Private ruling: Self-education expenses
Date of advice: 29 January 2024
Published: 11 March 2024
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2023
Date scheme commenced: XX XX 2023

Ruling: Q1: Are you entitled to a deduction for self-education expenses incurred in association with completing a data science course under section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997)? | A1: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You commenced a data science course on XX XX 20XX. The course was offered by a company. The modules that were completed involved data science. This data science course improved your technical understanding of the relevant topics and allowed you to better fulfill the technical aspect of your role as a business analyst. You were employed by a company from XX 20XX to XX 20XX on a full-time basis. You were employed as an IT business analyst. Your role involved working in technology projects across different industries. The work would often require a good understanding of data structures, data analysis and data manipulation. While studying you decided, with the support of your employer, to take both annual and unpaid leave but remained employed. You self-funded the total cost of the course. You completed the course on XX XX 20XX. The study you have completed has relevance to the duties of your current and previous role.

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