Eligibility to claim self-education expenses

You can claim a deduction for a self-education expense if, at the time you incur the expense, it has a sufficient connection to earning income from your employment activities.

Self-education has a sufficient connection to earning your employment income if it either:

• maintains or improves the specific skills or knowledge you require for your current employment activities
• results in, or is likely to result in, an increase in your income from your current employment activities.

Expenses you can claim

If your self-education expenses meet the eligibility criteria, you can claim a deduction for the following expenses:

• Tuition, course, conference or seminar fees
• General course expenses
• Decline in value of depreciating assets
• Car and other transport expenses
• Accommodation and meal expenses (incurred when the self-education requires you to travel and be away from your home for one or more nights)
• Interest on borrowings.

For self-education expenses incurred before 1 July 2022, you generally can’t claim the first $250 of expenses.

Source: Australian Taxation Office