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 […]
Are you an Australian resident for tax purposes?
Generally, the Australian tax office consider you to be an Australian resident for tax purposes if you: Have always lived in Australia or have come to Australia to live Have been in Australia for more than half of the income year (unless your usual home is overseas and you don’t intend to live in Australia […]
Reward program benefits can be tax-free
Many companies, or even whole industries, offer their customers loyalty award-based incentives programs. These programs, such as the “Frequent Flyer” and “Fly Buys” schemes, are designed to reward customers for purchasing or using a company’s goods and services (or indeed, those of its affiliates). As a result of one particular court case, the Tax Office […]
Disaster Planning
Q: I have great sympathy for the businesses which were battered by the floods, fires and cyclones in Australia this year. These things can happen to anyone, any time. What should I do to make my business disaster-proof? A: Identify which data and applications are critical to your business, then ensure you have them backed […]
Flexible Workplaces
Q: Some of my staff are happy to be paid overtime, but others prefer time off in lieu. What are the rules around this? A: Firstly, check the conditions of employment in the relevant award or enterprise agreement. If there is nothing in there in relation to how overtime is to be handled, you should go […]
Tax Tips for Entrepreneurs
Considering small business tax implications in the early stages of a start-up is important to long-term success. Generally, when starting up a business, the most immediate concern to new entrepreneurs is profitability, with taxation somewhat near the bottom of the priorities list. Financial and tax advisors recommend incorporating taxation issues into start-up thinking, especially into […]
Car Parking Threshold For 2020 FBT Year
The car parking threshold for the FBT year commencing on 1 April 2019 is $8.95 (replacing the amount of $8.83 that applied in the previous year commencing 1 April 2018).