ATO monitors personal living expenses
Posted by Anthony
In an ongoing effort to address the misuse and abuse of the tax and regulatory systems, the ATO has implemented a new tool to monitor what constitutes reasonable personal living expenses. Information is requested by the tax office to identify unreported cash income when looking at household expenditure. An individual will be required to provide this information to work out if they need to make adjustments to their business and record-keeping practices as well as help the ATO identify if they should be selected for an audit. In the event of an audit or when making an assessment in the course of examining an individual’s tax affairs, the ATO will employ a set of guidelines presented in the form of questionnaire worksheets. These worksheets will require taxpayers to provide certain details about the living expenses of their household. Discrepancies in tax returns that have been discovered by individuals completing a personal living expenses worksheet can be adjusted through voluntary disclosure. Taxpayers that voluntarily inform the ATO of mistakes before an audit may be eligible for reduced penalties.
Super changes to protect employees’ entitlements
Posted by Anthony
Several revisions from the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No.4) Bill 2018 took effect from 1 April 2019. These measures are designed to help reduce the super guarantee (SG) gap, protect employees’ super entitlements and strengthen the ATO’s ability to recover unpaid super. Changes to disclosure laws will now allow the ATO to disclose information to employees about an employers’ failure to meet SG obligations. This will also allow for the ATO to reveal their processes involved in retrieving these amounts. Additionally, a free voluntary online education course is now available to help employers understand and meet SG obligations. Education directions permit the ATO to instruct employers who don’t meet their SG obligations to complete the online education course, which includes an assessment element. Individuals are encouraged to notify the ATO of non-complying employers. If your employer is approachable, you could make them aware of the online course and its benefits prior to the ATO contacting them and directing them to complete it.
Increase to fuel tax credit rates
Posted by Anthony
The ATO has increased fuel tax credit rates from 4 February 2019. As fuel tax credit rates are updated regularly, it is important to check the rates each time you lodge a business activity statement (BAS). Fuel tax credits provide businesses with a credit for the price of fuel used in machinery, plants, equipment, heavy vehicles, or light vehicles travelling on private roads. The amount of credit will depend on when the fuel is acquired, what fuel is used and the activity it is used for. The changes in fuel tax rates are indexed twice a year, in February and August in line with the consumer price index (CPI). The current rates apply from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019. If you claim less than $10,000 in fuel tax credits each year, you can use a simplified method to make claims to the ATO. For further information on claiming fuel tax credits and specific rates, you should consult your registered tax agent.
Is your SMSF meeting its PAYG obligations?
Posted by Anthony
The ATO has called on self-managed funds to check whether they are meeting new pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding obligations for capped defined benefit income streams paid to their members. SMSFs have PAYG obligations to withhold tax from income streams that have been paid to their members in circumstances where: The member is 60 years or older. The member is under 60 years and has a death benefit capped defined income stream (where the deceased was 60 years or over when they died). If you have no tax that you need to withhold from a member’s super, then you are required to provide the individual with a pension payment summary and lodge a PAYG withholding summary with the ATO. This should be done by 14 August, following the end of the financial year that the payment was made.
