D15 Other deductions - not claimable at items D1 to D14 or elsewhere on your tax return 2016

Complete question D15 to claim expenses you haven't been able to claim at D1 to D14 or elsewhere in your tax return.

Last updated 25 May 2016

Did you have any other expenses that you have not been able to claim as deductions at items D1 to D14 or elsewhere on your tax return?

No	Go to Total supplement deductions 2016, or return to main menu Individual tax return instructions 2016.
Yes	Read on.

Do not show at this item:

expenses relating to your work as an employee
expenses relating to income from carrying on a business as a sole trader (including personal services income or as a share trader)
expenses relating to investment planning and advice involving shares, unit trusts and interest-bearing deposits
losses from the disposal of shares or real property that are capital in nature.

Other questions deal with these matters.

You need to know

Expenses you may be entitled to claim

You may claim at this item:

election expenses for local, territory, state or federal candidates
income protection, sickness and accident insurance premiums
foreign exchange losses
debt deductions incurred in earning assessable income that are not disallowed under the thin capitalisation rules and have not been claimed elsewhere
debt deductions incurred in earning certain foreign non-assessable non-exempt income that are not disallowed under the thin capitalisation rules
amounts deductible under section 40-880 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) (five-year write-off for certain business-related capital expenditure) not claimed in full before you ceased business or before you stopped carrying on your business as an individual (for example, if you started to carry on your business through a company or in a partnership)
certain start-up expenses deductible under section 40-880 of the ITAA 1997 that are immediately deductible if you are a small business entity or for a business that you propose to carry on
a deduction for the net personal services income loss of a personal services entity that related to your personal services income
certain deductible capital expenditure not claimed in full before ceasing a primary production business where a deduction can be claimed in a subsequent year or years; for example, water conservation expenditure, which may be deducted over a three-year period
non-capital losses incurred on the disposal or redemption of a traditional security which are deductible under section 70B of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936); for more information, see the section on Sale or disposal of company bonds and convertible notes in You and your shares 2016 (NAT 2632)
interest incurred on money borrowed to invest under the infrastructure borrowings scheme if you intend to claim a tax offset at item T8 Other non-refundable tax offsets 2016
small business pool deductions for depreciating assets of your small business pool that you cannot claim at item P8 on the Business and professional items schedule for individuals 2016 because you did not carry on a business in 2015-16; for more information, see Small business entity concessions
self-education expenses you incurred in doing a course to satisfy the study requirements of a taxable scholarship.

The law has been changed so that, for 2011-12 and later years, you cannot claim deductions for expenses incurred in actively seeking paid work if you receive Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance as a job seeker.

Election expenses

Election expenses include a candidate's costs of contesting an election at a local, territory, state or federal level of government. A deduction for local government election expenses cannot exceed $1,000 for each election contested, even if the expenditure is incurred in more than one income year. Entertainment expenses only qualify as deductible election expenses in very restricted circumstances.

For more information about deductions for election expenses, see Taxation Ruling TR 1999/10 - Income tax and fringe benefits tax: Members of Parliament - allowances, reimbursements, donations and gifts, benefits, deductions and recoupments.

You must show as income at item 24 on your tax return a reimbursement in 2015-16 of any election expenses that you have claimed as a deduction in 2015-16 or a previous year.

Income protection, sickness and accident insurance premiums

You can claim the cost of any premiums you paid for insurance against the loss of your income. You must include any payment you received under the policy for loss of your income at items 1, 2 or 24 on your tax return.

You cannot claim a deduction for a premium or any part of a premium which you paid under a policy to compensate you for such things as physical injury. Life insurance, trauma insurance and critical care insurance are some types of policies for which premiums are not deductible.

You cannot claim a deduction for a premium where the policy is taken out through your superannuation fund and the premiums are deducted from your superannuation contributions.

Foreign exchange losses

Unless you carried on a business and have included all your foreign exchange losses (forex losses) in calculating your business net income or loss at item 15, your deductible forex losses must be shown at this item (except any foreign source forex losses that you have included at item 20). Show any assessable foreign exchange gains (forex gains) at item 24 on your tax return.

Losses attributable to a fluctuation in a currency exchange rate or to an agreed exchange rate differing from an actual exchange rate are brought to account when they are realised. This is when you:

dispose of either foreign currency, or a right to such currency
cease to have a right to receive or pay foreign currency, or
cease to have an obligation to pay or receive foreign currency.

Some forex losses are not deductible, for example, forex losses of a private or domestic nature, or those relating to exempt income. In some cases, forex losses on the acquisition of capital or depreciating assets, or on the disposal of capital assets, are also not deductible. In these cases, the losses are integrated into or matched with the taxation treatment of the underlying asset.

In some circumstances, you may make an election that affects the realisation or treatment of a forex loss. You can find more information about the forex measures and how to calculate your forex losses at Foreign exchange gains and losses.

