Latest News
Renting Out Part Or All Of Your Home
Generally, if you rent out part or all of your home, the rent money you receive is assessable. This means that you must declare your rental income in your income tax return, but you can also claim deductions for any associated expenses. However, be warned. If you rent out part of your home, such as […]
Gumboots? Check, Akubra? Check. Tax Status? …
Hobby farming is a lifestyle choice that has been around for years and looks like an option that, if anything, is on the increase. It can be easy to poke fun at the typical hobby farmer (like the old joke about their skills at growing blackberries and rabbits). For many the choice to embrace the […]
Medicare levy surcharge, thresholds and rates
Different Medicare levy surcharge thresholds and rates apply to individuals and families. We use a special definition of income (called income for MLS purposes) to determine whether you are liable to pay the Medicare levy surcharge and the rate you will have to pay. What is included in income for MLS purposes? If you have […]
Running Your Business From Home
If your home is also your place of business, you can claim income tax deductions for a portion of the costs of owning, maintaining and using your home for this purpose. When you sell your home you may be liable for capital gains tax. Your home is your place of business if you run your […]
Business or hobby?
You may be unsure whether you’re in business, or your activity is just a hobby. A hobby is a spare-time activity or pastime pursued for pleasure or recreation. Unlike a hobby, a business is run with the intention of making a profit and has basic reporting requirements, such as declaring income and claiming expenses. It’s […]
Investing in shares
Dividends (income from shares) are considered income for tax purposes. There are also other tax implications of obtaining, owning and disposing of shares, including shares in employee share schemes. You can claim deductions for costs related to the dividend income, such as management fees and interest on money you borrowed to buy the shares. Obtaining […]
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 […]