You may be wondering, are financial advice fees tax-deductible in Australia? The answer is yes — but only in certain situations. The ATO allows individual taxpayers to claim deductions for some types of financial advice fees, but there are strict limits. Importantly, the fees must be paid by you personally (not through your superannuation). Below is a breakdown of which financial advice fees you can and cannot claim as a tax deduction.
- Eligible Deductions (When You Can Claim)
You may claim deductions for financial advice fees you personally pay in the following circumstances:
- Ongoing advice fees for income-producing investments — for example, regular annual or semi-annual reviews of the performance of your investments.
- Fees for advice about your existing portfolio — such as whether the mix of your income-producing investments is still appropriate and whether to keep or sell those assets.
- Fees for advice on income protection insurance products.
- The portion of advice fees that relates to managing your tax affairs — for example, advice on how tax laws apply to your personal circumstances.
These deductions are allowable only if you paid the fees yourself (not through your super fund). You must also keep evidence — such as an itemised invoice — to support your claim or to apportion deductible and non-deductible components.
- Non-Deductible Fees (When You Cannot Claim)
You cannot claim deductions for financial advice fees paid for:
- Initial advice on proposed investments (for example, setting up a new investment strategy).
- Advice on growing or restructuring your investment portfolio.
- Advice about life insurance, trauma insurance, or total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance.
- Household budgeting or other private/domestic financial matters.
- Any advice fees paid directly from your superannuation fund.
⚠️ A Note of Caution
You also need to be careful when your existing financial planner retires or sells their business to a new adviser. If the new adviser re-evaluates your portfolio and treats it as a new advisory engagement, the fee may not be tax-deductible.
Reference
Claiming financial advice fees
General Advice Warning
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