The 2024-25 Financial Year is upon us and it has brought several new laws which may impact you.
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has outlined its focal points for this tax season. These areas mirror focus areas from the previous year however, they should still be regarded as important to ensure correct compliance.
For many retirees and people approaching retirement, their home makes up a significant portion of their wealth. Many people are under the assumption that the only way to access the equity in their home is to sell and downsize. However, there is another option. A reverse mortgage is a tool homeowners aged 60 and older can utilise to convert a portion of their home equity into cash.
As the end of the year approaches, many businesses have begun to focus on planning Christmas parties for their teams. However, it’s important to remember that there are often fringe benefit tax (FBT) implications associated with providing these benefits
The federal government detailed new legislation in July 2023 for small businesses seeking energy efficiency upgrades. The Small Business Energy Incentive offers a 20% tax deduction on these upgrades, valued at up to $100,000.
The Technology Investment Boost, initially announced in the last federal budget in March and enacted into law just before the 30 June expenditure deadline, grants small businesses with a turnover of less than $50 million a 20 percent bonus deduction on technology-related expenses that support their digital operations and digitisation efforts.
The ATO has obtained extensive data on residential investment properties. The data is obtained from property managers, landlord insurance providers and financial institutions providing loans for residential investment properties, as well as income protection policy information. This data will be used to identify taxpayers with incorrect information in their tax returns and educate them. The ATO plans to pre-fill more information in future years.
The ATO is encouraging small businesses to take advantage of certain measures when lodging their tax returns for the 22-23 year.
It can be easy to ignore emails and text messages from myGov, however we cannot stress enough just how crucial it is to pay attention to these alerts. These messages could contain vital information regarding outstanding lodgements or debts to the ATO.
The ATO has identified three main areas of focus for this tax season: rental property deductions, work-related expenses, and Capital Gains Tax (CGT). These are areas where mistakes are frequently made and the ATO is now prioritising them.