Working from home What deductions can you claim? For a while now, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has been concerned about tax deductions individuals have been claiming for a whole host of expenses. The latest on their ‘hit list’ are home office expenses. We guide you through what you can and can’t claim if you…
Cryptocurrency guidelines updated The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has updated their guidelines on the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies, following community consultation in 2018. The updated guidelines help you learn more about the tax implications of cryptocurrency, including the practical issues of exchanging one cryptocurrency for another and associated record-keeping requirements. If you have purchased, traded…
Tax and the enterprise of renting, hiring or sharing their car, caravan or RV sharing If you rent, hire or share your car, caravan or recreational vehicle (RV) through a sharing economy platform, you: must declare the income in your tax return may need to pay goods and services tax (GST) on the amounts you earn…
ATO takes its share of car sharing The extra income earned by people taking part in car sharing services such as Car Next Door or DriveMyCar has come to the attention of the ATO. The car sharing services work by making private cars publicly available in a similar way to other car hire services –…
Tax ‘safe harbour’ for inherited property When someone inherits a dwelling there are some special rules contained within the main residence exemption provisions that can provide a full exemption if certain conditions are met. If the conditions are not met, the beneficiary might face a nasty capital gains tax (CGT) bill for their good fortune.…
The impending changes to speed up your HELP repayments The Government has moved to put an end to ‘eternal students’ who constantly study and never earn an income and speed up the payment cycle for those with outstanding debt. New lifetime caps on Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt will prevent people from constantly going…
Last minute changes to company tax and franking rate passed by Parliament Legislation passed by Parliament late last month introduces a new test that will restrict some companies from accessing the lower company tax rate from the 2017-18 financial year. Across a 3 year period, the company tax and franking rate changed, then the definition…
Take all the tax advantages you can For small business, in particular, there is a range of concessions and funding you can access. Many businesses simply don’t realise the opportunities available to them. A simple example is trading stock valuations Your trading stock is an asset that is recorded on your balance sheet. In most…
Clothing deductions hung out to dry The Australian Taxation Office is closely examining work-related clothing and laundry expense claims of taxpayers submitting their 2017-18 tax returns. The ATO says that clothing claims are up nearly 20% over the last five years with people either making mistakes or deliberately over-claiming. Common mistakes include people claiming ineligible…
What can you claim if you’re a flight attendant, police officer or a nurse? What you can and can’t claim Each occupation has specific circumstances which affect what can and cannot be claimed. Here are some snippets from some ATO occupation guides. Remember, regardless of the occupation you are in, you can only claim the…