The ATO has now announced a number of deduction hotspots that it will pay close attention to this year, in light of COVID-19. The Tax Office has begun bracing for a substantially different tax time this year, noting that it will likely see a flow-on effect from COVID-19 restrictions on work-related expenses claims. ATO Assistant
If you’ve paid a tradie or other contractor for building and construction services in the last year, you might need to lodge a Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) by 28 August, if: you earn 50% or more of your business income or 50% or more of your business activity is from building and construction – including
We have provided an Individual Tax Return Checklist, to ensure that you have all the pertinent documents and receipts required to complete your Individual Tax Return. Please download it here.
The ATO has provided employers with a recent reminder that from 1 January 2020, salary sacrificed super contributions can’t be used to reduce super guarantee obligations, regardless of the amount your employee elects to salary sacrifice. This means the salary sacrificed amount does not count towards your super guarantee (SG) obligations. A further change
As the situation around COVID-19 continues, the ATO understands many employees have been working from home. To make it easier when claiming a deduction for additional running costs you incur as a result of working from home, special arrangements have been announced. A simplified method has been introduced that allows you to claim a rate
A major part of the Government’s response to the Coronavirus (or ‘COVID-19’) pandemic is the ‘JobKeeper Payment’ Scheme. The JobKeeper Payment is a wage subsidy that will be paid through the tax system (i.e., it will be administered by the ATO) to eligible businesses impacted by COVID-19. Under the scheme, eligible businesses will receive a
The Government is introducing a subsidy program to support employees and businesses. The JobKeeper Payment is designed to help businesses affected by the Coronavirus to cover the costs of their employees’ wages, so that more employees can retain their job and continue to earn an income. Keeping Australians in work and businesses in business will
On 12 March 2020, the Australian Government announced a $17.6 billion targeted stimulus package to support the Australian economy through the challenges of the coronavirus. The package is designed to keep small businesses afloat and employees in work, and will focus on supporting the most affected sectors. The government has stated that the measures are
Where businesses provide car parking fringe benefits to their employees, the taxable value of these benefits must be calculated correctly to ensure they are meeting their fringe benefits tax (‘FBT’) obligations, regardless of the method used. The ATO has advised they may directly contact businesses who have engaged an arm’s length valuer, as required under the ‘market value method’. According to
The ATO has welcomed the decision of the High Court to basically uphold the decision of the Full Federal Court in a case which the ATO won, in relation to foreign income tax offsets (‘FITO’). An Australian tax resident had sold some US investments and paid US tax on the gains. The taxpayer was then basically taxed on half
