Long story short, I will be purchasing a new phone for work purposes in the coming weeks.
I am currently overseas but will be returning to Aus with a stopover in a non-final destination. Is it possible to purchase a mobile device duty free, and then claim a tax deduction on it? I cannot find any information indicating either way.
I don't understand your comment, could you elaborate please?
They originally thought you were asking if you could buy it duty free and then claim the GST back (you can claim back GST on some purchases you make and then take overseas)
So the comment is - "You cannot claim duty (the tax) on something that you already got duty free.
Correct.
You can claim it against your income tax as a deduction or better yet, get work to pay for it since it is for work purposes.
You can claim it against your income tax as a deduction
Do you know of any sources on that?
get work to pay for it since it is for work purposes.
I haven't received a response yet, but I doubt it'd happen.
Edit: Formatting
Oh sorry, I meant whether or not I could claim a tax deduction on an item purchased duty free.
@coldogga: Claiming a deduction is not dependent on whether the item is duty free or not. It is whatever the item costs you and is needed to do your work. It is not possible for ATO to cover all scenarios in claiming deductions on their website, the deduction principle should be the same in all cases. Think of all those people claiming deductions on travelling expenses overseas or buying machinery/stock from overseas. Also, some items bought locally are already GST-free, those are valid deductions too(if required for work purposes).
Please be aware that if the phone you are claiming is over $300, you will need to depreciate it over several years and is not eligible for immediate deduction.
Best to see an accountant if you are still unsure of what some random guy off the internet is telling you. :)
@87percent: What I have said is neither illegal nor dodgy. OP only mentioned work purposes, so the deduction is perfectly valid. If it is used both for work and personal purposes, the deduction should be apportioned accordingly as stated on the ATO link I posted previously. When I do my tax return, I never claim 100% of anything that I also use for personal purposes.
depending on your phone and duty free limits you might even have to pay a duty to bring it in but might be able to claim it on tax later
I think you need to tighten your language - Do you mean can you claim a tax deduction (from your income) for something you bought duty free?
I'm not 100% on the answer, but I'd update to reflect the question, as at the moment its unclear.
Updated. Thanks :)
I’ve done this in the past, my accountant just looked at the historical exchange rate on the day of purchase and worked it out from that.
If the device is over $900 AUD in value, you will need to declare it as you re-enter Australia.
You cannot claim duty on something that did not have duty on it.