Entries by Miyo

Relationship Separations and Tax Returns

Sometimes relationships breakdown and whilst you might have each gone your seperate ways when it comes to tax time the question of spouses and dependants will crop up in your tax return to determine your Medicare levy reductions, Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) and private health insurance rebates. If you had a spouse (married or defacto […]

Self Managed Super Funds

A self-managed super fund (SMSF) is a private super fund that you manage yourself. SMSFs are different to industry and retail super funds. When you manage your own super, you put the money you would normally put in a retail or industry super fund into your own SMSF.  You choose the investments and the insurance. […]

Holiday Homes or Rental Properties and CGT

Holiday homes can be a get-away sanctuary of a home away from home, a place where family memories can be made. When considering selling your holiday home it’s worth considering the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) If your holiday home was owned prior to September 20th 1985 then you don’t need to worry about CGT. But […]

Tax Time tips for Sole Traders

When you’re busy running a business there’s many balls to keep in the air and understanding the tax rules can take a backseat to other priorities you have. Small businesses work hard to get things right; however sometimes mistakes happen. Some common mistake areas for sole traders are: reporting income – income earned outside of […]

Super spouse contributions

If your partner is a low-income earner, working part-time, or currently unemployed, adding to their super could benefit you both financially.  If you’d like to help them by putting money into their super, you might be eligible for a tax offset, while potentially creating additional opportunities for both of you through super spouse contributions. There […]

Preparing a Not For Profit self-review return

If your not-for-profit (NFP) organisation has an active ABN at June 30th 2024 you must lodge an annual NFP self-review return starting from the 23/24 income year. Those who don’t have to complete the NFP self-review return include: Certain types of government entities An Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits commission (ACNC) type of entity Taxable NFP […]

Crypto Providers and ATO Data Matching

The ATO has issued a notice on it’s intention to collect Crypto asset data from cryptocurrency designated service providers until the 2026 financial year. Data that might be collected and matched with the ATO include: client identification details and account names, as well as transaction details including transaction date/time, amounts of transfers, linked bank account […]

Not for Profit Organsations and Tax

A reminder from the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and the ATO that if your not-for-profit organisation has charitable purposes, it cannot self-assess as income tax exempt. For your organisation to be eligible for income tax exemption, it may need to register as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and be endorsed […]

Retirement Villages or Land Lease Communities

Lifestyle communities and some of the issues that can crop up from them were recently featured on ABC’s 7:30 report segment.  A potential resident should be aware of whether the community is a Retirement Village which operates under the Retirement Villages Act 1986 (Victorian Government legislation) or is a Land Lease Community which operates under […]

FY24 ATO Tax Time Focus

As ‘tax time’ is here, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has announced it will be taking a close look at three common errors being made by taxpayers: Incorrectly claiming work-related expenses Inflating claims for rental properties Failing to include all income when lodging ATO Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson said the ATO is focused on supporting […]

Your 23/24 Tax Checklist : Making Tax Time Easy

Happy New Financial year! Now that 2023/234 financial year has closed, it’s a great time to get organised and download our simple Tax Return Checklist and see what records you need to compile to make your tax return as simple and efficient as possible. Additional investments If you have additional income from dividends, interest, or […]

Not for Profit Organisation Contacts and Associates Up to Date?

Non-charitable not-for-profit (NFP) organisations with an active ABN are preparing to lodge their first NFP self-review return by 31 October. The critical first step in preparing for lodgement is to update any new associates and authorised contacts appointed to your NFP. This is because: the NFP needs to set up access to Online services for business to lodge the return it […]

Employer Obligations Before the End of Financial Year

As we round out another financial year, if you’re an employer, it’s time to review your end of financial year (EOFY) employer tax and super obligations. As an employer, it’s important you keep on top of your payroll governance. This includes: using your tax and super software to record the amounts you pay withholding the right […]

Managing Study Loans

When you attend university or an approved higher education provider, you can get a HECS-HELP loan to pay for your studies if you are enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP). Whether you’re an employee with a study loan or an employer it’s worth understanding a little bit about the student loan repayment process to […]

Medicare Levy Surcharge Explained

The Medicare Levy Surcharge is an extra 1% to 1.5% levy paid by Australian taxpayers who don’t have Private Hospital Cover and are considered by the Government to be high income earners. If you have to pay the Medicare levy, you may also have to pay the Medicare levy surcharge (MLS) if both: you, your […]

Accessing Super Early May be Illegal

Super is a way of saving for retirement and you need to meet very strict conditions to access it early. Beware of people claiming you can use a self-managed super fund (SMSF) to withdraw your super early and pay off business debts, buy a car or pay for a holiday. This is a warning sign of a […]

FY23 Tax Returns due now

Whether you’re an individual, company, trust, partnership or SMSF, Tax returns for financial year ending 2023 are now due. Tax Agents are required to lodge all FY23 returns by 15th of May 2024. If your return is lodged before the 15th of May and your return requires a tax payment there is until the 5th […]

Tax Planning, Cashflow and Forecasting

Managing a business can be hard enough with all the balls and plates you have juggling in the air at any one time. We at STS Accounting are here to help with any financial matters. Our dedicated team can assist with cashflow forecasting, budgets and tax planning. Our team can work with you or your […]

Stay on Top of your Employer Obligations

As an Employer there are many plates to keep spinning in the air. There are also some tax and super obligations that are required when you employee staff. They can include: reporting through Single Touch Payroll (STP) enabled software calculating and reporting pay as you go (PAYG) withholding paying super guarantee (SG) in full, on […]

Is Your Small Business Eligible for ATO Concessions?

As a small business owner, you may be eligible for concessions on the amount of tax you pay. This depends on your business structure, your industry and your annual turnover. If you have an aggregated turnover less than: $2 million, you can access the small business CGT concessions. Though you must also meet the maximum value asset […]