Private ruling: Home to work travel
Published: November 2014
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2014
Date scheme commenced: On or after 1 January 2013

Ruling: Q1: Are you entitled to a deduction for travel between home and your usual clinic or your locum activities? | 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, or relate to the earning of exempt income. 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 (see paragraph 77 of Taxation Ruling TR 95/34 Income tax: employees carrying out itinerant work - deductions, allowances and reimbursements for transport expenses). However, there are situations where it has been accepted that travel from home to work is deductible. Taxation Ruling IT 2543 Income Tax: Transport Allowances: Deductibility of expenses incurred in travelling between home and work, summarises these situations as follows: (a) the taxpayer's home constitutes a place of employment and travel is between two places of employment or business; (b) the taxpayer's employment can be construed as having commenced before or at the time of leaving home; (c) the taxpayer has to transport by vehicle bulky equipment necessary for employment; (d) the taxpayer's employment is inherently of an itinerant nature; (e) the taxpayer is required to break his or her normal journey to perform employment duties (other than including incidental duties such as collecting newspapers, mail, etc.) on the way from home to the usual place of employment, or from the place of employment to home. In your case, we accept that you have a number of locations where you perform your duties. However, none of the situations listed above apply to your situation. Therefore, you are not entitled to a deduction for home to work travel.

Relevant facts: You are a sole trader professional working from a clinic for part of your time and you also subcontract at a number of other clinics. | You have a home office to complete the necessary administrative work.