Latest News
Reminder of June 2024 Quarter Superannuation Guarantee (‘SG’)
Employers are reminded that employee superannuation contributions for the 1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024 quarter must be received by the relevant super funds by 28 July 2024 (which is a Sunday), in order to avoid being liable to pay the SG charge. Notice of Medicare levy exemption data-matching program The ATO will […]
ATO’s Main Residence Exemption Tips
The main residence exemption needs to be considered in a variety of situations when a taxpayer sells a property they have lived in. The ATO hopes that the following tips will help in this regard: Taxpayers should consider if they have started earning income from their home (in which case they may need to get […]
ATO issues notice of crypto assets data-matching program
The ATO has advised that it will acquire account identification and transaction data from crypto designated service providers for the 2024 to 2026 income years. This data will include the following: client identification details (names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, social media accounts and email addresses); and transaction details (bank account details, wallet addresses, […]
Minimum yearly repayments on Division 7A loans
To avoid an unfranked dividend under the Division 7A rules, loans from a private company to its shareholders or their associates must be either repaid in full or be covered by a ‘Division 7A complying loan agreement’ before the company’s lodgment day. Complying loan agreements require minimum yearly repayments (‘MYRs’) comprising of interest and principal […]
Support available for businesses experiencing difficulties
By paying their tax bill in full and on time, taxpayers can avoid paying the general interest charge (‘GIC’), which is currently 11.34%, and which accrues daily for any overdue debts. The ATO advises taxpayers that, if their business is dealing with financial difficulties, there are some options to help make their tax bill “less […]
Getting trust distributions right
As trustees prepare for year-end distributions, they should do the following: review the relevant trust deed to ensure they are making decisions consistent with the terms of the deed; consider who the intended beneficiaries are and their entitlement to income and capital under the trust deed; notify beneficiaries of their entitlements, so that the beneficiaries […]
Work-related expense claims rejected by Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’)
The Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’) recently disallowed a taxpayer’s claims for many different types of work-related expenses. The taxpayer was employed full-time as an engineer, working from home two days a week. For the 2023 income year, he claimed deductions totalling over $61,000, in relation to (among other things) car expenses, travel expenses, clothing expenses, […]
Check GST credit claims before lodging BASs
Taxpayers who are registered for GST can get GST credit claims (or ‘input tax credits’) for the GST included in the price of goods and services they buy for their business. However, if they buy something for both business and private use, they need to apportion their GST credit to only claim the business use. […]
Government payments programs
The ATO is reminding taxpayers that receive government payments for delivering services under a Commonwealth program, such as healthcare, disability support or child care, that they have an obligation to: keep accurate records; and report any such income they receive in their tax return. The ATO recently advised that it would be contacting taxpayers and […]
Contractors omitting income
Through data matching, the ATO is seeing some contractors incorrectly reporting or contractors omitting income. Contractors need to report all their income in their tax return, including payments made by businesses for their contracting work. Note that, as part of the taxable payments reporting system (‘TPRS’), certain businesses must lodge a ‘Taxable payments annual report’ […]
Businesses using cash to dodge obligations
The ATO is ‘cracking down’ on businesses that use cash to dodge obligations on their tax, employer and business. Businesses that do this may: – fail to report all sales transactions and fail to issue receipts; – avoid paying GST, income tax, PAYG withholding, super guarantee, insurance and work cover protection; – report their income […]
$20,000 instant asset write-off extended
Editor: The Government recently passed legislation to extend the $20,000 instant asset write-off for small businesses by 12 months to 30 June 2026. Taxpayers should note that if their business has an aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million, they may be able touse the instant asset write-off (‘IAWO’) to immediately deduct the business […]