Private ruling: Zone tax offset
Published: October 2011
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2012
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2011

Ruling: Q1: Are you entitled to a zone tax offset in the 2011-12 financial year? | A1: No.


Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 Section 79A

Reasons for decision: Summary: A zone tax offset is provided under section 79A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 for individuals who are residents of certain areas which are subject to uncongenial climatic conditions, are isolated, or where the cost of living is high. To qualify for the tax offset, you must have lived or worked in a remote area for 183 days or more during the financial year. However, if you lived in a remote area for less than 183 days during the financial year, you may carry the number of days forward to a future year as long as you lived in a zone for a continuous period of less than five years after 1 July 2005 and: · you were unable to claim in the first year because you were there less than 183 days, and · the total of the days you were there in the first year together with the total for the final year is 183 or more. In your case, you resided in a remote area between January 2010 and April 2011. This means that you were in a remote area for the required 183 days in the 2010-11 financial year and was eligible for the zone tax offset. However, you ceased to reside in a remote area after April 2011. Therefore, you cannot carry forward the unclaimed days from the 2009-10 financial year to the 2011-12 financial year because you will not reside in a remote area for any days during the 2011-12 year.

Please check this edited version to be sure that there are no details remaining that you think may allow you to be identified. If you have any concerns about this ruling you wish to discuss, you will find our contact details in the fact sheet. | Relevant facts: You lived in a remote area between January 2010 and April 2011.