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Your Medicare levy is reduced if your taxable income is below a certain threshold. In some cases, you may not have to pay the levy at all.   The thresholds are higher for low-income earners, seniors, and pensioners. If your taxable income is above the thresholds, you may still qualify for a reduction based on your family taxable income.   In 2019–20, you do not have to pay the Medicare levy if you are single and your taxable income is equal to or less than $22,801 ($36,056 for seniors and pensioners entitled to the seniors and pensioners tax offset).   You will pay only part of the Medicare levy if you are single and your taxable income is between $22,801 and $28,501 ($36,056 and $45,069 for seniors and pensioners entitled to the seniors and pensioners tax offset).   You may still qualify for a reduction based on your family taxable income.   If you do not qualify for a reduction in the Medicare levy, you may still qualify for a Medicare levy exemption...

Employee Obligations   Employees will receive a notification from their employer that they are receiving the JobKeeper Payment. The majority of employees will need to do nothing further.   Employees in the following circumstances will have additional obligations.   Employees that have multiple employers must notify the employer that is their primary employer. Employees that are not Australian citizens must notify their employer of their visa status, to allow their employer to determine if they are an eligible employee. Employees that are currently in receipt of an income support payment must notify Services Australia of their new income. Background on Jobkeeper Payment for Employees   Under the JobKeeper Payment, businesses impacted by the Coronavirus will be able to access a wage subsidy from the Government to continue paying their employees. Affected employers will be able to claim a fortnightly payment of $1,500 per eligible employee from 30 March 20...

JobSeeker: how to treat in tax return   JobSeeker payments are taxed.   The ATO will automatically load this information into the ‘government payments and allowances’ section in your tax return, but it will not necessarily be there from July 1.   This means if the information is missing when you do your tax return, you will have to provide this information to your tax agent or wait until the data is available on ATO portal.   “Leaving out income can slow down your return or result in a bill later so it’s definitely best avoided.   JobKeeper: how to treat in tax return   JobKeeper payments are taxed as regular income.   If you have received JobKeeper payments from your employer do not need to do anything different to other “normal” years.   The payments will be included as salary and wages and/or allowances, in your regular income statement, which your employer provides directly to the ATO.   The income statement sent to the ...

JobKeeper – Business monthly declaration If you have enrolled for the JobKeeper Payment and identified your eligible employees, you need to make a business monthly declaration to the ATO. You will be able to do this from the 1st to the 14th day of each month, to receive reimbursements for the payments you have made to your employees in the previous month. For example, the business monthly declaration for reimbursement of JobKeeper payments for the month of May needs to be completed by 14 June. Each month every business enrolled for Job Keeper payment must reconfirm their reported eligible employees. Every business must also provide information regarding their current and projected turnover. This is not a re-test of your eligibility, but rather an indication of how your business is progressing under the JobKeeper Payment scheme. If your eligible employees change or leave their employment, you will need to notify ATO through your monthly declaration. Conta...

Individuals affected by the coronavirus can access up to $10,000 of their superannuation in 2019-20 and a further $10,000 in 2020-21. You will be able to apply for early release of your superannuation from mid-April 2020. While superannuation helps people save for retirement, the Government recognizes that for those significantly financially affected by the coronavirus, accessing some of their superannuation today may outweigh the benefits of maintaining those savings until retirement. Eligible individuals will be able to apply online through myGov to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation before 1 July 2020. They will also be able to access up to a further $10,000 from 1 July 2020 for approximately three months (exact timing will depend on the passage of the relevant legislation). Eligibility To apply for early release, you must satisfy any one or more of the following requirements: ·  you’re unemployed ·  you’re eligible to receive a job seeke...

Very often we are asked if meal expenses incurred while driving Uber, Ola, DIDI or using any other ride sourcing platform are deductible. We’ve noticed a spike in inquiries relating to deduction for meal expenses. In most cases, clients tell us that other accountants are claiming meal expenses on GST returns for ride sourcing and have been told by other accountants that these expenses are deductible. There are some expenses that can’t be claimed because they’re personal expenses or not allowed under the law. This includes personal or private expenses, such as meals you purchase while on a break. Next time, if an accountant tells you that meal expenses incurred while ride sourcing are claimable, ask them to show an ATO weblink confirming the same. Contact Expert Tax  on 0449 952 855 or 1300 869 829 for assistance on tax related matters.

