I am an international student intaking a Commercial Cookery course starting this February in Melbourne. I just got a job this month related to my course and I have a few questions:
Hi @krstnsga,
Your tax rate depends on whether you're considered an Australian resident for tax purposes. Many international students are treated as residents if they’ve been in Australia for more than six months and have settled into a routine (like studying and working). If you're a resident, you’ll be taxed at these rates. You can check your residency status using our online tool, which will help you work out how your income will be taxed.
You’ll need to lodge a tax return after the end of the financial year (which runs from 1 July to 30 June). You can do this using either:
If too much tax was withheld from your pay, you may get a refund.
With regard to your self-education expenses, you can only claim the costs if your course directly relates to your current job. If it does, you can claim things like:
But you can’t claim:
Yes my course is directly related to my job I’m working now. Since I just got accepted to my job this month in September, and my course started this February, is it still possible to claim the return from February? I’m not sure which receipts should I post in Mydeduction.
Hi @krstnsga,
You can’t claim self-education expenses from February if you weren’t working in your current job at that time. You can only claim study costs if the course is directly related to your job, and you were employed when you paid for those expenses.
Since you started your job in September, only the study costs you paid after you started working can be claimed. Anything paid before you got the job (like in February) doesn’t count because you weren’t earning income from that job yet.
You should keep receipts for:
Make sure you keep these records for at least 5 years.
How can I know if this is legit or I can actually claim it in the future? Is there someone professional/from the ATO I can reach out to? I’ve tried giving them a call but they just told me to wait until July next year.
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