A perennial topic regarding tax deductions is claiming expenses for a car. The following notes summarise the most salient points when it comes to claiming a deduction for motor vehicle expenses. Of course every person’s circumstances may be different, but the following covers most of the relevant information. Key points to keep in mind include:...

Being able to make claims for work-related travel expenses is generally an enviable deduction situation, and one that a good many taxpayers would like to achieve — especially given that the status of being deemed an “itinerant” worker brings with it an expectation of a lot of travel kilometres. While itinerant work is generally held...

One of the major concerns for taxpayers in taking on the role of a legal personal representative is that the Tax Commissioner may treat legal personal representatives (LPRs) as having a personal liability for a tax debt where assets of a deceased estate have been distributed and there is still outstanding amounts owed to the...

The legislation Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2018 has just recently passed both houses in Canberra, which among other measures also makes changes to the long-established small business CGT concessions. The legislation’s explanatory memorandum (scroll down to page 13 of this PDF of the EM) spells out the incumbent basic conditions...

With the ongoing financial services Royal Commission, and likely future cases brought before various courts for compensation — or indeed the present building of class action lawsuits on the back of various revelations to come out of the Royal Commission — the ATO has felt the need to run over the rules (as they stand)...

Investors must consider a range of tax laws dealing with income, assets and deductions. Even that term ”income”, the meaning of which most of us would assume, can take on nuanced shades of meaning when considered in regard to investment. For example, investment income earnings such as dividends and interest are typically considered ordinary income....

Every now and then you might read or hear about a “taxpayer alert” being issued by the ATO. Taxpayer alerts are the ATO’s “early warning” signals to the public about a certain area of concern – it could be about fraudulent schemes, or dodgy investments, or perhaps about a tax minimisation tactic that the ATO...

As many taxpayers will know, the maximum franking credit that can be allocated to a frankable distribution paid by a corporate tax entity is based on its applicable corporate tax rate for imputation purposes. This can differ from a corporate tax rate, which is the rate of tax payable on a company’s taxable income (which...

If you rent out part or all of your home, the rent money you receive is generally regarded as assessable income. This means: you must declare your rental income in your income tax return, and you can claim deductions for the associated expenses you may not be entitled to the full main residence exemption from...

It’s not quite Christmas time yet, but most businesses will be in the process of thinking ahead to the yuletide festivities, if not already into well-advanced planning. One of the perennial questions is if and how fringe benefits tax applies to these activities. There is no separate fringe benefits tax (FBT) category for Christmas parties...