Private school fees and tax?

If you go down the private eduction route in Australia, do you receive any type of tax rebate, or is it like the UK model where private eduction is your choice and although you are taking the weight off the state education system, you don't get any rebate back for it?

Thanks

If your child scores a scholarship at a private school, it is an unmentionable, to the tax department, or other full fee paying parents. They hate it especially when your scholarship child excells.

Private schools still get plenty of kick backs and hand outs from governments across Australia.

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chrispy said..
taking the weight off the public education system hahaha... go talk to your accountant.if your so concerned. you just sound greedy with that post .

I live in a semi rural area where the Community College only goes to year 10. We plan on our kids leaving that school at the start of Yr7 so that if they decide to go all the way through, they wont be changing high school in Yr 11.

The closest high school then is a private school of which we may or may not be able to afford. There are state schools available to us but it will mean having to travel further (and to be honest, they are not really in a good area). If a private school is just out of financial reach, but possible with a rebate or tax break of some sort the private school option is a no brainer.

I cant answer the OPs question, but the above comment is a bit harsh without knowing the situation....

What if the richest few % of the population decided they were sick of sharing congested roads with the rest of us, and that they could actually afford the cost of building their own private roads for their exclusive use so that they could have access to a better, faster road network.

Personally I'd say good luck to them, as long as they paid for it.

But I think my attitude would be that they would have to pay for all of it on top of the same road taxes the rest of us pay.

If they got to build their private roads whilst also taking with them the share of taxes they pay towards the public road system, I think I'd be much less supportive.

Isn't it the same with schooling? Shouldn't it be one common education system for all that everyone contributes to? And if you want to pay more for a better system, you don't also take your contribution to the common system with you? Or does this way of thinking make me a communist?

I've read the various threads that pop up regarding private vs public and I find it laughable that many posters are so binary, all private schools are lumped into the same category or alternately all public schools are lumped in together. There are good schools and bad schools, private or public. It's a no-brainer. Only an elite few private schools are expensive ruggers and pony. Similarly not every public school is next door to a housing commission. These generalisations are ludicrous.

In response to the OP if you are employed in a non profit organisation you can salary sacrifice for nominated specific agreed costs, from memory, mortgage, school fees, super etc Thus making your school fees tax free.

If you are looking for tax free Kings fees I suggest your accountants would already be on top of it, but then you probably don't pay any tax already nor would you be on SB.

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flanagaj said..
If you go down the private eduction route in Australia, do you receive any type of tax rebate, or is it like the UK model where private eduction is your choice and although you are taking the weight off the state education system, you don't get any rebate back for it?

Thanks

Yes there is already a large rebate in the form of taxpayer funding.

If you have enough money to send your kids to a private school im sure you can afford to pay for a Taxi

if not just send them to a public school on a bus, they are free

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Toph said..

Craig66 said..
If you have enough money to send your kids to a private school im sure you can afford to pay for a Taxi

if not just send them to a public school on a bus, they are free

Get a grip on yourself. A taxi twice a day 5 days a week for $40 each way is not affordable for anyone except the real wealthy who would likely have a driver anyway. For some, it's not about prestige, exclusivness or d!ck waving. It is about the better school for the kid, private OR public for a variety of considerations... Moving is an option, but that's not cheap or always desirable either.

Toph, did you not see the in my comment ??????

For those interested in the cash flow through education, this is indeed a contentious issue. Whilst the usual cloudy accounting is highly utilised, my understanding is that all totalled, private school students recieve more government funding than public students. Personally I think all students should be covered for a base amount, then public schools funded more on top to provide first rate public education. Specific private schools should be allocated specific funding for the public benefit ie for programs in areas with no public schools to take in students that otherwise would be travelling vast distances. I dont think the Gonski recommendation went far enough but it is a disgrace we arnt going to even approach the recommendation.

could you tell me what school you went to...just so I don't make the uneducated choice of sending my kids there. I DO NOT WANT THEMTO TURN OUT AS SMART AS YOY

We sent our boys to private schools because we wanted a quality education. I am not sure that they made the most of this opportunity, but that was their choice also. It is all about a matter of choice.

Funding of education is a a real contentious issue, but I am not sure that funding is the cure all. The argument here is that tax dollars should only go to state government public schools. This used to be the case in Australia, but was changed due to several arguments on the right to education in institution of choice. It was a historical thing rooted in the WASP/Catholic frictions of the past. And so it has been entrenched to the present day.

As we are seeing with current government proposed changes to current policies, it is very very hard to change.

So, where do we stand with education in Australia at present? I believe that education is generally undervalued within our society. State government have attempted to restore some value to the education by reintroduction of selective state schools. Private school parents of whatever persuasion and economic ability put value on the education by paying for their children's education. Others still send children to public schools but also home school and supplementary tutor . Other parents and children succeed wherever they go.

Education is a right. Freedom of choice is also a right in our society. Definitely should not be tax deductible

To answer the original question, you receive considerable tax dollars for your private school education, far more than a simple tax reduction.

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Main said..
if the fees are $25k pa. Then give the school a donation of $28k each year and ask for a full sports scholarship.

The donation is 100% tax deductible each year

Really? Are these schools somehow setup as charities?

If they are businesses, surely you can't donate money and claim a tax deduction unless its directly related to your business? Of course, that would be structuring your business to pay for personal items, so you must be doing it personally from your after tax income. So unless its a charity, how do you get a deduction from a private school?

Holy sh!t. I stirred a hornets nest with that post!

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sotired said..

Main said..
if the fees are $25k pa. Then give the school a donation of $28k each year and ask for a full sports scholarship.

The donation is 100% tax deductible each year

Really? Are these schools somehow setup as charities?

If they are businesses, surely you can't donate money and claim a tax deduction unless its directly related to your business? Of course, that would be structuring your business to pay for personal items, so you must be doing it personally from your after tax income. So unless its a charity, how do you get a deduction from a private school?

I was only joking

BUT - our donations to my kids school ARE tax deductible.