Latest News
ART dismisses argument that medical expenses were deductible
In a recent decision, the Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’) held that a taxpayer could not claim a tax deduction for medical expenses incurred by him in relation to his total and permanent disability pension. The taxpayer had been terminated from his employment due to total and permanent disablement (‘TPD’). For the 2024 income year, his […]
ATO warning regarding private use of work vehicles and FBT
Employers that supply work vehicles to their employees need to check how the work vehicles are used and whether any exemptions apply to determine if they attract fringe benefits tax (‘FBT’). FBT generally applies when a work vehicle is made available for private use, even if it is not actually used. Private use includes any […]
Tips to help sole trader clients
The ATO is seeing sole traders make mistakes in the following areas: not reporting all income — this includes income earned outside their business (like a ‘side hustle’), cash jobs, or payments in-kind/barter deals; overclaiming expenses — this includes claiming the portion of an expense related to personal use, or overstating the cost of goods […]
Correctly dealing with rental property repairs
Taxpayers who have had work done on their rental property should ensure the expense is categorised correctly to avoid errors when completing their tax return. A deduction for ‘repairs and maintenance’ expenses can be claimed for work done to remedy, or prevent defects, damage or deterioration from using the property to earn income. These expenses […]
Reminder of September Quarter Superannuation Guarantee (‘SG’)
Employers are reminded that employee super contributions for the quarter ending 30 September 2025 must be received by the relevant super funds by Tuesday, 28 October 2025. If the correct amount of SG is not paid by an employer on time, they will be liable to pay the SG charge, which (as noted above) includes […]
Employees incorrectly treated as independent contractors
The ATO is warning businesses that if they incorrectly treat an employee as an independent contractor, then they risk receiving penalties and charges, including: PAYG withholding penalty for failing to deduct tax from worker payments and send it to the ATO; Super guarantee charge (‘SGC’), which is more than the super that would have been […]
Div.293 Concessional Contribution Assessments Have Been Issued
| | | The ATO has recently issued approximately 30,000 Division 293 assessments for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years. Division 293 tax is an additional tax on super contributions, which reduces the tax concession for individuals whose combined income and contributions are greater than the Division 293 threshold (currently $250,000). Due to a […]
Cash Payment Limit Bill Shelved
| | | It appears that the Government has decided not to proceed with its proposal to limit cash payments in Australia to $10,000. This measure was originally raised as part of the 2018/19 Budget, and the Government subsequently introduced a Bill to the House of Representatives, proposing to make it an offence for […]
New FBT Retraining and Reskilling Exemption Available
Recent legislative amendments mean that employers who provide training or education to redundant (or soon to be redundant employees) may now be exempt from fringe benefits tax (‘FBT’). The ATO has reminded eligible employers that they can apply the exemption to retraining and reskilling benefits provided on or after 2 October 2020. There are […]
Avoiding Disqualification From SG Amnesty
The superannuation guarantee (‘SG’) amnesty ended on 7 September 2020. Employers who disclosed unpaid SG amounts and qualified for the amnesty are reminded that they must either pay in full any outstanding amounts they owe, or set up a payment plan and meet each ongoing instalment amount so as to avoid being disqualified and […]
Further STP Developments
In an indication of the far-reaching changes that Single Touch Payroll (‘STP’) will be bringing, Treasury has recently finished consulting on draft legislation that expands the data that may be collected through STP by the ATO (as announced in the 2019/20 Budget). The legislation, if enacted, will broaden the amounts that employers can voluntarily […]
COVID-19 And Tax Depreciation Reports – Are Physical Inspections Necessary?
Property investors and businesses will often engage a specialist quantity surveyor to prepare a tax report on capital works and depreciation deductions available to them under the tax law in respect of their income-producing properties – for example, a rental property, office building or factory. A thorough physical inspection of the property by a quantity […]