Private ruling: Portable refrigerator
Published: November 2013
Ruling period: Year ending 30 June 2014
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2013

Ruling: Q1: Are you entitled to a deduction for the decline in value of your portable refrigerator that you use for the storage of food and drink? | A1: No


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 allows a deduction for all losses and outgoings to the extent to which they are incurred in gaining or producing assessable income except where the outgoings are of a capital, private or domestic nature. Food and drink are ordinarily private matters, and the essential character of expenditure on food and drink will ordinarily be private rather than having the character of a working or business expense. However, the occasion of the outgoing may operate to give to expenditure on food and drink the essential character of a working expense in cases such as expenditure incurred while away from home. The reference to 'expenditure incurred while away from home' is a reference to the situation where a taxpayer must travel away from home for the purposes of their employment. Where a taxpayer is required to travel for work purposes the cost of meals may be deductible (e.g. an office worker attending an interstate conference or an 'on road' salesman). In your case you install and maintain certain products and are required to work out in the field every day to perform this work returning to your home base every night. You are not considered to be travelling for work purposes and meals consumed in the normal course of a working day are not deductible. It follows that your use of the portable fridge for storing such meals is not use for the purpose of producing assessable income, but is use for private purposes. Therefore, you are not entitled to a deduction for the decline in value of your portable refrigerator as it is as a private expense.

Relevant facts: You work for a company that installs and maintains certain products. | This work means that you are out in the field all day. | You travel to each job every day and return back to your home base every night. | Because you and your truck are out in the hot sun all day, you would like to buy a portable refrigerator to install into your company provided work vehicle, to keep your lunch and drinks cold. | You need to take your lunch with you everyday as you are out in the middle of nowhere and there is no possibility of returning to town.