5 tips for a residential investment property

Whether you are considering buying an investment property or already own one it is very beneficial to understand the tax implications of owning an investment property. 5 key tax principles are presented via this article link: 5 tips for a residential investment property.

Looking for a convenient way to submit your rental property income & expenses for your tax return? SORTED !- Please complete this RENTAL PROPERTY Schedule online form via this webpage form link

GST Registration

Needing help registering your business for GST? Why not book a 'Business Essentials' consultation to triage all your pressing business issues.  Get in touch via the Contact Us form.

To get a better idea on key info gathering items relevant for a GST Registration or to get help with registering for GST then click on the GST Registration form. 

Teacher Tax Deductions

If you work as a teacher then there are teacher specific as well as general tax deductions that you might be entitled to that you are not aware of. 

As a father of 2 school children I really admire the expertise, effort and patience of school teachers. I love to help teachers with their annual tax return to ensure they get the opportunity to claim all the tax deductions that you are entitled to. Learn more via this Teacher Tax Deduction Tips article link

Business Expense Recording

You have all these business expenses but not sure how to record & categorise these business expense transactions. 

To learn more about the more common & typical business expense categories used then read the Business Expense Recording article

Business tips for Sole Traders

Even if you know that you are running your business as a Sole Trader (also referred to as ‘sole proprietorship') you might not really know 'What is a Sole Trader?' Warnock Accounting look after a large number of Sole Traders in the inner western suburbs (Maribyrnong, Ascot vale, West Footscray, East Keilor etc.) of Melbourne as well as other parts of Victoria. Read on via this article link for useful Business tips relevant for Sole Traders.

Franked Dividend impacts to Taxable Income

When a taxpayer receives a dividend from a company it can be franked, unfranked or a mixture of both. Franking credits arise for shareholders when certain Australian-resident companies pay income tax on their taxable income and distribute their after-tax profits by way of franked dividends. These franked dividends have franking credits attached. Click on this article link Franked Dividend impacts to Taxable Income to see 3 alternative example scenarios to illustrate how taxable income & tax credits are impacted by receiving or not receiving franked dividends.

Helpful facts (well, hopefully helpful!) 

Medicare Levy - The Medicare levy is an amount you pay in addition to the tax you pay on your taxable income. For most taxpayers it is 2% of your taxable income and employers typically factor this in when deducting PAYG Tax Withheld from your employee pay.

Medicare Levy Surcharge - Sounds like the Medicare levy but it is quite different. It would be easier to understand if it was called 'Private Health Insurance Surcharge'. 

You may have to pay the Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) if:
1. you, your spouse and your dependent children do not have an appropriate level of private patient hospital cover
2. you earn above a certain income.
The MLS is an amount you pay on top of the Medicare levy.

Concessional Super Contribution Cap - The concessional Super contributions cap is the maximum amount of before-tax contributions you can contribute to your super each year without contributions being subject to extra tax. 

Excess private health insurance entitlement - Private Health insurance premium rebates are income tested.  If an 'Excess private health insurance entitlement' occurs it means that based on Tax Return income the Private Health Insurance premium rebate applied by the private health insurance fund was higher than what premiun rebate should be applied based on your income. Any excess premium rebate applied is repaid via the tax  return.

Goods and services tax (GST) - Goods and services tax (GST) is a broad-based tax of 10% on most goods, services and other items sold or consumed in Australia. Some things don’t have GST included, these are called GST-free sales.

Capital Gains Tax - Capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax you pay on profits from disposing of assets including investments, such as property, shares and crypto assets

Fringe benefits tax (FBT) - Fringe benefits tax (FBT) is a tax paid by employers on certain benefits provided to their employees, or to their employees’ family or other associates.FBT is separate to income tax. It's calculated on the taxable value of the fringe benefit.

Australian Business Number (ABN) - An ABN, or Australian Business Number, is a unique 11-digit identifier used to identify businesses to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and other government agencies for tax and business purposes

Australian Company Number (ACN) -Every company in Australia is issued with a unique, nine-digit number when registered. 

Business activity statement (BAS) - A BAS helps you to report on taxes like:

• goods and services tax (GST)
• pay as you go (PAYG) withholding
• PAYG instalments
• fringe benefits tax (FBT) instalments
• luxury car tax
• wine equalisation tax

Pay as you go (PAYG) instalments  - Pay as you go (PAYG) instalments are regular prepayments of the expected tax on your business and investment income. PAYG Instalments will be counted as income tax credits for your income tax return. 

Income Statements - Income statements, previously known as payment summaries (and group certificates before that), are prepared by the ATO based on information provided to them by your employer.

Division 293 tax -  Division 293 tax is a different tax from income tax and theDiv 293  tax reduces the tax concession on super contributions. It its administered separately by the tax office from the tax return process.  If Division 293 tax applies the tax office will often  make an assessment about 2 months after a tax return is lodged.

Tax file number (TFN) withholding tax - If your bank doesn't have your tax file number (TFN), it will withhold tax from your interest at the highest marginal tax rate. You can claim a credit for the amount of tax withheld when you lodge your tax return.

JobSeeker payment - JobSeeker payment (previously Newstart allowance) is the main income support payment for people aged 22 through to age pension age who are looking for work. This is taxable income in your personal tax return. Often when this is paid no Tax is withheld so if other income is earned during the tax year sometimes it means you owe tax at tax time.

Dividends - Dividends are payments by a company out of its profits to investors who own shares in the company. A dividend is usually paid in the form of cash or in additional shares of the company.

Profit & Loss - A Profit and Loss (P&L) statement, also sometimes known as an income statement, summarises a company's revenues, expenses, and net profit or loss over a specific period.

Balance Sheet - The balance sheet provides a view of the financial health of a business at a given moment in time. It lists all of your business's assets and liabilities.