TAX INFO
On this page you will find comments on:
Increasing your refund:
- Tax deductions
- Allowances
- Super/spouse contributions
- Home Office + other
Superannuation:
- Contribution types
- Limits
- Options
- Avoiding Death Benefits Tax
- Buying property in your own Self Managed Superannuation Fund
- Other Ideas
Other Tax Strategies:
- Salary Sacrifice – Electronic Items
- Novated Lease – Electric Car – No FBT!! 100% Tax Deduction!
- Negative Gearing
- Deferring income
- Debt conversion – Non deductible to deductible
INCREASE YOUR REFUND
In order to ensure the best result is achieved for your tax return, you need to ensure you claim every deduction you are entitled to. Common items that are underclaimed or omitted are:
Travel – Costs incurred for work related travel including travel for training, courses, seminars, between offices/branches etc. The costs can include Uber fares, taxi & train fares, parking & tolls. They can also include using the cents per km method, as long as you can substantiate how you arrived at the kms claimed.
Motor Vehicle Allowances & claiming your car for extensive work use – There are four different methods of claiming your motor vehicle expenditure. The size of your vehicle, work use percentage and records kept, will impact which method gives you the best deductions.
Duty Travel – Overseas and Domestic – If you have been paid a travel allowance, depending upon your occupation, you may be able to claim part, some or all of the allowance as a tax deduction.
This area is complex and the calculations differ between airline staff (Qantas, Virgin & Rex) as well as their EBA. This is due to the way the different airlines pay their staff and how they choose to report the allowances.
In some cases you will be able to claim more than the amount of the actual allowance received.
Getting it right means more dollars in your pocket.
Home Office – If you do any work/study at home you are entitled to claim a deduction for “home office” costs. How much you can claim will depend upon a number of things, including how many hours you work/study at home per annum. In preparation for your next tax return calculate how many hours you have worked from home, this will help determine the best method of claiming to give you the biggest tax deduction.
Income Protection/Wages Insurance – Policies for income protection, wages insurance are fully tax deductible.
Prepaying investment expenses or work expenses before 30 June – If you have any work expenses, subscriptions, software, income /wages insurance or investment expenses (like property rates, repairs, insurances etc) pay them before 30 June to get a tax deduction in this financial year.
Make an after tax contribution to your superfund – You or your accountant can calculate how much you can contribute (taking into account prior years unused contributions) prior to 30 June and get a tax deduction for the contributions.
If you do make an after tax contribution, remember to complete and lodge with your superfund a Notice of Intent to Claim Super form. You can get the form from your superfund or your accountant can email one to you.
Contribute to your spouses superfund – Maximum amount allowed $3,000 – Benefit $540.00 or 18%
SUPERANNUATION – CONTRIBUTIONS, STRATEGIES & DEATH BENEFITS
In a blink of an eye you will be in your mid 50’s, if you are not already, and thinking about retirement.
To retire with an amount of super that will give you an income stream to comfortably enjoy yourselves you must ensure that an adequate amount goes into your super each year.
Below are some superannuation strategies and tools
- Transfer your employers annual super to your spouse
- Take advantage of the 5yr unused non-concessional super contributions.
- Make a non-concessional contribution of $110,000 for 2024 and $120,000 for each year after
- Trigger the 3yr brought forward rule and make a non-concessional contribution of up to $330,000 this year or $360,000 next year.
- Take advantage of the downsizers contribution and contribute up to $300,000 each or $600,000 per couple.
- Via your own self-managed superannuation fund buy investment properties (commercial and residential) or invest your super directly into assets or the equity markets.
Superannuation death benefits attract 19% of your superannuation balance. This cannot always be avoided, however steps can be taken to reduce and, in many cases, avoid the amount payable when you die.
OTHER TAX STRATEGIES
Novated Lease – Get a full tax deduction for your new car.
As an incentive the ATO has removed FBT from electric vehicles. This means that if you purchase an electric vehicle via salary packaging you will get a full tax deduction for the vehicle.
Salary Sacrifice – Electronic Items
FBT is not applied to small electronic items used for work like a new mobile, laptop or iPad. You are only allowed one item per year and there is no requirement for justification of % of work use.
Negative Gearing –
If you have cash or equity in your home, depending on a number of factors, you may consider purchasing an investment property which could cost you as little as $200/week to hold.
Investments Income – (Interest, dividends, managed funds, capital gains)
If you are on the top marginal rate, give consideration to putting your investments in another family members name or in an investment structure like a trust or company.
Borrowings – Convert non deductible debt to tax deductible debt
Where possible look at ways to restructure your finances in a manner that converts as much as possible your non deductible debt to tax deductible debt.
Please Note:
The above information is not advice and is only intended to be general in nature.
Almost every item is subject to limits, thresholds, balances and timeframes.
It is important that any of the aforementioned is discussed with this office or your own accountant before a decision is made.