Deductions - expenses incurred during volunteer work

Is the taxpayer able to claim a deduction under section 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) for expenses incurred while carrying out volunteer work?

No. The taxpayer cannot claim a deduction under section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997 as the expenses were not incurred while earning assessable income.

The taxpayer is an unpaid volunteer.

The taxpayer incurred expenses in order to perform their volunteer work.

Section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997 states that you can deduct from your assessable income any loss or outgoing to the extent that it is incurred in gaining or producing assessable income and is not capital, private or domestic in nature.

The taxpayer does not receive assessable income in respect of their volunteer work. The expenses the taxpayer incurs in order to perform their volunteer work are not related to the gaining or producing of assessable income.

Accordingly, the taxpayer cannot claim a deduction under section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997 in respect of the expenses incurred in order to perform their volunteer work.