Private ruling: Assessable income
Date of advice: 13 November 2025
Published: 5 January 2026
Ruling period: Year ending 30 June 20YY
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 20YY

Ruling: Q1: Will the transfers of money from Individual Z's bank account with a Bank in Country Z, to Individual Y's Australian bank account, to provide financial support to Individual Y's family members residing in Australia, assessable for income tax purposes? | A1: No.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You are a non-resident of Australia for taxation purposes. You intend on transferring money from a bank account in Country Z to a bank account in Australia in multiple transactions. The funds being transferred were earned by you through your business and investment activities in Country Z. You will transfer this money to your child who lives in Australia and the money is for their living expenses and for them to purchase a home in Australia. Your child is not a beneficiary of a Trust in Country Z which relates to the money transferred to your bank account in Australia. The funds will be transferred from your family account in Country Z. The funds will be transferred into your account in Australia. Due to foreign transfer rules in Country Z the money is unable to be transferred directly into your child's bank account in Australia. You will transfer the money once you have received the private ruling from the ATO.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 subsection 6-5

Reasons for decision: Summary: Subsection 6-5(2) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) provides that the assessable income of an Australian resident includes ordinary income derived directly or indirectly from all sources, whether in or out of Australia, during the income year. Taxation Ruling TR 2005/13 Income tax: tax deductible gifts - what is a gift provides principles relevant to the determination of whether the receipt of money constitutes a gift. TR 2005/13 highlights that rather than attempting to define a 'gift', the courts have described a gift as having the following characteristics and features: • there is a transfer of the beneficial interest in property, • the transfer is made voluntarily, • the transfer arises by way of benefaction, and • no material benefit or advantage is received by the giver by way of return. Whether a gift is assessable income depends on the character of the gift in the hands of the recipient. A personal gift received by you for personal reasons, where there is no connection between the receipt of the gift and any income-producing activity by you, is not assessable income. You intend on making payments to your child in Australia from your account in Country Z. These payments are being made to your child to assist them with their living expenses and to purchase a home in Australia. The Commissioner is satisfied that the transfer of the money is a gift and will not be assessable income in Australia.