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Ruling
Subject: Accommodation and meal expenses
Question
Are you entitled to a deduction for expenses you incurred for accommodation and meals while living at the Academy for recruit training?
Answer
No.
This ruling applies for the following period
Year ended 30 June 2011
The scheme commenced on
1 July 2010
Relevant facts
In the 2010-11 income year you were accepted into a state police force.
As a result of this you were required to complete training at the Academy.
This training required daily attendance at the Academy.
It was an option given to all recruits to live on campus whilst the initial training took place.
Accommodation on campus was not compulsory, but you felt it was a key advantage to being selected as a police officer.
You paid the Academy a fortnightly 'board' type payment which included accommodation and meals.
The fortnightly payment was for a total of 23 weeks whilst the initial training was completed.
You received income from the police force whilst completing your training.
Your normal residence is approximately an hour's travel away from the Academy.
Relevant legislative provisions
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 8-1
Reasons for decision
Summary
Your accommodation and meal expenses are not considered to be expenses incurred in gaining or producing your assessable income. Rather, these expenses are considered to be private in nature and therefore not an allowable deduction.
Detailed reasoning
Section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 allows a deduction for all losses and outgoings to the extent to which they are incurred in the course of gaining or producing assessable income, but are not allowable to the extent that they are of a capital, private or domestic nature.
Expenditure on accommodation and meals ordinarily has the character of a private or domestic expense. However, this expenditure may not be considered private or domestic in nature where a taxpayer is required to sleep away from home in order to undertake a work related self-education activity.
Taxation Ruling TR 95/13 deals exclusively with employee police officers and the common work-related deductions, which employee police officers can claim.
Paragraph 154 states that where police recruits are required to travel some distance from their normal place of residence to attend a Academy, deductions are allowable for meals and accommodation expenses where they are not provided while staying at the Academy.
The term 'some distance' is not defined in TR 95/13. However, some guidance as to the meaning of this term in the context of travel for self-education purposes can be found in Taxation Ruling TR 98/9.
Paragraph 110 of TR 98/9 states that:
Expenditure on meals and accommodation while attending an educational institution, work related conference or seminar where the taxpayer is not required to sleep away from home, for example a taxpayer living in a suburb of Sydney and attending an institution in the metropolitan area, is not allowable as a deduction. The expenditure is private in nature.
Having regard to the above paragraph, it is considered that the term 'some distance' in paragraph 154 of TR 95/13 means such a distance that the taxpayer has no option but to stay away from home overnight in order to attend the Academy.
In your case, we do not consider that you lived so far from the Academy that you had no option but to stay at the Academy. Living on campus was not a requirement but rather an option given to all recruits and you chose to do so as matter of convenience. Although you believe this was a key to you being selected as a police officer, it doesn't alter the expense from being private in nature.
As your expenditure on accommodation and meals incurred while staying at the Academy is considered private in nature, a deduction is not allowed.