If you are operating a small business and at the end of the income year you estimate that your trading stock’s value has not changed by more than $5,000, remember (especially if you are new to business) that you can choose not to conduct a formal stocktake. By making a decision to do this, you...

Single Touch Payroll is a government initiative to streamline business reporting obligations, which is due to become compulsory from 1 July 2018. When a business pays its employees, the payroll information will be sent to the ATO via the business’s payroll software. Reporting under the Single Touch Payroll (STP) system removes the requirement to issue...

Where some businesses have tripped up in the past is where the source of benefits provided is not clear cut — that is, where non-cash components of remuneration are sourced not directly from an employer, but from an associate, a related company or from a third-party provider. For fringe benefits tax (FBT) to apply, the...

It may seem fairly obvious whether a person is in business or not, but the distinction can be important for other reasons. Your client may be having fun AND making money. But is it a business or a hobby? For example, if you are not carrying on a business, the option to deduct losses from...

March 31 and the end of the FBT year is around the corner, so to help taxpayers get things right, the ATO has made public the fringe benefits tax issues that attract its attention. Broadly (not just in relation to FBT), the ATO says the following behaviours and characteristics tend to raise a red flag:...

A question that surfaces now and then in regard to capital gains is whether the main residence exemption extends to additional land acquired after the time of acquisition of the residence. The short answer is yes — provided that certain requirements are met. It should also be noted that where the exemption applies upon satisfaction...

A general law partnership is formed when two or more people (and up to, but no more than, 20 people) go into business together. Partnerships are generally set up so that all partners are equally responsible for the management of the business, but each also has liability for the debts that business may incur. Partnership deduction...

It is very often the case that unpaid debts owed to a business can have a significant impact on cash flow and the ongoing profitability of a business. In a taxation context the characterisation of a particular debt as either “doubtful” or “bad” is key as to whether or not the writing off of that...

The superannuation rules stipulate that an employee’s earnings base must be the amount on which minimum superannuation contributions are payable to avoid the superannuation guarantee charge (SGC). This earnings base is determined as “ordinary time earnings” (OTE). In general terms, this seems self-explanatory — that is, OTE is what an employee earns for their day-to-day...

As a tax concept, “entertainment” can be relevant not only to fringe benefits tax (FBT), but also to income tax and even goods and services tax (GST). For a business, whether a business expense is “entertainment” will generally also determine whether the cost is deductible. If the expenditure can be shown to be directly connected...