A business industry code (BIC) is a five-digit code you include on relevant tax returns and schedules that describes your main business activity. BICs come from the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) codes and are added to by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) for tax return reporting purposes. Employers must use the…
When making a claim in relation to your residential rental property, there are specific circumstances for when you can and cannot claim travel expenses. The law about claiming travel expenses for rental properties changed in July 2017. In the last year alone, the ATO received more than 70,000 incorrect claims for travel to and from…
To qualify for small business CGT concessions, an asset must meet the conditions of the Active Asset Test to apply. An asset is considered active when you own it and it is used or held ready for use in relation to a business. You can also have an intangible active asset if it is inherently…
The taxable payment reporting system (TPRS) has extended to further businesses that provide particular services and those that pay contractors to provide the service. The extension was approved on 1 July 2019. Road freight services, information technology services and security, surveillance and investigation services will now have to lodge taxable payments annual report (TPAR), even…
Capital Gains Tax (CGT) events occur when an individual or company makes a capital gain or capital loss by selling or disposing of an asset they own. The timing of a CGT event is quite important, as it determines which income year an individual will report the capital gain or capital loss, and may affect…
Taxpayers are responsible for safely storing a written backup copy of their tax record in case the original electronic form becomes inaccessible or unreadable. In the event that your records have been damaged or destroyed, there are a number of ways you can reconstruct them. Where the tax records are accidentally lost or destroyed from…
Businesses can no longer claim deductions for payments to workers if they have not met their pay as you go (PAYG) withholding obligations. This applies to income tax returns lodged for the 2020 income year onwards. Any payments made to a worker where PAYG amounts haven’t been withheld or reported are called non-compliant payments. If…
The ATO has released the Taxation Determination 2019/9, which outlines changes to the fringe benefits tax (FBT) car parking threshold. The car parking threshold for the year commencing on 1 April 2019 is $8.95. This replaces the amount of $8.83 which applied to the FBT year ended 31 March 2019. The increase has been set…
The ATO has developed a new toolkit that helps small business owners to understand their entitlements and avoid mistakes in their tax returns. The 2019 Tax Time Toolkit Small Business covers information about: Three of the most common expenses: home-based business, motor vehicle, and business travel. Single Touch Payroll (STP) for small employers. These toolkits…
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is warning taxpayers to keep an eye out for people posing as tax agents who are not registered with the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). Only a registered tax agent can charge a fee to prepare and lodge your tax return. There are concerns from the ATO about the number of…