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With the end of financial year looming on Friday, many students are left bewildered by the ATO website, let alone what they can and can't claim on their tax return.
It can be confusing for students to know what their taxable income is, what a self-education expense is, or what to select from the multiple choice questions on a myTax form, according to a Wollongong accounting expert.
UOW medical health science student Braith Campbell said he wouldn't know where to start.
"The whole thing confuses me, I wouldn't even know where to do it," he said. "I would have to ask someone older than me, no one my age would know."
Arts and social science student Jade Curren said she usually gets her parents to lodge a return for her.
"I've never been properly shown... it's such an adult thing, when I look at it, it kind of scares me," she said.
Diploma of business student, Jet Grimes, said the whole process is just confusing.
"I've just never really been taught how to do it, either in high school or in my course."
It can be like navigating a mine-field, but the University of Wollongong's Erin Twyford, a senior lecturer in business, has outlined her top tips to getting your best from your tax return.
The first step, she said, is setting up a myGov account online, making sure you have access to the ATO (Australian Tax Office) online, then finding out what you can claim.
What can I claim?
Dr Twyford said it's difficult for students to know what expenses to claim because they have to be related to producing "assessable income" - which is the income you pay tax on, if you take home more than the tax-free threshold ($18,200).
"Self-education expenses" include costs associated with courses at an educational institution, attendance to work-related conferences and self-paced learning and study tours.
But you can't claim expenses from your uni expenses if job is in no way related to your study.
"You can't be working at a supermarket and claim the cost of your textbooks," Dr Twyford said.
"It's very easy to argue that if you end up with a degree, you're more likely to get a better paying job, but you already have to be in that industry, working, to claim those expenses on tax."
If you buy something and are trying to claim it on tax, there must be a link between it and your job.
Don't think you can claim fuel costs for driving to work either, but you could claim fuel if you drove from one worksite to another during a work day.
Most of the time the answer would be no - many day-to-day costs students pay to study are considered "private expenses".
"The ATO says that's just a consequence of you living 30 minutes away from university," Dr Twyford explained.
"It would have to be [things like] going from one job site to another."
And forget about claiming HECS fees - only course fees paid upfront can be considered suitable deductions.
"A lot of tax forms tend to benefit people who are wealthier, only wealthy people can afford to pay their fees upfront, therefore they get a tax deduction which means they pay less tax," she said.
But it's not all doom and gloom - any fees, general course expenses, lost value of depreciating assets, transport or food/accomodation costs that are appropriately linked to your assessable income can actually be claimed back at tax time.
Top tips at tax time
Unless you're an expert in the field - specifics of each category are still hard to get a grip on.
To help, Dr Twyford gave her three top tips to making the most out of tax time:
- Keep your receipts - set up a folder on your laptop and store any cost you think could count as a deduction.
- If you can afford it, see a tax agent. It's in your best interest, and the cost of the appointment is tax deductible. Experts know exactly what you can claim, possibly saving you money in the long run, and lodge tax returns on your behalf after the cutoff date.
- If you have some extra credit points to gain, take a tax class at uni. You'll use that knowledge for the rest of your life, no matter what profession you end up in.
If you can't make it to a tax agent, the ATO website has information for students, along with fact sheets that show common deductions for various professions, including an apprentices sheet applicable to students.
This financial year will conclude this Friday, June 30, and tax returns can be lodged until 31 October this year.
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