With tax time fast approaching, now is a good time to review those tax deductions that are often easily forgotten such as mobile phone expenses. Mobile phone expenses can generally be claimed as a tax deduction provided they are used for work purposes, such as receiving or making work calls. When claiming expenses you will…
The Tax Office is focusing on rental property owners this tax time and is encouraging rental owners to understand their obligations and check their claims are right before lodging their tax returns. The ATO will be paying close attention to excessive interest expense claims and incorrect apportionment of rental income and expenses between owners. The…
From 1 July 2016, those who purchase a residential or commercial property in Australia that is worth more than $2 million must withhold 10 per cent of the price. Buyers are then required to remit this amount to the Tax Office unless they obtain a tax clearance certificate from the property vendor. The new rule…
The Taxation Office has recently announced that it is working towards making a simpler BAS to reduce GST compliance for small businesses and also make GST record keeping and reporting easier. This is a result of tax professionals, small businesses and industry associations expressing their concerns to the ATO over current BAS requirements. From 1…
A quick scan of the average taxpayer’s wallet of receipts or documents in the home office can result in quite a few expenses they can claim as tax deductions. However, some of the most obvious get forgotten on a regular basis. While not all available tax deductions will apply for every individual (since claimable items…
The Australian Tax Office has its sight set on an emerging tax avoidance tactic being taken up by a number of self-managed superannuation funds. The ATO has warned trustees not to use a strategy known as personal services income (PSI) through their SMSF to pay little or no tax. Even though only a handful of…
Tougher superannuation rules may create an unintended spike in risky property borrowing by those with a self-managed super fund, with experts suggesting that the changes will force SMSFs to load up on debt in an attempt to increase returns. While there are still incentives for people to wanting to own property within their SMSF, under…
