If you are a new business owner, your approach to tax should be a top priority as this can impact your longer-term success.

Here are a few tips for new business owners to keep in mind:

1. Choose the right accountant for your business

While cost can be one of the main reasons for selecting any service provider, we truly recommend choosing a tax accountant that has the right level of expertise and experience in working with businesses like yours.

• Ask others for a recommendation. Most of the time the people in your circle of influence are like-minded and in similar situations and they may have a good recommendation for you.
• When searching the web, try to be specific about your business or its circumstances.
• Always meet with your accountant or chat on the phone before making a decision to proceed, it will be important to have a good initial impression of who you are likely going to be dealing with as your relationship with an accountant should be long term.

2. Check the business structure is set up correctly, devise your strategy and set some goals

These are all topics to bring up in the initial meetings with your accountant. This advice can be crucial as it will impact your long-term strategies. Don’t rush into decisions that will be profitable now, but costly later, patience can be key for sustainable profits.

• Establish clear financial goals and know what you want to achieve.
• Choose tax effective strategies to minimise and reduce taxable income.
• When looking at your business structure, ensure you have selected a business structure that will be most tax-efficient.

3. Long Term Tax Planning

Tax planning involves strategically organising financial activities to minimise tax liabilities while maximising deductions and achieving profits.

• The tax planning process will be different for everyone depending on their specific circumstances however it often includes monitoring and managing business expenses, taking advantage of tax-efficient structures (such as choosing between different types of business entities), timing income and expenditures, and leveraging tax credits and deductions specific to the industry. 
• Effective tax planning may also involve early succession and retirement planning, depending on your age and at what point you will look to exit the business later in life.
• You can also set long term strategies focused on managing payroll taxes, depreciation, and asset purchases. These will aim to optimise tax outcomes and ensure compliance.
• Proper tax planning can help you save money and grow your business.

4. Maximising Deductions, Credits, and Superannuation

Maximising tax deductions is an effective way to reduce your tax liability. In order to do this, you need to keep track of all business-related expenses (office supplies, equipment, travel and even home office supplies). 

• Australia provides a variety of tax incentives that are designed to promote certain actions and meet policy objectives. These measures are intended to stimulate economic growth, support various industries, and offer assistance to individuals. These are valuable as well because they can directly reduce your tax bill. Check which credits are applicable to your situation and be sure that you are claiming all items you are eligible for. 

Superannuation is also very important. There are tax benefits associated with superannuation, however you need to ensure contributions are made correctly. 

• Know the difference between concessional and non-concessional contributions as the type of contribution you make will impact tax payable. 
• Superannuation is complex and should always be discussed with your accountant. 
• Self-managed superfunds (SMSFs) have different regulatory and compliance requirements.

5. Tax-Efficient Investments and Planning for Major Life Events

By following some of the recommendations above you should be in a better place to make informed decisions focused on building wealth while minimising tax liabilities. 

• Consider tax-efficient investment strategies, such as investing in assets that offer capital gains tax discounts. 
• Major life events such as purchasing a new home or expanding the business (buying additional equipment etc), can have significant tax implications – The key is to always plan ahead and discuss with your accountant BEFORE you act. 

Once you are set up and in the groove of running your new business, you should be meeting with your accountant at least once a year.  However, bring up any challenges as they arise and don’t limit your accountant visits/phone calls to simply tax compliance.

If you want to be ambitious and have a competitive edge in business you need to spend more time on all the other areas that can grow your business.  Your accountant should be proactively helping you achieve this & more.