Latest News
Hybrid vehicles and FBT changes
Employers that provide plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (‘PHEVs’) to employees (or associates) for personal use should remember the following. Home-charging expenses — new shortcut method The ATO has updated its guidelines to include a new method to make it easier to calculate PHEV electricity costs when a vehicle is charged at an employee’s home. To […]
When a hobby becomes a business
Taxpayers may not think they are running a business from their hobby or ‘side hustle’ activities. However, if they start to earn money from doing these activities regularly, they may be carrying on a business without realising it. Generally, carrying on a business involves ongoing and repeated activities with the intention of making a profit. […]
Know when a new logbook is required
Editor: Keeping a car logbook may be required to accurately calculate the business-use percentage of vehicle expenses (e.g., fuel, registration, insurance and depreciation) for tax deductions. Taxpayers can keep the same logbook for their car for five years, but there are circumstances where they may need a new one during that period. Relying on a […]
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 […]
Jail sentence for fraudulent developer
A developer who conspired to lodge fraudulent business activity statements has been convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail with a non-parole period of six years and eight months. The developer was involved with two companies that formed part of a group known as the ‘Hightrade Group’ which developed properties such as a hotel […]
FBT time is fast approaching!
The ATO has advised employers that ‘FBT time’ is just around the corner, and they need to stay on top of their fringe benefits tax (FBT) obligations. Employers need to ensure they have attended to the following matters this FBT time: Identify if they have an FBT liability regarding fringe benefits they […]
Small business concessions
The ATO has recently issued a reminder that small business owners may be eligible for concessions on the amount of tax they ultimately pay. This depends on their business structure, their industry and their aggregated annual turnover. For example, small business owners who have an aggregated annual turnover of less than: $2 […]
Super contribution caps to rise
The big news story for those contributing to super is that the contribution caps are set to increase from the 2025 income year. The concessional contribution cap will increase from $27,500 to $30,000. This ‘CC’ cap is broadly applicable to employer super guarantee contributions, personal deductible contributions and salary sacrificed contributions. The non-concessional contribution cap […]
New ATO guidance on “who is an employee?”
The ATO recently issued a ruling which explains when an individual is an ’employee’ of an entity for pay as you go (‘PAYG’) withholding purposes. A useful approach for establishing whether or not a worker is an employee of an engaging entity is to consider whether the worker is working in the business of the […]
Melbourne man sentenced to jail for attempting to defraud the ATO
A Wheelers Hill man was recently sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment for defrauding the ATO of nearly $35,000 and attempting to defraud the ATO of a further $458,000, following a joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police (‘AFP’) and ATO’s serious financial crime taskforce. The investigation began in June 2020, after the […]