Austria MOF Clarifies Deductibility of External Vocational Training Costs

The Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance Aug. 28 posted online Federal Finance Court Decision No. RV/7102940/2023, clarifying the deductibility of vocational training expenses for teachers. The taxpayer, an individual employed as an English and IT teacher at a middle school, claimed expenses for a Master’s degree program as deductible income-related expenses. The Tax Office denied the deduction, arguing that the training lacked direct relevance to the taxpayer’s teaching duties. The Federal Finance Court found that: 1) the taxpayer used knowledge from the program in teaching business-related subjects at a specialized secondary school; 2) the program’s curriculum overlapped with subjects taught ...