Debt deductions

You may claim 'debt deductions' incurred in earning assessable income (for example, foreign source income that has been included at item 20 on your tax return) at this item, if you have not claimed them elsewhere on your tax return.

A 'debt deduction' is, broadly, an expense incurred in obtaining or maintaining a loan or other form of debt finance. Examples include interest, establishment fees, legal costs for preparing loan documents and fees charged by lending institutions for drawing on a loan facility.

If you were an Australian resident, you can claim debt deductions incurred in earning certain types of foreign non-assessable non-exempt income that were payments out of attributed controlled foreign company income or attributed foreign investment fund income.

You are not allowed to claim debt deductions disallowed under the thin capitalisation rules. Thin capitalisation rules may apply if:

you were an Australian resident and you (or any associate entities) had certain overseas interests and your debt deductions combined with those of your associate entities were more than $2 million for 2015-16, or
you were a foreign resident with operations or investments in Australia and your debt deductions against Australian assessable income combined with those of your associate entities were more than $2 million for 2015-16.

You can find more information at Thin capitalisation.

Special rules apply to deductions for expenses that you incur in borrowing money that you use for producing assessable income. Examples of such expenses include establishment fees and legal costs for preparing loan documents. Interest expenses are not subject to these rules and are deductible in the year in which you incur them.

If the total of these expenses you incurred in 2015-16 is more than $100 you have to deduct the expenses over the shorter of the following periods:

the life of the loan, or
five years from the date you first borrowed the money.

If the total of these expenses you incurred in the 2015-16 income year is $100 or less, you can deduct them immediately.

Section 40-880 deductions: Start-up expenses

From 1 July 2015, section 40-880 of the ITAA 1997 allows a taxpayer who is not in business, or who is a small business entity, to immediately deduct certain start-up expenses relating to the structure or operation of a business that is proposed to be carried on.

Expenditure is fully deductible in the income year incurred if it:

is incurred by you and you are a small business entity or you were not in business during the income year, and
relates to a business that is proposed to be carried on, and
is either
- incurred for advice or services relating to the structure or operation of the business, or
- paid to an Australian government agency in relation to setting up the business or establishing its operating structure.

Section 40-880 deductions

This section allows you to claim a deduction for certain business-related capital expenditure over five income years.

Claim a section 40-880 deduction at this item if:

you incurred the relevant capital expense and
- the expenditure relates to a business that was proposed at the time the expense was incurred
- the business commenced before 30 June 2016, and
- you are carrying on the business through a company or trust, or
you incurred the relevant capital expense and the expenditure relates to a business which ceased in a previous income year and you carried on the business through a company or trust.

If you incurred relevant section 40-880 expenses in relation to a business which ceased in a previous income year and you carried on the business as a sole trader or through a partnership, claim the amount at item P8 on the Business and professional items schedule for individuals 2016. If this applies to you, then you must lodge your tax return using myTax or a registered tax agent.

If you incurred relevant section 40-880 expenses that do not qualify for immediate deduction and you had not commenced the business by 30 June 2016, your deduction for this amount will be deferred until the year in which the business activity commences. The deferred amount may be deducted in the income year in which the activity commences.

For more information about section 40-880 deductions, see the Guide to depreciating assets 2016 (NAT 1996).

Net personal services income loss of a personal services entity that related to your personal services income

There are special rules for the income tax treatment of certain personal services income. Personal services income is income that is mainly a reward for your personal efforts or skills and is generally paid to you or to a personal services entity (being a company, partnership or trust).

Where the payment was made to a personal services entity and that entity incurred a personal services income loss relating to your personal services income, you can claim a deduction for that loss.

For more information about personal services income deductions, see What to do when the PSI rules apply.

If you need help with these rules, phone us on 13 28 66.

Self-education expenses related to satisfying the study requirements of a taxable scholarship

You may claim at this item expenses you incurred in meeting the study requirements of a taxable scholarship. However do not claim these expenses here if you were an employee of the provider; claim them at D4 Work-related self-education expenses 2016.

Examples of expenses you can claim are textbooks, stationery, student union fees, student services and amenities fees, the decline in value of your computer and certain course fees.

You cannot claim a deduction for travel from your home to your normal place of education and back.

For more information go to the Self-education expenses calculator

Print 'Scholarship expenses' in the Description of claim box.

Completing this item

Step 1: Election expenses

Add up all your deductible election expenses. Write the total amount at E item D15 on page 15 of your tax return. Do not show cents. If you have no other expenses, go to Check that you have... otherwise, read on.

Step 2: Other expenses

Print the type of expense you are claiming in the Description of claim box at item D15. If you are claiming for more than one type of expense, print 'multiple expenses' in the Description of claim box.

Step 3

Add up all the other expenses that you are claiming at this item (excluding election expenses).

Step 4

Write the amount from step 3 at J item D15. Do not show cents.

Check that you have...

Written on your tax return the total amount of your deductible election expenses, if any
Printed on your tax return the type of other expenses you are claiming
Written on your tax return the total amount of all other expenses you are claiming

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