A surgeon based in Melbourne, who spent about 70% of his time working as a locum, in NSW hospitals, has been denied a deduction for car and meal expenses incurred while travelling to and working in those hospitals.
The taxpayer was an assistant surgeon based in Melbourne. In the 2015-16 income year, he was also employed as a locum in a number of hospitals in NSW. He was away from home for a total of 247 days. The positions were arranged by an agency, which also arranged flights and accommodation for overnight assignments outside Victoria. The taxpayer’s pay included a meal allowance.
The taxpayer claimed deductions for car expenses incurred in driving to and from the airport (whether from home or work) and the hospitals. The AAT, however, said that his duties did not commence until he arrived at the relevant hospital and therefore the car expenses were not incurred in the course of gaining or producing his assessable income. Further, car expenses incurred by the taxpayer in travelling from one hospital to another were not deductible under s 25-100 ITAA 1997. When he started the journey, the arrangement under which he gained assessable income at the first hospital had ceased and therefore he was not travelling between workplaces.
The AAT also rejected the taxpayer’s claim for meal and incidental expenses (calculated by using the ATO’s reasonable amounts for travel allowance expenses for 2015-16). The AAT said that, due to personal circumstances, the taxpayer lived far away from where he earned his assessable income and therefore the meal and incidental expenses were living expenses which were private or domestic in nature (and thus not deductible). [LTN 169, 2/9/21]
[s25-100 provides deductions for travel between two places of work, in certain circumstances, but it does not exclude other bases of deductions, such as general deductions, under s8-1. Might not a s8-1 deduction be allowed, as it would driving to the airport, for a conference?]
(Mfula v CofT [2021] AATA 3067, AAT, Kirk SM, 30 August 2021.)
[Tax Month – September 2021] 3.10.21