Private ruling: Assessability of insurance settlement
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2011.
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2010.

Ruling: Question and answer: | Is any part of a lump sum compensation payment included in your assessable income? | No.


Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 6-5. | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 6-5(2). | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 6-10. | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 10-5. | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 102-5. | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Section 118-37.

Reasons for decision: Detailed Reasoning - Assessable income: Subsection 6-5(2) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) provides that the assessable income of a resident taxpayer includes ordinary income derived directly or indirectly from all sources during the income year. Section 6-10 of the ITAA 1997 provides that your assessable income also includes amounts which are not ordinary income. These amounts are referred to as statutory income and are listed in section 10-5 of the ITAA 1997. The list includes capital gains which are included in your assessable income by section 102-5 of the ITAA 1997. | Detailed Reasoning - Assessable income - compensation: Taxation Ruling TR 95/35 discusses when a compensation receipt will be ordinary income, such as if the sum was calculated as a direct compensation for loss of income with reference to lost salary and wages and or a part is separately identifiable and quantifiable as income. No part of the compensation sum was identifiable as an amount for lost income. Accordingly, no part of the compensation will be included in your assessable income as ordinary income under section 6-5 of the ITAA 1997. TR 95/35 specifies that compensation sums which are not ordinary income, are considered capital in nature and are potentially assessable under the capital gains provisions. However section 118-37 of the ITAA 1997 provides that you can disregard any capital gain from a settlement/compensation amount you receive for a personal wrong, injury or illness suffered in your occupation. The lump sum was paid as a result of a work related illness and you are entitled to disregard any capital gain arising from the payment. | Detailed Reasoning - Conclusion: No portion of the compensation sum will be included in your assessable income.

Please check this edited version to be sure that there are no details remaining that you think may allow you to be identified. Contact us at the address given in the fact sheet if you have any concerns. | Relevant facts: You have a disability due to illness. | Your illness is work related. | You have been receiving monthly payments under an income protection disability policy. | The payments were based on your pre-disability income. | You and your insurer entered into an agreement, where you received a lump sum payment. | The settlement compensates you for cancelling the policy and releasing your insurer from any rights or obligations owed to you under the policy. | No part of the lump sum payment was identified as being undissected in the agreement. | You received the settlement sum.