Tax Return Changes

The ATOdoes not issue any cheques as from 1st July 2013 so you need to suuply your tax agent with your bank details for your refunds to be deposited into.

From 1st July 2103 all tax returns have to show your spouse's details - taxable income, FBT, salary sacrifice and child support paid or received and Private Health Insurance details.

ATO Debt

Do you want to arrange a more flexible payment arrangement? Telephone the ATO 24/7 at:

Personal: 13 28 65

Business: 13 72 26

To us this service you will need:

• . your Tax File Number (TFN) or Australian Business Number (ABN) and
• . full details of the oustanding amount

If the proposal is accepted you will receive personalised slips within 15 days

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Having the Right Insurance Protection is so Important

Like most accountancy firmsI have a mix of sole traders, companies, partnerships and individualsI prepare returns for. One area of serious concern when preparing tax returns is the amount of self-employed clients that dont hold adequate income protection insurance.

Income protection insurance, along with a number of other forms of personal insurance, is tax deductible.

Do you know just how much of a difference death, income and trauma insurance could make in the case of an unforseen event? It can be a challenge to understand the need for the right insurance protection, whether it involves enhancing existing cover or taking on an additional type of cover. The latest health statistics prove the importance of ensuring you have the right type and amount of cover in place.

Heart Disease and Stroke are Still the Biggest Causes of Death in Australia

With the number of deaths in Australia continuing to increase, most of which are caused by heart disease and stroke which occur quite suddenly, life cover is acritical component of the protection equation.

Accidents Do Happen 

Number of Cancer Cases up but so are Survival Rates

Medical advances have meant that our chances of surviving traumatic events are much better than they were in the past.

Insurers are Paying More Claims

A common objection from prospective clients is that insurers never pay claims. The truth is of course that Australian insurers continue to payout hundreds of millions of dollars in claims every year.

Steps to Protect Yourself

The types of events that insurance covers are often unforeseeable and the statistics speak for themselves.

When talking with me at your next tax review feel free to askabout this important area of your finances.

Those with existing trauma or income insurance policies should do a review so that if you ever need to claim you have access to the best available treatment and to allow you the time off you need to recover.

Doing a cost benefit analysis of what each insurance policy could mean and what value they would provide if you ever need them might be the best 30 minutes we spend together this year.

Allowable Deductions

My clients know me as a nag when it comes to claiming allowable deductions. I may sometimes drive them to distraction when I insist they keep receipts or other documentary evidence of their expenditure when it relates to their work,business or other income.

The reason being that if you are on say, 32.5% tax rate, then for every $100 you do not claim, you are effectively denying yourself $32.5 in potential refund or at the very least, reduction of your tax liability.

That is why it is very important that you tell your tax agent ALL the expenses you have incurred during the tax year, even if you think it can't be claimed.

For example, Did you know that you can claim for a guard dog??

In PBR 84610, the ATO agreed that the purchase price, initial veterinary fee and training of a guard dog could be depreciated and the maintenance costs claimed as a tax deduction!!. The dog guarded a business run from home and a commercial vehicle kept there. The only catch was that because the dog also guarded the home, the costs had to be apportioned between private and business related!!.

Need I say more!!

      Never give up!!