Teacher denied deduction for business management course

Teacher denied deduction for business management course

Editor: A recent case before the AAT highlights how careful taxpayers must be when claiming deductions for self-education expenses. 

The taxpayer was a classroom teacher (teaching psychology, chemistry, mathematics and science).  He was also enrolled as a part-time student in a ‘Postgraduate Diploma in Management,’ and he claimed a deduction of $19,779 for “work related self-education expenses”.

The AAT concluded that the course expenses, when considered as a whole, were not “sufficiently connected” with the taxpayer’s employment as a classroom teacher so as to warrant deductibility.

Please Note: Many of the comments in this publication are general in nature and anyone intending to apply the information to practical circumstances should seek professional advice to independently verify their interpretation and the information’s applicability to their particular circumstances.