TFG Blog

franking credits and smsf ato the field group accountants tax

Franking Credits and Your SMSF

Date04 Apr 2018

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You may have noticed significant media coverage recently regarding the Australian Labor Party’s proposed policy to stop SMSFs from receiving tax refunds for the franking credits they receive in conjunction with the dividends paid from Australian companies they own. First of all, what are franking credits and how do they...

buying a house with superannuation tax the field group accountants

Should You Use The New Super Measures When You Buy/Sell Your Home?

Date02 Apr 2018

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From 1 July 2018, new laws come into effect allowing first home buyers to use their super to help buy a home, and at the other end of the spectrum, downsizers to contribute proceeds from the sale of their home to super without many of the normal restrictions. The pros...

danger tax deductions ato the field group accountants

Tax Deductions: The Danger Zones

Date29 Mar 2018

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A recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Tax Deductions created some fairly sensational headlines about what and how deductions are being claimed – $22 billion worth to be exact. In Australia, tax deductions are available for expenses incurred in producing assessable income. These are generally work-related deductions or investment related deductions. And,...

Single Touch Payroll: What Your Business Needs To Know

Date27 Mar 2018

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Single Touch Payroll (STP) – the direct reporting of salary and wages, PAYG withholding and superannuation contribution information to the ATO – comes into effect from 1 July 2018. For employers Employers with 20 or more employees at 1 April 2018 must use standard business reporting-enabled software from 1 July...

Property & Your SMSF

Date06 Mar 2018

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Directly held property makes up approximately 19% of all SMSF assets, indicating that many SMSF trustees consider it’s an important and significant part of a diversified portfolio. There are numerous strategies and ways for property to form part of an SMSF’s investments and each must be carefully considered. Investment strategy...

Will Your Business Be Audited?

Date06 Mar 2018

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How the ATO identifies audit targets… The ATO is very upfront when it comes to their compliance activity. Every year they publish small business benchmarks that outline what a typical business ‘looks like’ in different industries. If your business falls outside of those benchmarks, the ATO is likely to take...

GST On Property Developments

Date06 Mar 2018

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The big changes for developers and purchasers If a Bill currently before Parliament passes, from 1 July 2018, purchasers of new residential premises or new residential subdivisions will need to remit the GST on the purchase price directly to the ATO as part of the settlement process. This is a...

What you need to know about FBT 2018

Date06 Mar 2018

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The Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year ends on 31 March. We’ve outlined the key hot spots for employers and employees. Motor vehicles – using the company car outside of work New safe harbour for utes and commercial vehicles Car parking – are you really declaring the true cost of parking?...

GST on new residential properties the field group accounting

GST Obligations On New Residential Property Transactions

Date13 Feb 2018

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From 1 July 2018, purchasers of new residential premises or new residential subdivisions will remit the GST on or before settlement of the property. The amount that is required to be paid to the Commissioner is 1/11th of the sale price. The amount remitted to the ATO will be completed...

couriers and cleaners the field group accounting tax

Couriers & Cleaners To Report Contractor Payments

Date13 Feb 2018

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From 1 July 2018, the taxable payments reporting system will extend beyond the building industry to cleaning and courier businesses. This means that these businesses will need to report payments they make to contractors (individual and total for the year) to the ATO. By ‘payment’ the ATO means any form...

Australian Tax – What’s changing in 2018?

Date06 Feb 2018

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1 January 2018 Vacancy fees for foreign acquisitions of residential land – An annual vacancy fee imposed on foreign owners of residential real estate if the property is not occupied or genuinely available on the rental market for at least 183 days in a particular 12 month period. Foreign owners...

Why ‘Property Flipping’ Is The Next ATO Target

Date05 Dec 2017

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The tax law does not allow you to ‘flip’ a property tax-free even if you are living in it. Most people think that they can move in to a property, renovate it, and then sell it without paying tax. The main residence exemption – the exemption that protects your family...

Key factors that affect business value the field group accounting

The 2 Key Factors That Can Affect Your Business Value

Date14 Nov 2017

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How can you make your business worth a larger amount when you want to sell it? Before we answer this question, remember: your business will only be worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. So, you may think it is worth $1 million, but if your best...

New Legislation Restricts Access to the Reduced Company Tax Rate

Date01 Nov 2017

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Legislation restricting access to the small business company tax rate reduction entered Parliament last month. The changes specifically preclude companies with passive investments such as rental property income from qualifying for the small business entity tax rate of 27.5%. For the 2017 income year a company could access the reduced...

investment trust the field group accounting property

Should you purchase an investment property in your own name or should you use a Discretionary Trust?

Date09 Oct 2017

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When buying an investment property, the ownership structure you choose can have significant implications for your tax and overall financial position. Trusts are steadily becoming a popular ownership structure for Australian property investors due to the tax benefits, asset protection and estate planning advantages they offer. At first glance, whilst...

online security the field group accounting

8 Online Security Tips – Get your security in order!

Date04 Oct 2017

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If ‘12345678’, ‘password’, ‘admin’, or your date of birth is your password of choice, you could do with a few lessons in internet security. From Telstra to the ATO, a growing number of organisations have been targeted by hackers and scammers hoping to obtain customers’ personal data and credit card...

xero cba update the field group accounting

Important Changes To The Commonwealth Bank Personal Credit Card Feed on Xero

Date03 Oct 2017

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From the 17th of October 2017, Xero will be changing how your Commonwealth Bank (CBA) personal credit card transaction data will be managed. After this date, automated CBA personal credit card transaction data will no longer be available. If you currently hold a CBA personal card and are using it...

the field group accounting director fees

Director’s fees: What and How To Pay Them

Date30 Aug 2017

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The issue of Director’s fees often comes up – should we pay directors, how to pay, and if we do pay fees how should they be paid? We answer the common questions for private companies. Can you pay a Director? Directors who work in the company, executive directors, would generally...

the field group accounting employer super guarantee

Employer Super Guarantee – What Happens When You Get It Wrong

Date30 Aug 2017

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The ATO receives around 20,000 reports each year from people who believe their employer has either not paid or underpaid compulsory superannuation guarantee (SG). In 2015-16 the ATO investigated 21,000 cases raising $670 million in SG and penalties. The ATO’s own risk assessments suggest that between 11% and 20% of...

the field group accounting selling property over 750k

What everyone selling a property valued at $750k or more needs to know

Date02 Aug 2017

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Every vendor selling a property needs to prove that they are a resident of Australia for tax purposes unless they are happy for the purchaser to withhold a 12.5% withholding tax. From 1 July 2017, every individual selling a property with a sale value of $750,000 or more is affected....

the field group accounting Main residence exemption

Main residence exemption removed for non-residents

Date01 Aug 2017

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The Federal Budget announced that non-residents will no longer be able to access the main residence exemption for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes from 9 May 2017 (Budget night). Now that the draft legislation has been released, more details are available about how this exclusion will work. Under the new...

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