Education Tax Refund paid through the Tax system 007-10030000

As part of the 2012 Federal Budget, the Government announced the abolition of the ETR payment administered by the ATO.

From January 2013, Schoolkids Bonus was introduced. Payments delivered automatically in January and July each year to eligible customers from 2013 to 2016 inclusive. Schoolkids Bonus ceased from the end of 2016, with the final instalment paid in July for the 30 June 2016 bonus test day.

As part of the transition to Schoolkids Bonus, the ETR for the 2011-12 financial year will be paid by Services Australia as a one off lump sum payment. This payment is known as the ETR payment.

The Education Tax Refund (ETR) for a period prior to the 2011-12 financial year can still be claimed and paid through the ATO.

The ETR is to help families with children undertaking primary or secondary school studies to meet the costs of school education through assistance with certain education expenses. Under the ETR, eligible families can claim a tax refund of 50 per cent of eligible education expenses incurred from 1 July 2008 until 30 June 2011. This does not include expenses for school fees. The Resources page contains a link to the ATO website listing items that can be claimed.

The maximum refund for:

• 2008-09
• $375 per child, per year for each child undertaking primary school
• $750 per child, per year for each child undertaking secondary school
• 2009-10
• $390 per child, per year for each child undertaking primary school
• $779 per child, per year for each child undertaking secondary school
• 2010-11
• $397 per child, per year for each child undertaking primary school
• $794 per child per year for each child undertaking secondary school

The following customers will be eligible to claim the ETR:

• Customers entitled to Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A for children undertaking primary or secondary school studies for the relevant financial year. This includes FTB current, current at zero rate and lump sum claim customers. If a customer received FTB for the financial year and at reconciliation was later found not to be entitled to FTB Part A (for example, due to income being over the limit), they will not be entitled to claim the ETR
• Parents with a school child who stopped full-time school during the year and received income over the child cut-out amount, which prevented them from receiving FTB Part A
• Parents with school children undertaking primary or secondary school studies who would be an eligible child for FTB Part A but for the fact that the child receives certain payments or allowances, for example:
• Youth Allowance (YA)
• Disability Support Pension (DSP)
• ABSTUDY Living Allowance
• Payments under the Veterans' Children Education Scheme
• Payments under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004
• Customers undertaking primary or secondary school studies who are independent of their parents. An independent student for ETR is a student who:
• undertakes full-time primary or secondary school studies
• is receiving payments under a prescribed educational scheme, for example, ABSTUDY Living Allowance or a social security pension or benefit such as Youth Allowance or payments under a labour market program
• satisfies an independence requirement that is relevant to the amount of the payment
• is under 25
• is an Australian resident or a special category visa holder who resides in Australia
• does not have anyone else who is eligible for the education tax refund for them

The ETR is claimed through the ATO either via a customer's income tax return or via a stand-alone claim if the customer is not required to lodge an income tax return.

Note: when claiming for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A children, the customer who receives FTB Part A must be the one who claims the ETR.

Customers requesting further information regarding the ETR should be directed to the ATO.