Provided that you get your return completed by a Accountant or Tax Agent the final date of lodgement is the 15th May of the following year.
Example: A 2012 tax return is due 15th May 2013.
If you complete your own return you the final date is the 31st October of that current year.
Example: A 2012 tax return is due 31st October 2012.
If you are a company your tax due date will vary based on the amount of tax you are paying to the tax office. If you are a small tax payer you may have until the 15th May, however if you are a large tax payer you may have your tax due date brought forward as far as 1st December.
Example: If you are a company and you only owe the tax office $2,000 you will more than likely be due on a 15th May, whereas if you are a large tax paying company and you owe the tax office $100,000 in tax your due date is likely to be brought forward considerably ie. Potentially as far forward as 1st December of that current year.
It is always best to confirm your company’s due date with us to avoid any fines / penalties.
Generally 28 days after the quarter ends. However, if you lodge through your accountant and your accountant lodges that BAS electronically via the Tax Agent portal you may receive an additional 4 weeks on top of the 28 day period.
You would register your business for GST if your business gross turnover is going to be greater than $75,000 per annum. If your turnover is going to be less than $75,000 you have a choice to either register for GST and complete quarterly BAS’s or you can elect not to register for GST and declare all of your income/expenses at the end of the year on your income tax return.
If your going to take on a staff member, you as the employer are require to cover them for both Workers Compensation Insurance and also pay the 9% Superannuation Guarantee Levy. These are the 2 main on-costs however, in addition, you will also need to work out what rate of pay you are required to pay them (remembering also to withhold the tax from their pay). The Tax Withheld is then paid in your BAS at the end of each quarter. Whilst Workers compensation and Superannuation are the main requirements you need to cover your employees you may also need to consider state taxes such as Payroll Tax, should you have a Payroll in excess of $600,000.00. Bear in mind that if you are a “PTY LTD” company, if you draw a wage from your own business you are also subject to the exact same rules as any other employees (even if you are the only director or shareholder).
Setting up a company these days is a relatively speedy process. We can complete everything for you within a day or two. We will register your company and lodge/pay all the filing fees with the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC). You will be given a black binder (Company Register), with authorities to act as a director and shareholder and from there, we as your accountant, will get you an Australian Business Number (ABN), register you for GST (if applicable) and PAYG Withholding; which is for the wages you are drawing along with any staff you may employ. The entire process costs approximately $1350.00 + GST.
Negative Gearing is effectively running an investment at a loss and the reason that it runs at a loss most commonly is because you have borrowed money from a bank/lender to invest in property or shares etc.
Example: For a rental property, you would declare the rent as income and by the time you claim all your expenses (water rates, council rates, Strata, interest on the loan, depreciation etc) the investment will probably run at a loss. If, for example, that investment ran at a $10,000 loss and you were in a 31.5% tax bracket that would indicate that you would have a $3,150 tax refund or tax saving to yourself when you do your income tax return.
The two different types of finance depends on the way you want claim your tax deductions. Over the course of the whole loan, a Lease as opposed to a Hire Purchase method may not have a huge bearing on your return, as they may work out very similar. On a Hire purchase arrangement you will usually find that you will have higher tax deductions in the first year or two and that they will taper off in the final years of the loan. Whereas a Lease you are claiming the exact same amount per year for the entire course of the lease. However, if you are a Business and are registered for GST, we may recommend a Hire Purchase Loan set up specifically (probably as a Chattel mortgage), as you are then entitled to claim back the entire amount of GST on the purchase of the vehicle/equipment immediately on your next BAS statement or the BAS period that you buy the vehicle/equipment in. These guidelines are also subject to the ATO substantiation requirements with regards to Private use of Vehicles / Assets.
This will depend on how much you have actually made on the investment, but the way Capital Gains works is, provided that you have held the asset for more than 12 months, whatever the gain that you have made on it (Sale Price less your purchase price) you will get a 50% discount on the gain. The remaining 50% is then added to your taxable income for that financial year and taxed at your marginal rate. If your Capital Gain relates to a Business Asset being sold, there are a range of Small Business CGT Concessions that you may be eligible for. It is best that you meet with us at the time to discuss whether these Concessions can benefit you in your circumstances.
In the case of individual’s selling a rental property there are other factors that can reduce your Capital Gain and these are usually things that you were not allowed to claim originally when you first purchased the property, such as; Stamp Duty, Legal fees and the commission/marking fees that the real estate agent receive once you sell the property. These will all reduce your Capital Gain as well. Once you have worked out your net capital gain and then applied your 50% discount, that amount of money is then assessable at your normal marginal rate of tax.
Example: If your up in a 38.5% tax bracket you will loose 38.5% of the net gain after the 50% discount has been applied.
The main thing you need to bring to your appointment is all details of your income.
This will include; income from wages, interest earned on bank accounts, dividends that you may have received from share investments and income distributed from managed funds or trusts. You will also need any details of your private health insurance if applicable, and also details of your spouses income and or the number of dependent children you may or may not have. Most of the expenses we can usually run through with you at the time however if you have spent money on specific items eg, subscriptions, work related uniform, protective clothing or union fees to name a few, you should bring those along. We will run through all the deductions with you at the time of your appointment however, you will need to make sure that you have all relevant receipts / documentation for these expenses should you ever be asked present them by the tax office.