Tax Made Easy in Mitcham

As in previous years we are providing a list of items that you may find useful in order to complete your tax return:

• Annual Payment Summaries (formerly known as Group Certificates), Pension Statements,  Centrelink Payment Summaries for pensions, youth allowance, Jobseeker etc.;
• Termination payments – If you have received a Lump Sum Payment (long service leave, superannuation etc.) on termination of employment, please ensure that you obtain a copy from your employer;
• Interest Income from bank accounts such as term deposits / Dividends received for the financial year;
• Details of any other income received, for example rental income, casual wages, business/ABN income, trust/partnership distributions; income from subcontracting, foreign income
• Did you sell any shares/investments/ rental property during the year? We will need details of the purchase and sale price as well as cost of buying/selling for capital gains purposes
• Details of work related expenses, for example motor vehicle log book, uniforms or protective clothing, tools, education, reference books, stationery etc.;
• Union fees, Subscriptions to professional institutions;
• Donations, Gifts to registered charitable institutions or school building funds;
• Income Protection for the year;
• Private health insurance statements (if provided) including membership number and rebate details, otherwise we can look this up for you;
• Did you pay any PAYG instalments during the year? Please provide total paid for the year

   New to 2023/2024

•   Cents per kilometre change – New Rate is 85cents for work related cars, for electric vehicles it is the EV home charging rate of 4.2c per kilometre
•     Medicare Levy Surcharge Thresholds– This is $93,000 for singles and $186,000 for couples/families, Government rebate will change on premium based on these. 

        For Small Business

• Instant Asset Write Off – $20,000 Threshold
• Trust Distributions – If you receive one or more Trust Distributions, there will be an extra section which must be completed on the tax return labelled “Trust Income Schedule 2024”

·        ATO Audit Focus

• Work related deductions – remember the claim must be directly related to your job, if reimbursed by your employer it must not be claimed
• Working from home – Comprehensive records are required. Hours worked from home must be detailed in the form of a spreadsheet/diary
• Rental properties – focus on incorrectly claiming Repairs & Maintenance, mainly whether it is allowed to be written off immediately or capital in nature. Claiming Holiday home that is not genuinely available to rent
• Including all income – namely Cryptocurrency, with the rise of this type of investment you need to declare all profits. ATO still focused on Uber, Air tasker, Airbnb

 SUBSTANTIATION

Generally deductions are only allowable for employment related expenses if documentary evidence is provided.  You need to keep your tax related receipts and statements for 5 years in the event of an audit.

PENALTIES

Penalties may be imposed on tax returns lodged after the lodgement due date. Please ensure that you adhere to lodgement and payment dates to avoid unnecessary interest charges and late lodgement penalties

We look forward to hearing from you soon. Please call to arrange an appointment at our office located at               Building 1/ 18-20 Redland Drive Mitcham VIC 3132.  However if you usually mail in your documents please forward these to our post office box,  PO BOX 1038, Waverley Gardens VIC 3170.

Or for those of you who like to email your returns you can email us at  tax@bluestoneaccounting.com.au.