Private ruling: Travel expenses
Date of advice: 5 April 2016
Published: May 2016
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2015 | Year ending 30 June 2016 | Year ending 30 June 2017
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2014

Ruling: Q1: Are you considered to be carrying out itinerant work and entitled to a deduction for the cost of travelling to and from work? | A1: No

Relevant facts and circumstances: The arrangement that is the subject of the private ruling is described below. This description is based on the following documents. These documents form part of and are to be read with this description. The relevant documents are: • the application for private ruling, • additional information received. You are employed in a particular field and work and reside in City A. As part of your ongoing training and development you also work at hospitals in City B. You incur travel expenses including air and ground travel sectors.

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

Reasons for decision: Summary: Section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) broadly allows a deduction for any losses or outgoings to the extent to which they are incurred in gaining or producing assessable income except to the extent outgoings are of a capital, private or domestic nature. A deduction is generally not allowable for the cost of travel by an employee between home and their normal workplace as it is considered to be a private expense. The cost of travel between home and work is generally incurred to put the employee in a position to perform duties of employment, rather than in the performance of those duties: Taxation Ruling TR 95/34. However, a deduction is allowable for the cost of travelling between home and work if an employee's work is itinerant The question of whether an employees work is itinerant is one of fact, to be determined according to individual circumstances. It is the nature of each individual's duties and not their occupation or industry that determines if they are engaged in itinerant work. The following characteristics have emerged from these cases as being indicators of itinerancy: • travel is a fundamental part of the employees work • the existence of a web of work places in the employees regular employment, that is, the employee has no fixed place of work • the employee continually travels from one work site to another (an employee must regularly work at more than one work site before returning to his or her usual place of residence) A web of work places exists when an employee earns the income by performing his or her duties at several work sites before returning home. In FC of T v. Wiener 78 ATC 4006; (1978) 8 ATR 335 , the taxpayer was required to teach at four to five schools each day. Her duties for the day involved travelling between the schools to instruct pupils at different schools. This constituted a web of work places because the travel was a fundamental part of her work. Travelling between schools was part of her duties for the day. This situation is contrasted with Case U97 87 ATC 584; AAT Case 68 (1987) 18 ATR 3491, where the taxpayer was not considered to be an itinerant worker. His work required him to travel to one outer station for a number of days then another outer station for another period. It was decided that there is not the web of work places to be regarded as itinerant. In your case, we consider that travel is not a fundamental part of your employment. While you do perform your duties at more than one location, you generally travel to only one location in a work day, so it cannot be considered that you have a web of work places or that continuous travel between work sites is a part of your regular duties. There is no degree of uncertainty, as you are advised in advance as to which work location you need to attend. None of the other factors that may indicate itinerancy are applicable to your circumstances. Therefore in view of the above, your employment is not considered itinerant in nature as you generally travel to only one location to work on any given day. Consequently, you are not entitled to a deduction for your travel as it is private in nature.