Private ruling: Deductions
Published: September 2014
Ruling period: Income year ended 30 June 2015
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2014

Ruling: Q1: Can you claim the costs of publishing a paper in a professional journal as a deduction under section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997)? | A1: Yes

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are an employee. You are going to publish a paper in a professional journal. Publishing papers in journals are part of the responsibilities of your position. These publishing expenses would normally be met by your employer but due to recent cuts to funding they are unable to meet these expenses at the present time.

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

Reasons for decision: Summary: Section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997 allows a deduction for all losses and outgoing to the extent to which they are incurred in gain or producing assessable income except whet the outgoings are of capital, private or domestic nature or relate to the earning of exempt income. It is accepted that publishing scientific journals is part of the requirements of your position and that but for the current financial position these expense would be met by your employer. Consequently there will be sufficient nexus between the expenses incurred in publishing the paper and the earning of your assessable income, consequently the publication costs will be deductible.