Private ruling: Deductions - self education expenses
Date of advice: 12 May 2026
Published: 20 July 2026
Ruling period: DD MM 20YY
Date scheme commenced: DD MM 20YY

Ruling: Q1: Are you entitled to a deduction for the self-education expenses under section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) for the costs of undertaking a Course 1and Course 2 in the year these expenses were incurred? | A1: Yes. Your self-education expenses are deductible under section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997. The expenses you incurred to complete Course 1 and Course 2 allow you to improve the knowledge and skills required to carry out your current income-earning activities and have led to an increase in income from your employment. The courses have the relevant connection to your income earning activities. To claim a deduction for these self-education expenses, you must have spent the money yourself and weren't reimbursed. Further information about self-education expenses can be found in Taxation Ruling TR 2024/3 Income tax: deductibility of self-education expenses incurred by an individual.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are employed with the Department of Z during the year ended DD MM 20YY. You paid $X, XXX for Professional Development Courses during the year ended DD MM 20YY. On the DD MM 20YY you paid $X, XXX AUD. On the DD MM 20YY you paid $X, XXX AUD. You completed the following courses in the year ending DD MM 20YY: • Course 1 • Course 2. Which specifically focus on professional integrity and honour, emotional intelligence, prioritisation, decision-making, and judgement. These are not generic concepts; they are officially enshrined as core values of your employer. As an executive advising and preparing the evidence base for senior decision makers on capability trade-offs, demonstrating absolute integrity and honour is a strict operational requirement. These courses provided advanced frameworks for upholding these core employer values while navigating extreme public, commercial, and XX scrutiny. You undertook these courses entirely on your own time and paid for the expenses personally. While your employer did not explicitly direct you to take these specific external courses, continuous professional development in leadership and the values is strongly encouraged for career progression into the Executive Level (EL). This career progression increased your annual income from approximately $XXX, XXX to $XXX, XXX. You provided a copy of your resume. Over the period you undertook the courses you were employed to Set medium-term XX strategy and delivery priorities for a multi-disciplinary team, balancing research ambition with operational demand to ensure capability aligned with strategic direction and emerging risk.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 section 8-1