Latest News
ATO Warns on ‘Copy/Pasting’ Claims
| | | The ATO is alerting taxpayers that its sights are set on work-related expenses like car and travel claims that are predicted to decrease in this year’s tax returns. Assistant Commissioner Tim Loh noted that COVID-19 has changed people’s work habits, so the ATO expects their work-related expenses will reflect this. “We know […]
Car Parking Threshold For 2022 FBT Year
| | | The car parking threshold for the FBT year commencing on 1 April 2021 is $9.25. This replaces the amount of $9.15 that applied in the previous FBT year commencing 1 April 2020.
Temporary Reduction in Pension Minimum Drawdown Rates Extended
| | | The Government has announced an extension of the temporary reduction in superannuation minimum drawdown rates for a further year to 30 June 2022. As part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic (and the negative effect on the account balance of superannuation pensions), the Government reduced the superannuation minimum drawdown rates […]
Cryptocurrency Under the Microscope This Tax Time
| | | The ATO is concerned that many taxpayers believe their cryptocurrency gains are tax-free, or only taxable when the holdings are cashed back into Australian dollars. ATO data analysis shows a dramatic increase in trading since the beginning of 2020 and has estimated that there are over 600,000 taxpayers that have invested […]
Government Proposal to Modernise Business Communications
| | | The Government has committed to modernising certain laws so that they are ‘technology neutral’, to enable easier communication between businesses, individuals and regulators. The first phase of legislative reform will focus on key areas raised by stakeholders which are implementation-ready (ideally by the end of 2021), including: expanding the range of […]
ATO Keeping Jobkeeper Payment Fair
| | | The ATO is using its compliance resources to maintain the integrity of the JobKeeper measure. While most businesses and employees have done the right thing, the ATO has identified concerning and fraudulent behaviour as well as claims by a small number of organisations and employees, and will actively pursue these claims. […]
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 […]