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| Staff Profile | - Fiona Dunn | ||
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Can you or your family benefit from the Education Tax Refund?
A new government initiative, the education tax refund, can potentially cut your educational expenses in half. The refund aims to ensure that all students can have adequate access to the resources that they require and that they are not disadvantaged by the cost of some of those resources. Eligible parents who incurred education expenses for primary or secondary school students in their care on or after 1 July 2008 are able to claim a tax refund for a proportion of the incurred expenses.
Generally, eligible parents are able to claim 50% of their education expenses for the year. The maximum claimable amount for primary and secondary school children is $750 and $1500 respectively. This results in a maximum refund of $375 for primary school children and $750 for secondary school children. Parents can claim the full refund for each child who meets the schooling requirement. For parents who have partial care responsibilities for a child the amount that they can claim will need to be apportioned accordingly. Independent students under the age of 25 who are undertaking primary or secondary school studies are also eligible to claim a refund on some of their education expenses.
You should be aware that not all expenses can be claimed. Purchases such as laptops and home computers and school text books are able to be claimed, whilst school fees and uniforms are not. The most important thing is keep your receipts in order to verify the eligible purchases in your return.
You can generally claim the refund
as part of your 08-09 tax return lodgment however you are still
able to claim the refund if you are eligible but are not
required to submit a return. Determining parent eligibility,
eligible education expenses and whether or not your child meets
the necessary schooling requirements to claim the refund can be
a little tricky to negotiate. The accountants and tax agents at
The Quinn Group can advise you on this to ensure that you get
the maximum return that is due to you. Contact us on 1300 QUINNS
or visit
www.quinns.com.au
to submit an online enquiry and one of our accountants will
contact you to discuss this and any other tax queries that you
may have.
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Disclaimer: The contents of this document titled “The Quintessential Brief” (the ‘Material’) are provided as general information only. It is not intended to be given as advice and should not be relied upon as such. If you are concerned about any issue raised by the Material then you should seek your own professional advice. No warranty is given in relation to the accuracy, currency or completeness of the Material. No reader should act on the basis of any matter contained in this publication without first obtaining specific professional advice. Where applicable, liability is limited by the NSW Solicitors Scheme under the Professional Standards Act 1994 (NSW), and other relevant state legislation. The Quinn Group respects your privacy. Should you not wish to receive this newsletter in the future please contact us on 1300 784 667.