Seminars – Tax Deduction?

As it will be used to aid you generating taxable income it is deductible in my opionion.

Hi Maveroc,

I beleive these are capital costs, and can therfore be added to your cost base. This will reduce the effects of a capital gain once the property is sold.

David Femia

Femia Property Group
Property Investment Consultants
http://www.femiapropertygroup.com.au

I’m in a simmilar situation, ie don’t own an IP yet but have spent large amounts on seminars, travel and accomodation, learning about and finding the IPs I’m currently purchasing. The amounts are not tax deductable from income as such, but I’ll definatly check out adding them to the cost base of the properties we’re buying to reduce the effects of CGT. Thanks David!

Cheers,
Scott S

“Aim for the stars and you’ll shoot the top of the telegraph pole. Aim for the top of the telegraph pole and you’ll shoot yourself in the foot!”
-anon

I enquired about this one with my accounting lecturer at uni. He said that you should be able to claim the seminars as an expense for 2002-2003 as an educational expense incurred to generate a future investment income.

Maybe this is why he’s lecturing at uni instead of owning his own practise? I’ll be getting my tax done in the next week or so I’ll let you all know the results.

Stuart,

You impress me with every post [8D]

There was a paragraph in that document which stated

quote:

---

We consider that self-education expenses are not deductible against payments under the following Commonwealth educational assistance schemes:
(a) AUSTUDY;

---

As I am currently receiving an AUSTUDY payment I can see that my seminar expenses cannot be claimed against this income. It did not make it clear whether the expenses could be claimed against other earned income though, one to check up on with my accountant.

There was also a paragraph which stated

quote:

---

No deduction is allowable for self-education expenses if the study is to enable a taxpayer to get employment, to obtain new employment or to open up a new income-earning activity (whether in business or in the taxpayer’s current employment). This includes studies relating to a particular profession, occupation or field of employment in which the taxpayer is not yet engaged. The expenses are incurred at a point too soon to be regarded as incurred in gaining or producing assessable income.

---

Hopefully as G-MAN007 suggested owning a parcel of shares will overcome this point.

Richmond – you already have an existing income stream so I would think it’s deductible. You may have to apportion between personal and investment (i.e. meals expenses, etc may not be deductible). This is a tricky area which I have not touched on for a couple of years (not until now when it’s become relevant again).

There is a defence that if a deduction is denied (maybe through an audit) and so long as you have a ‘reasonable arguable position’ (weird wording I know) then perhaps at worst all you will only have to pay is the tax and interest accrued on that amount (no penalties). So at worst you just pay the tax later. On this basis I am reasonably aggressive but not to the point where I move away from “reasonableness”.

I am not suggesting that anyone break the law. By all means comply with the tax law. I just want people to be aware that perhaps there might be an argument for why a deduction is legitimate. But this has to be an educated and well informed argument. Ignorance will not help you.

Just work with your accountant and give them as much information as possible. Bounce ideas off them. I would not suggest doing it alone.

Cheers

Stu

Property & Finance News
at http://www.prosolution.com.au

Haven’t filled in my tax return yet, but my account did a little research for me and said that I can claim the seminars as a deduction because i own other investments – shares (which I just sold some of to attend Steve’s next seminar!).