Basics of Family Trust Elections

Most practitioners have heard of family trust elections, and some may have made family trust elections to err on the side of caution.  However, in many cases, a clear explanation of the reasons for making a family trust election is not readily available.  This article aims to provide a practical explanation of the main situations […]

Renting your Principal Place of Residence

There are various reasons why you might consider vacating and renting out your home for a limited time. You might want to take an extended holiday and feel more comfortable if someone is living there and paying rent. You may have an additional property, a holiday house for instance, and a change of pace that […]

Cash v Accruals

Goods and Services Tax (“GST“) is calculated as the GST owed to the Australian Taxation Office (“ATO“) by the business (GST collected on sales made) less GST owed by the ATO to the business (GST paid on purchases made). The ATO gives small business owners the option of reporting GST on a cash basis if […]

Basics of Family Trust Elections (FTEs)

Most practitioners have heard of family trust elections (“FTE“), and some may have made FTE’s to err on the side of caution.  However, in many cases, a clear explanation of the reasons for making a FTE is not readily available.  This article aims to provide a practical explanation of the main situations in which a […]

Repairs, replacement and maintenance

You can claim a deduction for repairs and maintenance to machinery, tools or premises you use to produce business income, as long as the expenses are not capital expenses. What you can claim You can claim the cost of allowable repairs and maintenance, including: painting; conditioning gutters; maintaining plumbing; repairing electrical appliances; mending leaks; replacing […]

Small Business Tax Concessions – Basics

In addition to the capital gains tax (“CGT“) exemptions and rollovers available more widely, there are four concessions that allow you to disregard or defer some or all of a capital gain from an active asset used in a small business: 15-year exemption – If your business has continuously owned an active asset for 15 years […]

FBT and entertainment

New changes to salary packaged entertainment From 1 April 2016, all employers providing salary packaged meal entertainment or entertainment facility leasing expenses (EFLE) benefits to employees will be unable to use the 50/50 split method and 12 week register method for valuing the salary packaged benefits. Only the actual method can be used to determine […]

What is Division 7A? A basic explanation

Division 7A only applies to private companies, all loans, advances and other credits made by private companies to shareholders (or their associates), and so is highly relevant in the SME market. This is an area of high risk for the ATO. Craig Dangar notes that this is an area of concern for many businesses, especially […]

GST on eBay

As of 1 July 2018, Australian goods and services tax (“GST“) will apply to sales of low value goods imported by consumers into Australia. Craig notes that the consequence of this will a significant administrative burden for small operators but this can be managed effectively through a good bookkeeping arrangement. Businesses that meet the registration threshold […]

New GST Rules for Property Developers

https://youtu.be/wGIR-zSzZrM From 1 July 2018, a Goods and Services Tax (“GST“) withholding obligation will be imposed on purchaser of certain residential premises, including certain vacant land. Purchaser must withhold the ‘GST component’ of the sale price of affected land and pay it directly to the Commissioner instead of the seller. Transitional rules may apply for […]