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Ruling

Subject: School Excursion expenses

Question

Are you entitled to a deduction for expenses incurred in attending and supervising students travelling to an overseas event?

Answer

No.

This ruling applies for the following period

Year ended 30 June 2011

The scheme commenced on

1 July 2010

Relevant facts

You are a teacher.

You volunteered along with other adults to supervise students on an organised trip overseas.

Your employer did not require you to take leave and your salary was paid during the trip.

The trip was not compulsory for the students to attend and only limited numbers participated.

You incurred expenses for airfares and accommodation.

Relevant legislative provisions

Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 8-1

Reasons for decision

Summary

Your travel expenses are not considered to have a sufficient connection to your employment duties and the gaining or producing of your assessable income.

Detailed reasoning

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. No deduction is allowable where the losses and outgoings are of a capital, private or domestic nature or are incurred to gain or produce exempt income.

The Commissioner's view on the deductibility of teacher's work related expenses is set out in Taxation Ruling TR 95/14.

Some factors that would be considered in determining the relevance of these trips to an employee teacher's employment would include the purpose of the trip, the activities undertaken, and the duties of the employee teacher while on the trip. The purpose of the trip and the activities undertaken should have an educational benefit and be related to the curriculum or syllabus of the school.

It would also be expected that the employee teacher participates in the task of supervising students. If the trip does not have a direct connection to the syllabus of the school, an employee teacher's supervisory role would not be sufficient to make the employee teacher's expenses deductible.

In Case R42 84 ATC 357; (1984) 27 CTBR (NS) Case 97, a lecturer at a college of advanced education was allowed a deduction after he was able to demonstrate that his expenses in accompanying a group of trainee students on a trip to Fiji were incurred in the course of his duties. He demonstrated that the excursion formed part of the official college program; was compulsory for all students, and that staff involved in teacher-education courses were expected, as part of their employment, to participate in various out-of-college activities.

Whilst relevance to the school curriculum is an important factor in determining the character of such trips, a deduction is not necessarily denied in the absence of this factor. In some instances, the reason for the trip and the activities undertaken will not be curriculum-related but may be an integral part of the extra-curricula activities of the school. If an employee teacher is involved in such activities and accompanies students as a representative of the school, the expenses incurred by the employee teacher would be allowable. Examples of such activities would be attendance at school-related sporting events, tours conducted by the school band and attendance at competitions by student representatives of the school.

In your case, the trip was open to all students in the district on a voluntary basis and was not part of the curriculum of any particular course.

Furthermore, the activities undertaken by the students on the trip did not relate to any integral extra-curricula activities of the school such as a sporting event or a musical tour. The students were not travelling to represent the school in any particular event or competition.

In addition, although the trip may be approved by the school and the opportunity to go on these trips provide social and cultural benefits to the students and employee teachers, these factors alone do not suffice to make the expenses in relation to the trip deductible.

It is considered that the expenses related to the trip are not deductible as they are not related to your income earning activities, and are private in nature.