Lodging Your Tax Return

For most of us lodgment of our income tax return is not the most favorite pass time, but as a wage earner we all have to take a little time out to organise ourselves to declare all of the income that we have earned over the financial year (you may need to lodge a return even if your income is below the tax free threshhold of $18200 and you paid income tax) less the expenses that can be deductable. 

            When do I have to lodge my return?

Tax returns need to be completed between the 1st of July and the 31st of October. Extentions are available for taxpayers if they are on an Australian Tax Office list belonging to a Registered Tax Agent, like Absolute Accounting Solutions.

            What do I declare as income?

Income is all of the money that you earned with an employer, payments from centrelink, the interest your bank accounts earned, rent earned from and investment property - this includes the shared economy (for example - Air BnB), dividends on shares that you may have. This list is not exhaustive but gives you a good start.

         What are my deductable claims?

Deductions can be specific, and highly dependent on your individual circumstances. Receipts will need to be kept and you can only claim what you are entitled to, if you need help call us on 1300 488 330.

Tax return fees are tax deductable and start from $120.00

Absolute Accounting Solutions, also offer a range of services to help small business owners with tax, bookkeeping/accounting services and virtual assistants.

 For more information regarding your tax returns call us on: 1300 488 330

Tactics for Tax planning for an individual.

The current financial year is nearly about to end, and with a political election to be held in a month’s time eventually the recently introduced government budget measures will, of course, have no opportunity to work until sometime in the next financial year, if at all.

But meanwhile, you may still find numerous methods you might be able to put in perform to make sure you spend not just one penny more tax than is essential for the 2015-16 year.

Tip! The finest taxation planning techniques are implemented in July, not June.  That's, as soon as possible in any financial year, not right close to the end of it. And it's also wise to understand that appropriate tax planning is more than just finding bigger and better deductions — the best tips are those that set your tax affairs in better order for not just the current financial year but also for future income years.

Not all of the subsequent suggestions will fit your situations, but as a list of possibilities they might enable you to get thinking along the appropriate track, and also have you asking us the appropriate questions.  Obviously, seek advice from this workplace if you want more information.

Investment property

Several expenses stemming from having a rental property or home are claimable, so it may be beneficial to provide ahead any costs prior to June 30 and claim them in the existing financial year. If you already know that the investment property needs some maintenance or needs attention regarding, say, pest control, see if you can incur these expenses prior to an end of a year.

Prepay investment loan interest

In a similar way, see if you are able to work out together with your finance provider to produce upfront interest repayments for several investments, for example, a margin mortgage on stock shares.

Most taxpayers can claim deductions for approximately Twelve months ahead. But be sure you review how you and your loan provider have allotted funds guaranteed upon your property properly, as a tax deduction is generally only permitted against the finance expenses sustained with regards to earning assessable earnings from investments.

Deductions might not be available on money you redraw from this loan put to other reasons.

Bring ahead costs

Try to bring forward any other deductions (just like the charges mentioned previously) into the 2015-16 year.

Once you know that next financial 12 months you will end up generating significantly less (for example going on maternity leave, going part-time etc), deductible costs that may be brought ahead into the existing financial year will give you much more financial advantage.

An exception for some fortunate individuals will arise if you expect you'll earn more next financial year. In that situation, it might be to your benefit to obstruct any tax-deductible repayments until the subsequent financial year, when the financial advantage of deductions can be higher. Your individual circumstances will determine whether these measures are acceptable and we can help with this.

Make use of the CGT guidelines to your benefit

For those who have created clear and crystallised any capital profit from your investment funds this financial year (which is included with your assessable earnings), consider selling any investments that are presently sitting on a loss of revenue prior to year-end. Doing this means the capital gains you created in your productive investments could be offset against the capital losses from the less successful ones, lowering your overall taxable earnings.

An identical strategy may be implemented for those who have to carry forward capital losses and desire to understand some gains at year end.

Remember that for CGT reasons a funds gain typically happens on the date you sign a contract, not when you settle on a property purchased. When you're making huge funds gain toward the end of an income year, such as selling a good investment property, realising which financial year the gain is going to be attributed to is a great tax planning advantage.

Certainly, with all the previously mentioned, tread very carefully and don’t let mere tax generate your investment judgments – check with this office staff to determine whether your approach will suit your circumstances.

Final reminders

No-one understands your matters much better than yourself, so you'll identify if any of these tax tips relates to your circumstances.

Every individual is required to lodge their return before October 31, but tax agents are generally given more time to lodge, which can be a handy extension to a payment deadline. Of course, if you’re sure you are going to get a refund it’s no use delaying, so in these cases, it is worth getting all of your information to this office as soon as you can after July 1.

To discuss it further, give us a call at 1300 488 330 and talk to our experts at Absolute Accounting Solutions!!

Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) is a Federal Government tax imposed on employers on the value of certain fringe benefits that have been provided to employees in respect of their employment. The FBT year runs from 1 April to the following 31 March. The current rate of FBT is 49% (2015/2016) and this is calculated on the grossed-up value of the benefit.

Fringe benefit tax payments are different to salary or wages. It's a benefit provided with respect to employment. There are a variety of benefits and these include entertainment, private use of a company car, cheap loans provided to employees, gym memberships, school fees and child care fees. In addition, most employers/salary packaging providers will allow you to claim personal expenses which have been paid in the last 6 months.

Therefore, for those commencing employment in January or towards the end of any FBT year, you should look to claim your full entitlement for the FBT year which ends on 31 of March allowing you to receive $9,094. 80 plus any meals tax-free up to this date. Often referred to as FBT, the Fringe Benefit Tax is imposed on non-cash benefits that employees receive from employers. The tax first came to be in 1986 with the release of the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act of 1986. The ATO can be a little vague in describing Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT): “FBT is paid by employers on certain benefits they provide to their employees or their employees’ associates (typically family members) in respect of the employee's employment. FBT is separate from income tax and is based on the taxable value of the fringe benefits provided”.

Even though the employer is the one that pays a Fringe Benefit Tax, the employee must still report it on their PAYG statement if the benefits exceed $2,000. Despite the requirement to report the benefits, the employee will not be responsible for paying any taxes on the items. Despite these benefits, there are some important things to bear in mind when considering salary packaging. Fringe benefits paid for using salary sacrificing may be subject to Fringe Benefit Tax, although there is a range of exceptions included for employees of not-for-profit organisations and public hospitals.

The Tax Office has several different categories of fringe benefits, which include:
• car fringe benefit
• debt waiver
• loan fringe benefit
• expense payment
• housing fringe benefit
• living away from home allowance
• airline transport
• board (accommodation)
• entertainment
• tax-exempt body entertainment
• car parking
• property fringe benefit, and
• residual benefits (that is, other benefits not covered by the above).

If you need more information in regards to this please call 1300 488 330 and talk to our professionals at Absolute Accounting Solutions.

DISCLAIMER: All information provided in this publication is of a general nature only and is not personal financial or investment advice. It does not take into account your particular objectives and circumstances. No person should act on the basis of this information without first obtaining and following the advice of a suitably qualified professional advisor.