What is the Small Business Skills and Training Boost?
The Small Business Skills and Training Boost provides businesses with a bonus 20% tax deduction for external training delivered to their employees
Background
The Government’s Skills and Training Boost encourages small businesses to train new staff and upskill existing staff, helping them to be innovative and grow. This measure will provide tax relief of $550 million.
Small businesses will be able to claim a bonus 20 per cent deduction for the cost of external training courses delivered to employees in Australia or online, by providers registered in Australia.
When the Small Business Skills and Training Boost claim a bonus 20 per cent deduction for the cost of external training courses delivered to employees applies?
This measure will apply to expenditure incurred in the period commencing from 7:30pm AEDT 29 March 2022 until 30 June 2024.
The bonus deduction (the additional 20%) for expenditure incurred from 30 March 2022 until 30 June 2022 will be included in the following income year, 2022–23.
The bonus deduction for expenditure incurred from 1 July 2022 until 30 June 2024 will be included in the income year in which the expenditure was incurred.
What can you claim in the Small Business Skills and Training Boost?
The Morrison Government is continuing to support small businesses by making it easier to do business. This includes:
- $10.4 million to enhance and redesign the Payment Times Reporting Portal and Register, making it easier to view the payment practices of Australia’s largest organisations.
- $5.6 million for a dedicated small business unit in the Fair Work Commission, making it easier for them to meet workplace obligations.
- $8 million to the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman making it easier to access expert advice.
- $4.6 million to extend Beyond Blue’s NewAccess for Small Business Owners program, making it easier to access mental health support.
- $2.1 million for Financial Counselling Australia’s Small Business Debt Helpline making it easier for small business owners to receive financial advice.
Small businesses can claim an additional 20% of the cost of external training courses that are provided to employees in Australia or online by Australian-registered providers.
How to claim the skills and training boost?
For eligible expenditure incurred between 7:30pm AEDT 29 March 2022 until 30 June 2022:
- claim the expenditure as usual in your 2021–22 tax return, and
- claim the additional 20% bonus deduction for this period in your 2022–23 tax return.
For eligible expenditure incurred from 1 July 2022 until 30 June 2023:
- you can deduct the entire 120% in your 2022–23 tax return.
For eligible expenditure incurred from 1 July 2023 until 30 June 2024:
- you can deduct the entire 120% in your 2023–24 tax return.
Eligible Expenditures
The bonus deduction is available to eligible small businesses that incur expenditure which meets the following criteria:
- expenditure must be for training employees, either in-person in Australia, or online;
- expenditure must be charged, directly or indirectly, by a registered training provider and be for training within the scope (if any) of the provider’s registration;
- the registered training provider must not be the small business or an associate of the small business;
- expenditure must already be deductible under the taxation law;
- expenditure must be incurred within a specified period (between 7.30pm (by legal time in the Australian Capital Territory) on 29 March 2022 and 30 June 2024); and
- expenditure must be for the provision of training, where the enrolment or arrangement for the provision of the training occurs at or after 7.30pm (by legal time in the Australian Capital Territory) on 29 March 2022.
