Latest News
Know your private company loan arrangements before you lodge
The ATO advises taxpayers that, if they or an associate take a loan from their private company, they should not forget the requirements of repaying a private company loan for income tax purposes. Otherwise, they could find the loan treated as a Division 7A deemed dividend and included in their, or their associates’, assessable income. […]
Minimum annual payments for super income streams
The ATO reminds taxpayers that an SMSF must pay a minimum amount each year to a member who is receiving a pension that commenced on or after 20 September 2007 (e.g., account based pensions). If the minimum payment is not made by 30 June, this can result in adverse taxation consequences for the member In […]
The super guarantee rate is increasing
Businesses that have employees, or hire eligible contractors, will need to ensure that their payroll and accounting systems are updated to reflect the new super guarantee rate of 11% for payments of salary and wages that are made from 1 July 2023. Businesses need to calculate super contributions at 11% for their eligible workers for […]
Court penalises AMP $24 million for charging deceased customers
The Federal Court has found that four companies that are or were part of the AMP Group breached the law when charging life insurance premiums and advice fees from the superannuation accounts of more than 2,000 deceased customers. The Federal Court ordered two of these AMP companies to pay a combined penalty of $24 million […]
ATO ride sourcing data-matching program
The ATO will acquire ride sourcing data relating to approximately 200,000 individuals to identify individuals that may be engaged in providing ride sourcing services during the 2022/23 financial year. The data items include: identification details (driver identifier, ABN, driver name, birth date, mobile phone number, email address and address); and transaction details (bank account details, […]
‘Side hustles’ in the ATO’s sights
Editor: A recent ATO article highlights the fact that it is increasingly trying to bring more modern techniques of money-making into its tax net . . . ‘Side hustles’ have really grown over the past few years — everything from the gig economy and drop shippers, to content creators and influencers. The ATO recognises that […]
What’s New For Taxpayers
Before you complete your tax return for 2015, there are some changes you should be aware of in case they affect you. Mature age worker tax offset You can no longer claim the Mature age worker tax offset (MAWTO) in your tax return. Previously, to be eligible for the offset you needed to be an […]
Travel between home and work and between workplaces
While trips between home and work are generally considered private travel, you can claim deductions in some circumstances, as well as for some travel between two workplaces. If your travel was partly private and partly for work, you can only claim for the part related to your work. What you can claim You can […]
Gifts and donations
You can only claim a tax deduction for gifts or donations to organisations that have the status of deductible gift recipients (DGRs). Deductions for gifts are claimed by the person that makes the gift (the donor). For you to claim a tax deduction for a gift, it must meet four conditions: The gift […]
Capital gains tax checklist
The following questions will help you to identify possible capital gains tax (CGT) obligations. If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, CGT may apply. Some questions are intended to highlight the possibility of a capital gain or loss arising in the current year, others to alert you to the possibility of a […]
Tax on Super Contributions
The tax you pay on your super contributions generally depends on whether the contributions were made before or after you paid income tax, you exceed the super contributions cap or you are a very high-income earner. Before-tax super contributions The super contributions you make before tax (concessional) are taxed at 15%. Types of before-tax contributions […]
Zone Tax Offset – exclude ‘fly-in-fly-out’
In the 2015–16 Federal Budget, the government announced that it will exclude ‘fly-in-fly-out’ and ‘drive-in-drive-out’ (FIFO) workers from the Zone Tax Offset where their normal residence is not within a ‘zone’. Currently, to be eligible for the Zone Tax Offset, a taxpayer must reside or work in a specified remote area for more than 183 […]