Latest News
ATO Reminder About Salary Packaging Super
| | | The ATO has provided employers with a recent reminder that, from 1 January 2020, there has been a legislative change to ensure that when an employee sacrifices pre-tax salary in return for an additional concessional contribution into superannuation, it will not result in a reduction in the 9.5% Superannuation Guarantee (‘SG’) […]
SMSFs May Be Able To Offer Rental Relief To Related Party Tenants
| | | As a result of the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, some self-managed superannuation funds (‘SMSFs’) which own real property may want to give a tenant – who is a related party – a reduction in rent because the related party tenant has had a collapse in revenue. Charging a related […]
Shortcut Method To Claim Deductions If Working From Home
| | | As the situation around COVID-19 continues to develop, the ATO understands many employees are now working from home. To make it easier when claiming a deduction for additional running costs you incur as a result of working from home, special arrangements have been announced. A simplified method has been introduced that […]
Coronavirus: Government’s JobKeeper Payment
| | | A major part of the Government’s response to the Coronavirus (or ‘COVID-19’) pandemic is the ‘JobKeeper Payment’ Scheme. The JobKeeper Payment is a wage subsidy that will be paid through the tax system (i.e., it will be administered by the ATO) to eligible businesses impacted by COVID-19. Under the scheme, eligible […]
ATO On Property Investments
| | | The ATO has reminded taxpayers in a property business or thinking about investing in property that there are things they should know, such as: they need a clearance certificate from the supplier when buying property over $750,000; they may have to pay the GST on the sale of brand new residential […]
New Vacant Land Tax Measures
| | | A new ‘vacant land’ measure limits the deductibility of costs incurred on or after 1 July 2019 (i.e., from the 2020 income year) that relate to holding vacant land, even if the land in question was first held before that date. Importantly, however, the new provisions include (amongst other exceptions) a […]
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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 […]
Investment Property – Claiming Repairs and Maintenance Expenses
Can you claim the cost of repairs you make before you rent out the property? You cannot claim the cost of repairing defects, damage or deterioration that existed when you obtained the property, even if you carried out these repairs to make the property suitable for renting. This is because these expenses relate to the […]
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 […]