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Fabioe93(Enthusiast)Enthusiast
17 July 2021

Hello,

I would like to know if the following payments are taxable, and if so in which section of my tax return should be included.

  1. 450 A$ COVID-19 Test Isolation Payment Program: https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/450-coronavirus-covid-19-test-isolation-payment
  2. 1100 A$ Victoria International Student Emergency Relief Fund: https://www.studymelbourne.vic.gov.au/news-updates/international-student-emergency-relief-fund
  3. 800 A$ Red Cross Emergency Relief Support: https://www.redcross.org.au/get-help/help-for-migrants-in-transition/help-for-migrants-in-transition/vic-relief

Thanks a lot for the infos

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3 replies
927 views
3 replies

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Most helpful reply

MarkATO(Community Support)Community Support
19 July 2021

Hi @Fabioe93

It looks like you have had a tough year so very sorry to see that. You can expect any payment replacing income (unless clearly stated other wise) to form taxable income. The reasoning being here they are replacing wages. Similar to a New Start payment. The good news though is if your are an Australian resident for tax purposes then the tax free threshold of $18,200 will be applied when calculating the return.

Any income like this if not already showing in your pre-fill can be declared at other income.

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Most helpful reply

MarkATO(Community Support)Community Support
19 July 2021

Hi @Fabioe93

It looks like you have had a tough year so very sorry to see that. You can expect any payment replacing income (unless clearly stated other wise) to form taxable income. The reasoning being here they are replacing wages. Similar to a New Start payment. The good news though is if your are an Australian resident for tax purposes then the tax free threshold of $18,200 will be applied when calculating the return.

Any income like this if not already showing in your pre-fill can be declared at other income.

Fabioe93(Enthusiast)Enthusiast
19 July 2021

Hi Mark, thanks for the answer,

From what i can see on the Red Cross website they say: Emergency relief payments are not income support. They are limited and we know may not meet all needs that you have.

So is that considered as a donation?

Liked by _Dan_ATO
MarkATO(Community Support)Community Support
19 July 2021

Hi @Fabio93

I found some information online that should prove helpful. You will see it indicates that one-off assistance payments are mostly tax-free. Therefore you would not need to include it. You may want to review the detail around your student emergency relief also to see if it matches the same criteria.

Liked by _Dan_ATO

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COVID-19 Test Isolation Payment Program - International Student Emergency Relief Fund | ATO Community