Private ruling: Self-education expenses
Date of advice: 12 May 2020
Published: June 2020
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 20XX | Year ending 30 June 20XX
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 20XX

Ruling: Q1: Are the course fees you incurred an allowable deduction as self-education expenses under section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 for the years ended 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2020 respectively? | A1: Yes. Your expenses meet the requirements in Taxation Ruling TR 98/9 Income tax: deductibility of self-education expenses incurred by an employee or a person in business .

Relevant facts and circumstances: Since 20XX, you have been continuously employed in a Government position. Prior to taking leave you worked in Office A in Department X. You went on leave for several months. You commenced your course around the time that you went on leave. You continued the course work, including attending on campus sessions, during the period of leave. Upon returning to full-time work, you were placed into a new role. In Office B, still in Department X. Some months later, Office B transferred from Department X to a reorganised Department Y. You continue in this role today. After having spent some time in your original role, you and your employer identified the potential for significant benefits to your work from further study. With the encouragement and support of your employer and superiors, you researched numerous options and identified a particular master's degree as being closely aligned to the needs of your current role and those of your employer. Your application for enrolment in the course was accompanied by a letter of reference from your employer who strongly supported the undertaking of this further study due to its relevance and expected value to your work. You were also granted X days of paid study leave, further demonstrating the accepted connection and value of the course to your work by your employer. You provided a letter from your employer which included the following: I supported the application as the course would clearly improve relevant skills and knowledge. Particularly given XXX completed a particular stream of the course. Some units in particular provided skills which are fundamental to XXX's role. The skills studied are directly related to the work XXX did prior to taking leave. XXX's new role, commenced after returning from leave, also draws heavily on the application of the study undertaken. You provided a course handbook which listed the course subjects. You selected a particular stream of the course because the fields of study are all considered directly relevant to your area of work. You consider the course to have been especially relevant to both of your roles within the Government. You provided some key highlights of the units undertaken and related the learning outcomes to your roles. Having completed the course, you have acquired a deeper understanding of a particular area of your work that you felt needed improving prior to undertaking the course. The course was directly connected to your role prior to taking leave. Although a change in role occurred, you have remained with the same employer throughout. Your new role requires substantially the same knowledge and skill sets and retains the same level of connection to the course work undertaken. The purpose and intended outcome of undertaking the course was not the obtaining of the new role, nor any other role or new employment. You feel confident that your increased skills and knowledge, in conjunction with the additional, highly regarded qualification obtained, is highly likely to lead to improved job performance and therefore an increase in your income in the foreseeable future. You incurred the program course fees primarily during the year ended 30 June 20XX, however due to the extended payment arrangement offered, a final outgoing was incurred during the year ended 30 June 20XX. You provided two certificates of fees issued by the education provider. All course fees were paid by you personally and no reimbursements or other financial contributions were received of any kind from your employer or otherwise.

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