The ATO is airing the ‘dirty laundry’ on work-related clothing and laundry expenses warning that it is closely reviewing claims Last year around 6 million people claimed work-related clothing and laundry expenses, with total claims adding up to nearly $1.8 billion. “While many of these claims will be legitimate, we don’t think that half of…
How to Prepare for a Tax Office Visit The Tax Office is actively targeting geographic areas for special visits as part of a nationwide crackdown on the black economy. A consistent theme this tax time is overclaiming and under-reporting. With the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) getting more and more sophisticated in its data matching approaches,…
Benefits during emergencies exempt from FBT If your business assists employees during an emergency, for example floods, bushfires etc, then fringe benefits tax is unlikely to apply to the assistance you provide. While we doubt anyone would be thinking about FBT during a crisis, it’s good to know that the tax system does not disadvantage…
Do you earn income overseas? A recent case highlights why you might pay more tax than you thought on foreign income. If you are an Australian resident and earn income from overseas, such as income from investments, sale of assets such as property, distributions from foreign trusts, etc., you will generally need to declare that…
Expenses you can claim If you’re an employee who regularly works from home, you may be able to claim a deduction for expenses relating to that work. These are generally home office running expenses, and phone and internet expenses. In limited circumstances you may also be able to claim occupancy expenses. One such circumstance is…
No tax deductions if you don’t meet your tax obligations New laws passed by parliament last year directly target the behaviour of taxpayers that don’t meet their obligations. Tax deductions denied If taxpayers do not meet their PAYG withholding tax obligations, from 1 July 2019 they will not be able to claim a tax deduction…
ATO extends data matching program The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is utilising data provided by the Australian Investments and Security Commission (ASIC) to data match share trades. The ATO is accessing more than 500 million records detailing price, quantity and time of individual trades dating back to 2014. The information complements information that the ATO…
Do your homework when working from home Technology-driven changes to the employment market are seeing record numbers of Australians claiming deductions for expenses incurred while working from home. But a high level of mistakes, errors and questionable claims has prompted the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to increase attention, scrutiny and education for home office expenses…
ASIC Financial Reporting Threshold Changes The Government has announced that it will be raising the ASIC financial reporting thresholds in a bid to save small and medium-sized business more than $300 million over the next four years. The thresholds are to be doubled to: $50 million or more in consolidated revenue (was $25 million) $25…
New immediate deduction for primary producers Legislation that passed Parliament last month will enable primary producers to claim an immediate deduction for fodder storage assets such as silos and hay sheds used to store grain and other animal feed. The deduction is available if the primary producer first uses the asset or has the asset…