Mitchell and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

In the matter of *Mitchell and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)*, Mr Mitchell sought a review of the Commissioner's decision to disallow his objection against an amended assessment for the year ended 30 June 2013. Mr Mitchell had claimed a deduction for overtime meals expenses totalling $8,130. The Commissioner allowed a deduction only up to the amount of overtime meal allowances included in Mr Mitchell's assessable income, which was $1,608, disallowing the balance of the claim.

The legal issues before the court were whether the overtime meal expenses incurred by Mr Mitchell were deductible under section 8-1 of the *Income Tax Assessment Act 1997* (Cth), considering whether they were incurred in gaining or producing assessable income and were not of a private or domestic nature. Additionally, the court was required to determine if Mr Mitchell satisfied the substantiation requirements for the deduction, specifically the exception for reasonable overtime meal allowances.

The court reasoned that for an expense to be deductible under section 8-1, it must have a sufficient nexus to the derivation of assessable income. The court noted that Mr Mitchell's employment as a site surveyor often required him to work extended hours, including early mornings and Saturdays, which necessitated incurring expenses for meals. The court considered the terms of the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) that applied to Mr Mitchell's employment, which stipulated payments for overtime meals and defined ordinary working hours and overtime provisions. The court's analysis focused on whether the expenses claimed were genuinely incurred for meals consumed while working overtime and whether they met the criteria for deductibility, including the exception for reasonable overtime meal allowances.

The court found that Mr Mitchell had not discharged his onus of proof to demonstrate that the full amount of the claimed deduction was incurred in gaining or producing his assessable income and was not of a private or domestic nature. Consequently, the court upheld the Commissioner's disallowance of the deduction for the balance of the overtime meal expenses claimed beyond the amount allowed by the Commissioner.