your partner identifying who would claim the ETR.
Add up and write at (o) in worksheet 2 all the eligible expenses that you and your partner incurred when:
- you both met condition 2 or 3, and
- you had a written agreement with your partner that you would claim the ETR.
Worksheet 2: Working out the total expenses you can claim the ETR for
Your expenses under condition 1 |
$ |
(j) |
Your FTB agreed percentage |
|
(k) |
Multiply (j) by (k). |
$ |
(l) |
Your expenses under condition 2 or 3 without a written agreement |
$ |
(m) |
Divide (m) by 2. |
$ |
(n) |
Your expenses under condition 2 or 3 with a written agreement |
$ |
(o) |
Add (l), (n) and (o). |
$ |
(p) |
Your excess eligible expenses carried forward from 2009-10 |
$ |
(q) |
Add (p) and (q). |
$ |
(r) |
Divide (r) by 2 and round up to the next dollar. |
$ |
(s) |
The amount at (s) is the maximum amount of eligible education expenses you may claim.
Work out the amount of your ETR
Step 7
Transfer the amount from (h) in worksheet 1 or (s) in worksheet 2, whichever is less, to L item 10 on the Education tax refund for individuals 2011.
If you transferred the amount from (s) in worksheet 2 to L item 10, go to step 9. Otherwise, read on.
Work out the excess eligible expenses you can carry forward to 2011-12
Step 8
Worksheet 3: Working out the excess eligible expenses you can carry forward to 2011-12
Transfer (s) from worksheet 2. |
$ |
(s) |
Transfer (h) from worksheet 1. |
$ |
(h) |
Take (h) away from (s). |
$ |
(t) |
Multiply (t) by 2. |
$ |
(u) |
If the amount at (u) in worksheet 3 is less than the amount at (p) in worksheet 2, then the amount at (u) is the amount you carry forward and include in your total eligible education expenses when working out your ETR for 2011-12, provided you are still eligible to claim the ETR in that year. Keep a record of the amount at (u).
If the amount at (u) in worksheet 3 is greater than the amount at (p) in worksheet 2, then the amount at (p) is the amount you carry forward and include in your total eligible education expenses when working out your ETR for 2011-12, provided you are still eligible to claim the ETR in that year. Keep a record of the amount at (p).
Number of students
Step 9
Add up the number of primary school students you are claiming the ETR for and write the answer at W item 10 on the Education tax refund for individuals 2011.
Step 10
Add up the number of secondary school students you are claiming the ETR for and write the answer at X item 10 on the Education tax refund for individuals 2011.