Latest News
More COVID-19 business grants are now tax-free
The Federal Government has expanded the list of State and Territory COVID-19 grant programs that may be tax-free to eligible businesses. A State or Territory Government COVID-19 grant payment will generally be tax-free if: the payment is received under a grant program that is formally declared to be an eligible program; the recipient carried on […]
Tax Time Focus On Rental Property Income And Deductions
The ATO is focusing on four major concerns this tax season when it comes to rental properties. Concern 1: Include all rental income When preparing tax returns, make sure all rental income is included, such as from short-term rental arrangements, renting part of a home, and other rental-related income like insurance payouts and rental bond […]
Sessional Lecturer Entitled To Superannuation Support
The Federal Court has agreed with the ATO that a lecturer providing services to a higher education provider was a common law employee and therefore entitled to superannuation support, despite being engaged as an independent contractor. The ATO reviewed the situation and concluded that the lecturer was entitled to receive superannuation support. This was on […]
Discretionary Trusts And Corporate Beneficiaries
When a trustee of a trust makes a decision to create an entitlement to income of the trust in favour of a corporate beneficiary (i.e., a privately held company), certain steps need to be taken to ensure that if the entitlement to the distribution remains unpaid (that is, no cash equal to the amount of […]
Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment Reinstated
In recognition of the risks associated with more infectious new Covid-19 variants through the winter period, the Federal Government has agreed to reinstate the ‘Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment’ to 30 September 2022, which was otherwise set to end as of 30 June 2022. Eligibility for the payment will be backdated to 1 July 2022, to […]
ATO To Target Disposal of Assets Via ‘Wash Sales’ This Tax Time
The ATO is warning taxpayers to not engage in ‘asset wash sales’ to artificially increase their losses to reduce gains (or expected gains). Wash sales are a form of tax avoidance that the ATO is focussed on this tax time. Wash sales typically involve the disposal of assets (e.g., cryptocurrency and shares) just before the […]
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 […]