If you run a food related business and take some foods from your business to home consumption, then;
You must include the cost or market value of the food you have taken home in your assessable income.
This is because you purchased the food as trading stock and you have effectively “applied to own use” the trading stock by taking it home.
The ATO has just released (TD 2012/20) the values that you must use to recognise the fact that you have consumed some of your trading stock for the 2011-2012 year. The amounts stipulated in the Schedule within TD 2012/20 are reproduced in table below:
Type of business
$ amount for each adult/child over 16 years*
$ amount for each child aged 4-16 years*
Bakery
1,300
650
Butcher
770
385
Restaurant/cafe (licensed)
4,300
1,685
Restaurant/cafe (unlicensed)
3,370
1,685
Caterer
3,640
1,820
Delicatessen
3,370
1,685
Fruiterer/greengrocer
760
380
Takeaway food shop
3,240
1,620
Mixed business (includes milk bar, general store and convenience store)
4,030
2,015
* Note that these amounts exclude GST
Safe Harbour But Not Compulsory
Notwithstanding the above, the Commissioner acknowledges the difficulties associated with tracking items of trading stock that are taken for private consumption and therefore to reduce this administrative burden provides the schedule of amount in TD 2012/20 that taxppayers of specific industries can include as assessable income in their income tax returns.
