Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997

🚫 No double deductions

If you were entitled to claim a tax deduction under the old law and the new law for the same expense, you can only claim it once — under whichever rule fits best.

📋 Old approvals and registrations carried forward

Documents that gave tax benefits under the old system (like approved charity registers, gift registers, occupational clothing registers, and emergency services endorsements) automatically continued to work under the new system — organisations didn't have to re-apply.

🚗 Leased car rules

Special rules manage how to calculate taxable income when a leased car was acquired or disposed of under the old system but relevant events happen under the new system.

📉 Old tax losses

Losses from as far back as 1957–58 can still be claimed as deductions in later years, subject to specific ordering rules.

🏠 Non-commercial business losses

Rules prevent people from offsetting losses from hobby-style businesses (activities that aren't genuinely commercial) against their regular income.

Why does it matter to you?

• If you earned over $180,000 between 2014 and 2017, you paid extra tax under this Act.
• If you've carried forward old tax losses from before 1997, this Act governs how you use them.
• If your organisation had approvals or charity registrations before 1997, this Act is what kept them valid.
• If you ever leased a vehicle and then sold it or ended the lease, this Act may affect how much income you report.