On 4th July 2019, the Government’s $158bn tax cut package passed through the Senate which means that the ATO can now process claims relating to this. The amount taxpayers will receive is calculated on your income and relates to the tax return you are about to lodge (2018-2019). Eligible taxpayers can receive up to an extra $530 for singles or $1,080 for a couple. To help you work out how much you can expect back, here is a useful tax calculator If you have any questions please give us a call on 08 9240 7629 or email Chloe. Appointments are booking up fast, so please contact us to schedule your tax return appointment.

Social media and the press were awash last week with the warning that the Australian Tax Office (ATO) audits on property investors are going to double. The ATO is set to crackdown on property investors incorrectly claiming deductions on their rental properties. The ATO has run audits from a random sample of returns with rental deductions and found that nine out of 10 contained an error. Some of the more common mistakes have been identified as: Incorrect interest claims for the entire investment loan where it has been refinanced for private purposes Incorrect classification of capital works as repairs and maintenance Apportioning deductions for holiday homes when they are not genuinely available for rent. Partners splitting income and deductions In particular, platforms such as AirBnb and Stayz are being closely looked as they have now become very popular. The ATO has access to third party data so they can check if a property was actually available or not. You may not even be aware that you are making a mistake in your claim, which is why it is very important you contact us for [...]

Check myGov to see if your income statement is 'tax ready' Income statements are replacing payment summaries, and are now categorised into: tax ready, not tax ready and year-to-date. The reason for this is the new Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting system, which employers need to comply with from 1 July 2019. It means that your payroll data and super information is automatically sent to the ATO with each pay run, therefore making the issuing of annual payment summaries redundant. You will be able to see this in real-time via your myGov account. Don’t worry, you don’t need to do anything, just be aware of the change in terminology and process, and also wait until your employer marks your information as ‘tax ready’ before you lodge your tax return. The Commissioner of Taxation at the ATO has offered the following advice: Your end-of-year payment summary information, now called an income statement, will be available through myGov for you or your tax agent. It's important to wait until your employer marks your information as tax ready before your tax return is lodged. Most employers have until 31 [...]