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Edited version of private ruling

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Ruling

Subject: Bulky equipment

Are you entitled to a deduction for travel expenses incurred in transporting your tool box to work at the start of your rotation and to home at the end of your rotation?

Yes.

This ruling applies for the following period

Year ended 30 June 2010

Year ended 30 June 2011

Year ended 30 June 2012

Year ended 30 June 2013

The scheme commenced on

1 July 2009

Relevant facts

You are a tradesperson.

The nature of your employment is that you work seven days on followed by seven days off.

You are required to supply your own tools.

The dimensions of your tool box are 600mm x 300mm x 400mm with a weight of approximately 50kg.

When you begin your seven days on, you drive your car to work to enable you to transport you tool box to your worksite. You then drive your car home leaving your tools on site. For the next five days you travel to and from your work site by bus and on the last day you once again drive your car to your workplace to enable you be bring your tools home as you will not return to work for seven days.

The storage facilities consist of one large unsecured storage facility. You take a risk in utilising the facilities on the days that you are working.

Although the storage facilities are available on the days that you are not working, as the facilities are not secured, the risk in utilising these facilities to store your equipment would be too great.

A return journey from your place of residence to your workplace is approximately 100km.

Relevant legislative provisions

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 8-1

Reasons for decision

Section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997( ITAA 1997), allows a deduction for all losses and outgoings to the extent to which they are incurred in gaining or producing assessable income except where the outgoings are of a capital, private or domestic nature, or relate to the earning of exempt income.

Expenses incurred in travelling to and from work are private or domestic expenses incurred as a prerequisite to income-earning activities. They are generally incurred to put an employee in a position to perform duties of employment, rather than in performance of those duties.  

A deduction may be allowable for home to work travel if the transport costs can be attributed to the transportation of heavy, bulky or cumbersome equipment, rather than to private travel between home and work.

Paragraphs 63 and 64 of Taxation Ruling TR 95/34 explain that a deduction for travel between your home and place of work may be allowed in these circumstances where:

In Crestani v. FC of T 98 ATC 2219; (1998) 40 ATR 1037 (Crestani's Case), a toolbox which measured 57 x 28 x 25 centimetres and weighed 27 kilograms was considered as bulky, in the sense of cumbersome, and the transport cost was attributable to the transportation of such bulky equipment rather than private travel between home and work. The employer did not provide a secure storage area for the toolbox and the use of public transport was not a viable option.

In your case, in the course of your duties you are required to supply your own tools. Your tool box weighs approximately 50kg and is 600mm X 300mm X 400mm in dimension. Therefore consistent with Crestani's case it is viewed as being sufficiently cumbersome and heavy to be considered bulky. In addition, although your employer does provide a storage area, this facility is not a secured facility.

Accordingly, you are entitled to a deduction for travel between home and work on the legs when you are transporting your tools.

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