The approach to tax when you’re working from home
If you produce assessable income at home, or some of it, and you incur expenses from using that home as your “office” or “workshop”, the ATO will generally allow that a taxpayer could be in a position to be able to claim some expenses and make some deductions....
When valuations of property are important for tax
There are times when getting a valuation becomes necessary, especially to estimate the cost of transactions that are not arm’s-length or when no actual cash changes hands. A common example of this is in respect of property, and especially for transactions when a...
Rental travel expenses mostly off the table
The ATO recently highlighted significant non-compliance with the rules prohibiting taxpayers claiming travel expenses related to residential rental properties. Late last calendar year, the ATO revealed that it had identified 26,000 taxpayers who had incorrectly...
The new “consumer” rules for GST and online purchases
Australians have been taking full advantage of the offerings on the digital marketplace with gusto for years now, but it has only been relatively recently that the rules for goods and services tax (GST) have caught up. With the purchase of digital products such as the...
Removing tax deductibility of ‘non-compliant’ payments
From 1 July 2019, businesses will only be able to claim deductions for payments that are made to workers (employees or contractors) when the employer has complied with the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding and other tax reporting obligations for that payment. If the...
The same business test to be replaced by a “similar business” test
Among the first batch of tax legislation the government dealt with in the new year was a bill that contained changes to the “same business” test. The same business test is relevant in a number of contexts, but most particularly in determining if a company is eligible...
Tax incentive for angel investors in start-ups
For more than two years now (from 1 July 2016) two key tax incentives have been available for investors considering putting their money behind qualifying start-up businesses — or as the ATO has dubbed them, early stage innovation companies (ESICs). The incentives...
The ATO is looking for personal services income diverted to SMSFs
The ATO has announced that it is reviewing arrangements where members of an SMSF (typically at, or approaching, retirement age) purport to divert income earned from their personal services to their fund, which results in minimising or even avoiding tax altogether on...
Guide to making motor vehicle expense claims
A perennial topic regarding tax deductions is claiming expenses for a car. The following notes summarise the most salient points when it comes to claiming a deduction for motor vehicle expenses. Of course every person’s circumstances may be different, but the...
For certain travel expense claims, the term ‘itinerant’ needs clarity
Being able to make claims for work-related travel expenses is generally an enviable deduction situation, and one that a good many taxpayers would like to achieve — especially given that the status of being deemed an “itinerant” worker brings with it an expectation of...