Are you ready to take control and compare your superannuation fund’s performance against other funds? You might be in luck if you have a MySuper fund as the ATO’s YourSuper comparison tool can help you compare different MySuper products and choose a superannuation fund that meets your needs. What is a MySuper fund? A MySuper...

The ATO is warning taxpayers not to engage in ‘asset wash sales’ to artificially increase their losses in order to reduce capital gains or expected gains. It cautions that they are a form of tax avoidance. These arrangements typically involve the disposal of assets such as cryptocurrency and shares just before the end of the...

Income and tax deductions from rental properties is one of the four key areas that the ATO is focusing on this Tax Time. The ATO is urging rental property owners to ensure they carefully review their records before declaring income or claiming deductions this Tax Time, and for registered tax agents such as us to...

Are you a small business owner or work in a profession where you are open to being sued? If so, have you thought about what might happen to your superannuation should your circumstances change and you become bankrupt? The risk of bankruptcy Self-employed people, company directors and ‘at risk’ professionals such as doctors, dentists, accountants,...

The key purpose of superannuation is to provide individuals with benefits for their retirement, which is when most people will access their superannuation savings. But, in some cases, individuals may be able to access some of their superannuation early upon meeting certain eligibility rules. Common conditions of release A condition of release must be met...

In the past 12 months, the ATO has identified and taken action against 595 websites impersonating its online services. These fake sites are designed to steal passwords, personal information and identity documents, such as passports and driver licences. Currently, the ATO is seeing many SMS and email scams leading to fake myGov sign-in pages –more...

The ATO has released a tax time tool kit to assist businesses and us as your tax advisor to nail your 2021/22 business tax return. The ATO has also flagged what it will be focusing on for small business tax returns for 2021–22: deductions that are private in nature and not related to business income,...

The increase to the superannuation guarantee (SG) rate from 1 July 2022 will see more employees (and certain contractors) entitled to additional SG contributions on their pay. But what happens when income earned before 30 June is paid after 30 June 2022 – will employees be entitled to the higher SG rate of 10.5%? SG...

In late June, the ATO released their ‘100A guidelines’ provided in respect of the 2021/22 income year (‘Managing section 100A for the 2021–22 income year’).  In summary, the guidelines would appear to be a reiteration of previously published draft material (the 23 February Guidelines) with no or little direction with respect to the practical issues...

As the economy emerges from COVID-19, the ATO is re-focusing on debt collection. During the pandemic, the ATO deliberately shifted its focus away from firmer debt collection action to help and assist businesses and the community experiencing financial challenges because of the pandemic. It took a softly-softly approach, acknowledging the financial hardship that the virus...