23 June 2013

 

Travel Agents – Is travel deductible?

 

It is a common practice within the travel and tourism industry for sales staff to be provided with discounted holiday packages and trips which are often referred to as 'educationals' or 'familiarisations'. As a travel agent, these may seem beneficial as the personal experience may be used to recommend tours and travel to clients. However, this reason alone is not sufficient for a tax deduction.

 

You will need to clearly demonstrate that the trip is more than a ‘holiday’.

 

For example, if you take a company camera with you to take photos and provide a detailed report to be printed as a brochure for the company, this will indicate that the trip is work-related. Simply putting the photos in an album at work, or blowing up the photo to be displayed at work is not sufficient (according to the ATO).

 

You may be requested by the company to attend a seminar, conference or meeting during your travels. As long as only light refreshments were served, it is not considered to be ‘entertainment’ and is therefore tax deductible.

 

You may need to keep a diary detailing the work-related events compared to your personal holiday travel so that travel expenses can be apportioned accordingly.

 

Work-related travel expenses can include: flights, public transport, vehicle expenses, accommodation, meals and the costs of conference/seminar tickets.

 

Passports, travel insurance and visas are definitely NOT tax deductible.

 

If you are a travel agent, and require further information, please contact us to discuss.