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Other deductions

How to complete myTax if you have other deductions.

Last updated 9 June 2016

Complete this section if you have other expenses that you have not been able to claim as deductions elsewhere on your tax return.

You may claim at this section:

  • 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
  • interest incurred on money borrowed to invest under the infrastructure borrowings scheme if you intend to claim a tax offset at Other non-refundable tax offsets
  • small business pool deductions for depreciating assets of your small business pool that you cannot claim at Business income or losses 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.

Depreciation and capital allowances tool

You can use the Depreciation and capital allowances tool to work out the total decline in value deduction and any deductible balancing adjustment when you stop holding a depreciating asset. To access the tool, select the 'Work it out' link in the Deductions or tax losses from earlier income years section on the Prepare return screen.

For more information about expenses you can claim, that you have not been able to claim as deductions elsewhere on your tax return, see Other deductions.

Completing this section

  1. For each of your other deductions select Add and enter information into the corresponding fields.
  2. Select Save.
  3. If, at Personalise return you selected Other deductions, or losses from earlier years, and are claiming election expenses, add up all your deductible election expenses. Enter the amount into the Election expenses field.
  4. Select Save and continue.

Note: If you used the Depreciation and capital allowances tool, fields containing information from the tool cannot be directly adjusted in myTax. To make any adjustments to this information, or to add new assets to the tool, select Work it out.

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