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  • School fees and child care

    You can't claim a deduction for child care, or for school or higher education fees for your children.

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    School fees (including university and TAFE fees)

    You can't claim a deduction for the cost of educating your children (or any other students), including school fees, university fees and TAFE fees. These are private expenses that are not connected with earning your employment income.

    Example: private school fees

    Troy, a single father, works 2 jobs so that he can afford private school fees for his twins Yasmine and Jasmine.

    Troy can't claim a deduction for the school fees. The expense has no connection to his employment income and is private in nature.

    End of example

    You may be able to claim a deduction for your self-education and study expenses if the education relates to your employment activities.

    If you make a donation to the school building fund of your child's school:

    • you can claim a deduction for your donation if the school building fund is a deductible gift recipient
    • you can't claim a deduction if the donation isn't truly a gift – for example, if you make a payment to the school building fund as an alternative to an increase in your child's school fees, or for placement on a waiting list.

    For more information, see Gifts and donations.

    Child care

    You can't claim a deduction for the cost of child care, or before or after school care.

    This is a private expense that isn't directly connected with earning your employment income.

    Last modified: 26 Apr 2023QC 72168