Private ruling: Share trading - course deduction
Date of advice: 7 July 2023
Published: 21 August 2023
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 20XX
Date scheme commenced: XX XXX 20XX

Ruling: Q1: Are you entitled to a deduction under section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act ITAA 1997 for a course undertaken in foreign exchange trading the period in 20XX? | A1: Yes Section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) allows you a deduction for any loss or outgoing that is incurred in gaining or producing your assessable income, to the extent that it is not of a private, capital or domestic nature. For an expense to be incurred in gaining or producing assessable income it is both sufficient and necessary that the occasion of the expense should be found in whatever is productive of assessable income, or if none is produced, would be expected to produce assessable income. The trading course has a relevant nexus to your assessable income, as it is incurred as a way of learning more effective ways to trade and therefore producing more assessable income.

Relevant facts and circumstances: This private ruling is based on the facts and circumstances set out below. If your facts and circumstances are different from those set out below, this private ruling has no effect and you cannot rely on it. The fact sheet has more information about relying on your private ruling. You have full-time employment. You started buying and selling different foreign exchange in order to make a profit in the short term. The goal is to turn your trading into a full-time income producing business. To do this you paid $XX in the 20XX income year for training, learning and education as an investment into your trading to turn it into a full-time business. You made a trading loss of $XX in the 20XX income year that you are claiming as a deduction. The trading and training platform provides ongoing webinar training, mentoring and coaching session as well as an educational platform for further learning and education in trading foreign exchange currencies. You have provided a copy of a trading report which shows from the XX/20XX to XX/20XX you made XX buy and sell transactions. Your trading pattern was designed to assess current market trends and trade on the highs and lows of the price of the currency, often selling the currencies within a week of each other. You do not intend to hold the currencies for the long term to make capital gains in the future.

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