Most people insure their personal assets, such as their house, contents and car, but when it comes to personal insurance, many overlook the importance of protecting their wealth because personal insurance is often seen as unnecessary, a luxury and an additional cost to pay for. Unfortunately, we don’t know what’s around the corner but having...

Estate Planning means different things to different people. Ultimately, it is about ensuring that you have the right mechanisms in place to ensure that in the event of your death, your assets pass in the manner you intend. Broadly speaking, there are four key steps in the estate planning process: Firstly, identify which assets are...

It’s quite common for individuals to subdivide land they own, and then sell off one of the blocks. Depending on the circumstances, this can have capital gains tax (CGT) and GST implications. Capital gains tax If you subdivide a block of land, each resulting block is registered with a separate title. For capital gains tax...

Have you ever wondered how much superannuation you will have and need in retirement? The answer is it depends on a range of  factors, such as your lifestyle goals, whether you have paid off your mortgage, your financial situation, whether you live a relatively healthy lifestyle, your likely life expectancy, and so on. How much...

From floods to fires, Australian businesses have been hit hard by a range of natural disasters in recent years, below are some things to consider if you have been impacted or are so in the future. Financial assistance For affected residents and businesses, there is often a range of assistance available at both a State...

With interest rates increasing quite rapidly, homeowners are being encouraged to look around for a better deal on their home loan. ASIC has recently released some tips if you are doing so. Ask your current lender for a better deal Tell your current lender you are planning to switch to a cheaper loan offered by...

Now that the financial year has come to a close, it’s good time to check all things GST. Registration If you are not already registered, you may over the coming period need to register for GST if: your business or enterprise begins to have a GST turnover of $75,000 or more per year (gross income...

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...