Rental and other rental-related income is the full amount of rent and associated payments that you receive, or become entitled to, when you rent out your property, whether it is paid to you or your agent. You must include your share of the full amount of rent you earn in your tax return. What happens if Rental Bond is retained in case of tenant default or damage caused to property by the tenant? You must include rental bond money as income if you become entitled to retain it, for instance, because a tenant defaulted on the rent, or because of damage to your rental property requiring repairs or maintenance. In case of commercial rent, if the landlord becomes entitled to rental bond then the amount will be inclusive of GST (if landlord is registered for GST) and GST liability will arise as a result. What if you received an insurance payout? If you received an insurance payout, there may be situations where the payout needs to be included as income, for example,...

Check your supplier’s ABN Attention – Business Owners It is important that every business making a payment should check the validity of their suppliers ABN to ensure: 1. Suppliers have provided a valid ABN that belongs to them. 2. That the supplier is registered for GST and allowed to charge GST. 3. A valid tax invoice has been received from suppliers. If your supplier provided an invalid ABN on the tax invoice, or is not registered for GST but they have charged it, and you pay it to that supplier, then the ATO position is that you are not allowed to claim back that GST from the ATO. You will be considered to not have received a Valid Tax Invoice. In case ABN mentioned on the tax invoice is invalid and supplier is not registered for GST, you must not pay GST and deduct ABN Withholding Tax @49% of the Ex GST invoice amount and remit this on the next BAS report and complete an Annual Payment Summary for the payee. There are increasing reports of the ATO condu...

Income from a child’s investment It is a generous act for a parent or aunt or uncle to start a savings account for their kids or a new addition to the next generation. It is uncommon among the warm and generous emotions that accompany giving such a gift to the newly arrived family member, to factor in the taxation obligations that may eventually come along due to this generosity. A young child may not be able to use the ATM or see over the counter at the bank, but they can certainly have bank accounts. Naturally it is a child’s guardian who will manage their financial matters, and therefore a parent may operate a savings account on behalf of a child. For taxation however, while the account may be in the child’s name and the funds in that account are the property of that child, the underlying legal principle that prevails is that investment income (in this case, the bank account’s interest) is assessable to the person who  beneficially owns  the money (and not ...

Work Related Clothing Deduction Are you required to wear special clothing at work? Does your work uniform have your employer’s logo permanently attached to it? Is your work uniform unique to your profession? Are you required to wear specific uniform for protective purpose? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you may be entitled to claim deduction for cost of work related uniform and also the cost of washing and dry cleaning.   You can claim the cost of a work uniform that is distinctive and must be either – A compulsory uniform that can be a set of clothing or a single item that identifies you as an employee of an organization. There must be a strictly enforced policy making it compulsory to wear that clothing at work. Items may include shoes, stockings, socks and jumpers where they are an essential part of a distinctive compulsory uniform and the color, style and type are specified in your employe...

We’re well aware that most people want to maximize their tax refund legitimately without paying too much in lodgment fees. This is the reason why we created Expert Tax Guarantee. It’s our way of ensuring that your tax experience with us is the best it can be. ‘Maximum Refund Guarantee’ means that if you provide us with a written proof from another registered tax agent that they could have obtained a larger refund for your tax return, we’ll refund your tax preparation fees. The proof must be based on the same data and tax year used to prepare your initial return and all deductions claimed on your return must be in compliance with relevant taxation laws. The proof must list other agent’s service fees and expected refund, and be received by us within 60 days of us lodging your tax return. Once we have verified information provided to us, we will refund your fees in full and amend your return for free. Use our services for lodgment of your tax returns and we’ll change the way...

Choosing a structure When deciding on a structure for your business, it is imperative to choose the one that best suits your business needs, keeping in mind that there are advantages and disadvantages for each structure. It’s important to investigate each option carefully, as choosing your business structure is an important decision.   Business structure you choose depends on following factors – The licenses you require to run your business. Taxation and succession benefits. Whether you’re considered an employee, or the owner of the business Personal liability in case of a law suit against the business. Control you have over the business. Ongoing costs and volume of paper work for your business. As your business grows and expands, you may decide to change your business structure, or to restructure your business. It is important to note that you can change your business structure throughout the life of your bus...