5 simple techniques to reduce your tax

His words might have been recorded over 200 years ago, but Benjamin Franklin’s famous uttering “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes” remains as true today as it was in 1789. The one thing that has constantly changed is tax law, and although death is impossible to avoid, with the many options available to us, taxation doesn’t need to inflict too much pain.

Read More

Salary sacrifice vs personal contributions to super

If you are an employee, there are two ways in which you can optimise the tax-effectiveness of your additional super contributions:

  • Opt for a salary sacrifice arrangement, whereby your employer makes additional superannuation contributions beyond the compulsory superannuation guarantee (SG) amount from your pre-tax earnings and reduces your salary accordingly; or
  • Make a personal contribution and claim a tax deduction when you submit your tax return.

Read More

Is your company compliant Sciacca Accountants Stafford

Is your company compliant?

IS YOUR COMPANY COMPLIANT?

 

Is your company compliant, Know the rules, Sciacca Accountants and Business advisors Brisbane, Sciacca Accountants and Business advisors Stafford, Accountants Stafford, Accountants Brisbane, Business Advisors Stafford, SMSF Advisors Brisbane, Business advisors Stafford, SMSF advisors Stafford Sciacca Accountants and Business advisors Brisbane, Sciacca Accountants and Business advisors Stafford, Accountants Stafford, Accountants Brisbane, Business Advisors Stafford, SMSF Advisors Brisbane, Business advisors Stafford, SMSF advisors Stafford

What we don’t often do at the end of a calendar year is legal compliance housekeeping, but perhaps we should. Legislation and regulations change throughout the year and these have an impact on your business.  Perhaps your company took on more employees and has a higher turnover?  These are excellent indicators of growth and success but also have the potential to attract new legal obligations.

Here is a list of 5 commonly overlooked legal issues you should review to ensure that your company is compliant this year…

Know the rules !

Are you SuperStream ready

Are you SuperStream ready

Time is running out to get SuperStream ready

Are you SuperStream ready

With only two quarters left until SuperStream becomes mandatory, employers are being urged to cross SuperStream off their ‘to-do’ list ahead of the 30 June 2016 deadline.

It takes a little time to set up, but over a quarter of a million employers who have made the change are already enjoying (on average) a 70% reduction in the time they spend on super. That equates to approximately 1.5 hours each cycle! If you haven’t done so already your options to get ready include:

  • upgrading your current payroll software
  • using your super fund’s online system
  • using a messaging portal
  • using a clearing house (like the ATOs free Small business superannuation clearing house).

You can also ask your accountant or bookkeeper for help.

An important part of SuperStream preparation is collecting your employees’ TFNs and their funds’ unique super identifiers (USIs). You then enter it into your system ahead of the next quarterly due date on 28 January. This gives you time to check that things are running smoothly before the deadline.

Use our Employer checklist for a step-by-step guide on all you need to do.

 

Changes to car allowances

Changes to Car Allowances

 

CHANGES TO CAR ALLOWANCES

 

CHANGES TO CAR ALLOWANCES

 

Claiming work-related car expenses is a common tax-time claim for many taxpayers. In fact, almost 4 million taxpayers claim the deduction each year. There are of course certain rules that must be adhered to in claiming these expenses and these days, the Australian Tax Office takes a close interest in such claims given the cost to the revenue.

The Treasurer announced in the 2015-16 federal budget that the methods used for calculating work-related car expense deductions would be simplified and modernised – in other words, changed.

Currently, taxpayers have an option to use one of four methods to determine their work-related car expense deductions:

  • cents per kilometre
  • logbook method
  • the 12% of original value method, and
  • one-third of actual expenses incurred.

Changes to car allowances mean if you are paying your employees a car allowance in excess of 66c per kilometre, you need to withhold tax on the amount you pay over 66c.

If you haven’t been doing this since July 2015, you should begin to withhold tax on the amount you pay over 66c and advise your employees.

What if your employees think that not withholding until now might result in them getting a tax bill?

Depending on the amount you’ve paid them, this shouldn’t have a significant impact on their tax for the year. But you can agree to increase the amount you withhold for the remainder of the financial year to cover the shortfall.