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 […]
Christmas Parties & Gifts 2022
Year-end (and other) staff parties Editor: With the well earned December/January holiday season on the way, many employers will be planning to reward staff with a celebratory party or event. However, there are important issues to consider, including the possible FBT and income tax implications of providing ‘entertainment’ (including Christmas parties) to staff and clients. […]
Requesting Stapled Super Fund Details For New Employees
The ATO is reminding employers that, when they have new employees that have not provided them with their choice of super fund, super contributions should be made into: the employee’s stapled super fund; or the employer’s nominated account (but only if the ATO advises that the employee does not have a stapled super fund). Editor: […]
Chef Spending Most of A Year On Cruise Ships Still A ‘Resident’
The AAT has also held that a taxpayer, an Australian chef with over 20 years’ experience both in Australia and overseas, was an Australian resident for taxation purposes in the 2016 income year. During that year, he spent only 86 days in Australia, being the period prior to him leaving Australia to commence employment with […]
Input Tax Credits Denied Due To Lodging BASs Late
The Administrative Appeal Tribunal (‘AAT’) has held that a taxpayer could not claim $91,239 of input tax credits (‘ITCs’) at least partly because it lodged the relevant BASs more than 4 years too late. Specifically, the GST Act operates such that, if an extension of time to lodge a BAS has not been granted prior […]
ATO’s record-keeping tips
The ATO has reminded taxpayers that they should understand the record-keeping requirements for their business and keep accurate and complete records as they occur, as this should help them avoid penalties that may apply and reduce the possibility of the ATO denying their expense claims. The following are some of the ATO’s top tips to […]
ATO warning to SMSFs: “Paying the price for non-compliance”
There are various courses of action available to the ATO when trustees of self-managed super funds (‘SMSFs’) have not complied with the super laws, including applying administrative penalties. A number of factors determine the amount of the administrative penalty, including: the type of contravention; when it occurred; and the number of penalty units that apply. […]