Choosing the right super risk profile
Posted by Anthony
Choosing the right super risk profile at the right time can drastically increase your retirement savings. The following considerations will help you invest wisely when it comes to building your retirement nest egg. Types of investment optionsYour super fund should offer a range of investment options to consider. Here is what to know about each kind of option: Aggressive options are high risk, and you may have to sustain significant losses hoping to maximise your return in the long-term Growth options aiming for higher returns over longer terms may sustain some losses in poorly performing markets Balanced options provide moderate growth but endure less damage with an economic downturn Conservative options provide a lower return but are the lowest risk option Picking the right optionThe investment option right for you depends on your retirement goals, your financial circumstances and your attitude towards risk. Your timeframe for investment should be substantial if you are looking at high-risk options as you have a considerable opportunity to recover from any losses. As your income stabilises and your retirement comes closer consider shifting to a low-risk alternative to secure what you have built up. You may also want to look to your assets like […]
Claiming tax when working from home
Posted by Anthony
The ATO is seeking to increase their attention on home office expenses due to the high level of questionable claims made by taxpayers. There has been an increase in the number of Australians claiming deductions for costs incurred from working from home. The ATO reports that in the last tax year 6.7 million taxpayers claimed a record $7.9 billion in deductions for ‘other work-related expenses’, including expenses relating to working from home. The main mistakes stem from individuals claiming the whole instead of the work-related portion of expenses for bills related to phone, internet, printing and stationery. The ATO has identified that a separate work area will incur work-related expenses eligible for tax deductions as opposed to answering some emails at a kitchen bench. The ATO has also recommended recording expenses in case of an audit or if the ATO contacts your employer to confirm your claim. To ensure you do not suffer non-compliance penalties, the ATO recommends you follow the three golden rules for taxpayers working from home. One- you must have spent the money yourself and not been reimbursed, two- the claim must be directly related to earning your income, and three- you need a record to prove […]
3 easy ways to maximise your super
Posted by Anthony
Superannuation is more critical than it has ever been. If having an ageing population has taught us anything, it is how managing money now can have substantial ramifications for your retirement plan. Merge your superEvery super account you have comes with a set of fees. It is worth your while chasing down inactive accounts and putting all your super into the one account to reduce fees and maximise the investment benefits. Salary sacrificeIf you can budget putting more of your salary away into a super account every month, you can reap multiple rewards. First, you can use the extra super payments to offset your pre-tax payments up to the current concessional contribution cap of $30,000 per year and after-tax contributions of $180,000. You can also build up your super while you can afford to. StrategiseYour investment strategy should depend on the amount of risk you are willing to take. This will vary on where you are in your career. A growth investment option, which is high risk, might suit you if you are in the early stages of your career development. However, as your income stabilises to your goal amount, it might be wise to change super funds to a […]
ATO developing software to stop tax avoidance
Posted by Anthony
The ATO is in the midst of developing advanced data programs to find individuals who are leaving a source of income out of their tax return. Analytical tools have been developed to utilise the amount of data the ATO receives to identify instances where income has gone unreported. This is to address the annual $1.4 billion tax shortfall caused by individuals who leave income out of their return. The ATO has identified that the most common mistakes are made by taxpayers leaving out cash wages. There are also issues with the non-disclosure of income from second jobs, capital gains on cryptocurrency, the sharing economy, the gig economy and foreign-sourced income. Concerning foreign sourced income, the ATO has identified that most funds come from the UK, USA, China, Switzerland, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore. In response to this, the ATO is developing a single global standard for collection, reporting and exchange of financial account information on foreign tax residents. The ATO imposes penalties and interest for a failure to disclose an accurate statement of income tax. The penalties can range from 25 per cent up to 75 per cent of the shortfall, in addition to paying the money owed.
Paying super to different visas
Posted by Anthony
Normally employers have to pay a worker super. However, this becomes confusing with the different visas that employees might be on. Some rules are listed below. Paying super to temporary residentsTemporary residents working in Australia are eligible for super guarantee. When temporary residents leave Australia, they can claim the super paid as a departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP). This is provided that they meet the requirements where you must: Be 18 years old or over (if you are under 18 you must meet the above conditions and work over 30 hours per week to be entitled to SG) and, Paid $450 or more before tax in a month. Employees working overseasAn employee sent to work overseas must be paid superannuation by their employer. The other country may require the employer or employee to pay super there as well if Australia does not have a bilateral agreement with that country. To gain exemption from the super payment in the other country, the employer needs to show the authorities in the other country a certificate of coverage gained from the ATO. Employees not eligible for super Non-resident employees, you pay for work they do outside Australia Some foreign executives who hold certain […]
Authorisations for Single Touch Payroll
Posted by Anthony
On the 1 July 2018, the Australian Government introduced Single Touch Payroll (STP) for employers with 20 or more employees. The new scheme requires employers to report payment activities each time employees were paid. Authorisations for an agent to act on behalf of an employer to streamline the process of STP are provided below. STP Engagement AuthorityIf a registered agent reports through STP for an employer, they can get written authorisation to make this declaration through an annual agreement. This authorisation will allow the registered agent to make the relevant declaration to the Commissioner when they lodge an STP at each pay event. Both parties should have a copy for their records although there is no need to provide a copy to the ATO The agreement should include: An outline of the responsibilities of both parties Agreed terms of the employer’s collation of payroll Their process for calculating and paying their employees Taxation and superannuation obligations Eligibility for the AuthorityFor eligibility to provide an agent with the powers given above regarding STP, the employer must not: Have any overdue activity statement lodgements Have any outstanding debts, unless they are covered by a payment arrangement or subject to review Currently be […]
