Single Touch Payroll (STP) was introduced as a way for employers to send super and tax information directly to the ATO through the use of STP-enabled software solutions. STP Phase 2 is now in full swing, having commenced on 1 January 2022. It requires more detail on the amounts reported through STP; for example, salary sacrificed […]
Continuing its theme of closing the tax gap of individuals for budget repair, the ATO has notified the public of the extension of an existing data-matching program on ride-sourcing. The program was previously designed to run from the 2015–2016 to the 2021–2022 financial years, capturing information from individuals engaged in providing ride-sourcing services (through platforms […]
Tax time 2023 is fast approaching and as with previous years, the ATO has provided some insights to the areas it will be focusing on consisting of rental property deductions, work-related expenses, and capital gains tax. Specifically, the ATO will be targeting loan interest expenses, working from home deductions, and possible capital gains tax where […]
Personal tax rates and offsets for 2023–2024 and beyond With no announced changes in the Federal Budget to personal tax rates and offsets for the 2023–2024 income year and beyond, now is the time to do some tax planning for the current and future years. For the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 income years, the rates and […]
Super to be paid on payday from 1 July 2026; more action to catch non-payers The Budget papers confirmed the Government’s intention to require all employers to pay their employees’ super guarantee amounts at the same time as their salary and wages from 1 July 2026. This payday super measure was originally announced by the […]
Small business lodgment penalty amnesty The Government announced that a lodgment penalty amnesty program will be provided for small businesses with aggregate turnover of less than $10 million to encourage them to re-engage with the tax system. The amnesty will remit failure-to-lodge penalties for outstanding tax statements lodged in the period from 1 June 2023 to […]
Small business instant asset write-off: $20,000 threshold for 2023–2024 The Government will temporarily increase the instant asset write-off threshold to $20,000 from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. Small businesses – those with aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million – will be able to immediately deduct the full cost of eligible assets […]
Personal tax rates unchanged for 2023–2024 In the Budget, the Government did not announce any personal tax rates changes. The Stage 3 tax changes commence from 1 July 2024, as previously legislated. The 2023–2024 tax rates and income thresholds for residents (unchanged since 2021–2022) are: Stage 3: from 2024–2025 The Budget did not announce any […]
In February 2022, the High Court handed down a landmark decision in ZG Operations v Jamsek, which clarified the test for determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The High Court remitted the question of whether the workers were “employees” under the extended definition of that term in s 12(3) of […]
As flagged earlier in the year when the announcement was made, the Federal Government recently released a consultation paper on its proposal to reduce super tax concessions for individuals with super balances over $3 million, including those with self managed super funds (SMSFs). Some important questions the paper asked included whether the proposal would create […]
Individual property investors should be aware that the ATO has announced a new data matching program that will obtain data from various financial institutions for the 2021–2022 to 2025–2026 income years. Records relating to approximately 1.7 million individuals will be obtained each financial year and used to identify relevant cases for administrative action, including compliance […]
With the increasing popularity and uptake of electric vehicles (EVs), the ATO has now released a draft compliance guideline which contains the methodology for calculating the cost of electricity when an eligible electric vehicle is charged at an employee’s or an individual’s home. The methodology can be applied for FBT from 1 April 2022 and […]
The ATO has warned content creators that they need to be aware of their income tax and GST obligations. TIP: Examples of content creators are individuals who write a blog, post make-up tutorials to social media or stream gaming or other activities for others to watch. If you start making money from your online content, […]
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released results of its recent review on improving arrangements for life insurance in super funds. The review was conducted as a follow-up to issues first identified in 2019, when ASIC found that some super trustees offered insurance that unnecessarily erodes a member’s retirement balance, inappropriate coverage of […]
The ATO has recently reported there is now $16 billion in lost and unclaimed super across Australia, and is urging Australians to check their MyGov account to see if some of the money is theirs. Super becomes “lost super” when it’s still held by the fund but the member is uncontactable or the account is […]