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Edited version of private advice
Authorisation Number: 1051976158927
Date of advice: 4 May 2022
Ruling
Subject: Work related expenses
Question 1
Is the travel by car between your home and employer's office for the relevant income years deductible?
Answer
Yes.
Question 2
Is the travel between the office and the accommodation provided by your employer during the relevant income years deductible?
Answer
Yes.
Based on the information provided to the Commissioner your car travel between your home and the office is deductible and the car travel between the office and your accommodation is deductible for the relevant income years.
Taxation ruling 2021/1 sets out under which circumstances travel is an allowable deduction and paragraph 55 is the most relevant in your circumstances.
It states:
55. Subject to the requirements of paragraphs 15 to 17 of this Ruling, the Commissioner will accept that travel to a secondary location of work which would typically require an overnight stay from home and which cannot be attributed to an employee's choice of where to live, would be construed as a necessary incident of the employment. Therefore, the cost would be deductible.
Therefore, your car travel is deductible.
This ruling applies for the following period:
Year ended 30 June 20XX
Year ended 30 June 20XX
The scheme commences on:
1 July 20XX
Relevant facts and circumstances
You were employed as a project manager during the relevant years.
You lived with your spouse in your own home during the relevant tax years.
The head office of your employer is located in the same greater area as your home.
During the relevant year tax years, you were required to travel to another area to work on site.
The site office was an office compound established specifically for the construction of the project.
The office site was based in a local farmers field.
The site office is a substantial distance from your home.
Given the remoteness of the site office, you stayed in accommodation in a small town which was provided by your employer, for a few nights at a time while working at the site office.
The accommodation provided by the employer was a rental house that was shared with other employees.
Typically, you drove from your home to the site office.
At the end of the work day, you would drive to the accommodation provided by your employer.
The next morning, you would travel back to the site office for work.
At the end of the working period of generally four or five days, you would drive home from the site office.
You spent most weekends at your home in XXXX.
During these two years, you also travelled regularly to your employer's head office.
Relevant legislative provisions
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 8-1