I spoke to my accountant just recently about this very thing & he showed me Tax rulings to the effect that the course costs are not claimable if they are outside yr 'current' activities meaning if you fly for Joe Blogs using PA31's etc that an A/C endo of the likes of an A320 is considered outside & therefore not claimable.
Also to gain another position such as a job with J* or Tig's for Eg by getting such a rating then that also is not allowed for the claiming of tax deductions.
If the endo is to improve yr current work activities then it would be claimable.This is the way I read it as per the ATO's paperwork..........bumma for all those hoping.
I'd suggest that you change accountants.
on a $30k Rating you can get around $15-19k back by spreading the return over 5 years.
As it's a one off bit of training it is considered a capital expense & therefore claimable. But you need to go to an accountant that specialises in aviation & has bothered to keep up with all the relevant amendments.
Problem is that Tax "accountants" aren't necessarily qualified accountants & may only have a cert IV or some such thing. Which may be adequate for most wage slave lodgements until something out of the ordinary comes along such as an aviation rating / endorsement etc. The "accountant" then has to go to the ATO for advice. The ATO, being a government department, is not unlike certain other gov departments that pilot's would be familiar with; In so far as no individual will commit to a decision, the stock standard answer is NO, or TOO HARD, and the person giving the advice may not know their elbow from their a
hole, (taxationially speaking). So your "accountant", rather than waste more precious time (money) on you, is going to give you a negative answer.
Better to spend the extra money for a qualified accountant who specialises in this stuff.
Galdian, spot on, the accountant has zero accountability ( no pun intended ) " yes your honour, jo bloggs told me that his claim was legit and see, he signed here "
Not exactly. That's a bit like saying that if you willingly crash an aeroplane into the ground, the powers that be will nail the accountant sitting in row 23D. "Your honour, we can prove that the accountant ticked the little box when purchasing his ticket online, thus absolving the pilot of all responsibility."