Deductibility of a donation of property made to a school

Is a donation of property to a school deductible under Division 30 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997)?

No. A donation of property to a school is not deductible under Division 30 of the ITAA 1997 as the donation does not constitute a deductible gift.

The taxpayer donated an item of property to a school.

The gift was made after 1 July 2000.

The school is not endorsed by the Commissioner of Taxation as a deductible gift recipient nor was it listed as a specific education gift recipient.

Division 30 of the ITAA 1997 deals with the deductibility of gifts or contributions.

Section 30-15 of the ITAA 1997 contains a table of all the gifts and contributions that a taxpayer can deduct. The table describes who the recipient of the gift can be. A school is not specifically listed as a recipient in this table.

A fund, authority or institution will be a gift recipient if it is listed in Subdivision 30-B of the ITAA 1997. There is a general category of education recipient (subsection 30-25(1) of the ITAA 1997). However, a school is not listed in this category. Neither is the specific school listed as a specific education recipient under subsection 30-25(2) of the ITAA 1997. The school is therefore not a listed gift recipient for the purposes of Subdivision 30-B of the ITAA 1997.

Subdivision 30-BA of the ITAA 1997 deals with the endorsement of entities as deductible gift recipients. The school has not been endorsed as a deductible gift recipient.

As the taxpayer's gift was not given to a listed or endorsed gift recipient, the donation of property is not a deductible gift under Division 30 of the ITAA 1997.