Insights & Resources

Hiring employees for the festive season As the festive season approaches, employers that hire new employees to help with their business should remember the following when it comes to their employer tax and super obligations: Employers should make sure they are withholding the right amount of tax from payments they make to their employees and other ...

Avoid a tax time shock Individual taxpayers can take the following steps right now to ensure the correct amount of tax is being put aside throughout the year: let their employer know if they have a study or training support loan, such as a HECS or HELP debt;check they are only claiming the tax-free threshold from one employer;consider whether the M...

Taxpayers can start lodging their tax returns With millions of pieces of information now pre-filled (including information from most banks, employers, government agencies and private health insurers), the ATO is giving taxpayers with simple affairs the 'green light' to lodge their tax returns. Taxpayers who plan to claim deductions this year should...

Common signs that something is a scam and how to stay protected Scams work because they look like the real thing and scammers contact you when you're not expecting it, or busy trying to do many things at once.Criminals take advantage of new technology, new products or services and major events. They use them to create believable stories that convin...

ATO's tips for correctly claiming deductions for rental properties Taxpayers who have work done on their rental property should consider the following factors in determining claims for expenses.Repairs and general maintenance are expenses for work done to remedy or prevent defects, damage or deterioration from using the property to earn income. The...

ATO's 'main residence exemption tips' The main residence exemption needs to be considered in a variety of situations when a taxpayer sells a property they have lived in. The ATO hopes that the following tips will help in this regard: Taxpayers should consider if they have started earning income from their home (in which case they may need to get a ...

ATO's three focus areas this tax time The ATO will be taking a close look this 'tax time' at the following common errors made by taxpayers:Work related expenses: Taxpayers using the 'revised fixed rate method' of calculating a working from home deduction must have comprehensive records to substantiate their claims, including records that show the a...

Government warns of 'malicious' myGov scammers The Government has urged Australians to be vigilant regarding scammers who target ATO log-in details to commit tax fraud.The ATO has received a large number of reports of scammers using fake myGov sites to steal myGov sign-in details, which can be used to commit tax and refund fraud in other people's n...

Super contribution caps to rise The big news story for those contributing to super is that the contribution caps are set to increase from the 2025 income year. The concessional contribution cap will increase from $27,500 to $30,000.This 'CC' cap is broadly applicable to employer super guarantee contributions, personal deductible contributions and s...

Government announces changes to proposed 'Stage 3' tax cuts Despite previous assurances, and after much speculation, the Government has announced tweaks to the 'Stage 3' tax cuts that will apply from 1 July 2024. More particularly, the Government proposes to: reduce the 19% tax rate to 16%;reduce the 32.5% tax rate to 30% for incomes between $45,00...

Tax issues for businesses that have received a support payment Taxpayers who have received a government support grant or payment recently to help their business recover from COVID-19 or a natural disaster should check if they need to include the payment in their assessable income. Grants are generally treated as assessable income, and taxpayers may...

Taxpayers need to get their 'rental right'  The ATO reminds rental property owners and their tax agents to take care when lodging their tax returns this tax time. When preparing their tax returns, taxpayers should make sure all rental income is included, including income from short-term rental arrangements, renting part of a home, and other re...

Appointing an SMSF auditor The ATO reminds SMSF trustees that they need to appoint an approved SMSF auditor for each income year, no later than 45 days before they need to lodge their SMSF annual return. An SMSF's audit must be finalised before the trustees lodge their SMSF annual return, as the trustees will need some information from the audit re...

Claiming GST credits for employee expense reimbursements Employers may be entitled to claim GST input tax credits for payments they have made to reimburse employees for expenses that are directly related to their business activities. A 'reimbursement' is provided when a taxpayer pays their employee the amount, or part of the amount, of a particular...

The super guarantee rate is increasing  Businesses that have employees, or hire eligible contractors, will need to ensure that their payroll and accounting systems are updated to reflect the new super guarantee rate of 11% for payments of salary and wages that are made from 1 July 2023.Businesses need to calculate super contributions at 11% fo...

On 9 May 2023, Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the 2023/24 Federal Budget. Some of the measures announced by the Government (including some which were actually announced prior to the Budget), include: from 1 July 2026, employers will be required to pay their employees' superannuation at the same time as their salary and wages;providing businesse...

The 'ace in the hole' of the 2023-24 Federal Budget was the $4.2bn surplus; the first in 15 years driven by a surge in the corporate and individual tax take. Key measures include: Energy bill relief for some households and small businessEncouraging doctors to offer bulk billing by tripling the incentive for children under 16, pensioners and other C...

Last chance to claim deductions under temporary full expensing Deductions under 'temporary full expensing' are only available in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 income years, and are expected to come to an end on 30 June 2023.Taxpayers can choose to opt out of temporary full expensing for an income year for some or all of their assets, and claim a deductio...

How to claim working from home expenses Taxpayers who have been working from home this financial year, and who consequently incurred work-related expenses, have two ways to calculate their work from home deduction: the actual cost method; orthe fixed rate method. Using the fixed rate method, taxpayers can claim a rate of 67 cents per hour worked at...

How to claim working from home expenses Taxpayers who have been working from home this financial year, and who consequently incurred work-related expenses, have two ways to calculate their work from home deduction: the actual cost method; orthe fixed rate method.Using the fixed rate method, taxpayers can claim a rate of 67 cents per hour worked at ...