Blog
Claiming working from home expenses?
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has updated its approach to how you claim expenses for working from home. The ATO has ‘refreshed’ the way you can claim deductions for the costs you incur when you work from home. From 1 July 2022 onwards, you can choose either to use a new ‘fixed rate’ method (67 […]
Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 Reminder!
Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 Reminder! What is STP Phase 2? The expansion of STP, also known as STP Phase 2, reduces the reporting burden for employers who need to report information about their employees to multiple government agencies. It helps Services Australia’s customers, who may be your employees, get the right payment at the […]
Happy Holidays
It has been another busy year at Element Accountants & Advisors! It has been great to be able to see some of our lovely clients in person again at our new location in Broadmeadow! We would like to thank you for your ongoing support and wish you a prosperous 2023 Our office will close 5pm Thursday […]
Service NSW License Manager
Service NSW has created a Licence Manager that stores your (and your team’s) business licences online and sends you reminders when it’s time to renew. Save licences from the contractor, tradespersons, property, conveyancer or motor industries in the Licence Manager section of your Service NSW Business Profile. Opt in to receive email, SMS and Business […]
Avoiding the FBT Christmas Grinch!
It’s that time of year again – what to do for the Christmas party for the team, customers, gifts of appreciation for your favourite accountant (just kidding), etc. Here are our top tips for a generous and tax effective Christmas season: Tax & Christmas For GST registered businesses (not tax exempt) that are not using […]
Cyber Safe at Element Accountants & Advisors
We recently implemented a platform called Practice Protect. We recognize the trust that you place in us by handing over sensitive data, passwords and access to our systems. Practice Protect is a software built for accounting firms to help manage the flow and storage of data securely. We take security seriously and now with Practice […]
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Xero Users – Single Touch Payroll Phase 2
What exactly is STP Phase 2 and how is it different from phase one? Phase one was a way of reporting employees’ tax and super to the ATO, STP Phase 2 expands the program to capture more information. This will reduce the compliance burden for employers and individuals, and help the admin side of things […]
Can you prevent a hack?
In the wake of the Optus data leak, legislation before Parliament will lift the maximum fine for serious or repeated breaches of the Privacy Act from $2.2m to up to $50m. But there are no guarantees that even the strongest safety measures will prevent an attack. So, what does that mean for business and their […]
Taxing Fame: The ATO’s U-Turn
Sportspeople, media personalities, celebrities and ‘insta’ influencers beware. The ATO has taken a U-turn on how fame and image should be taxed. If you’re famous and make an income from your fame and image, the way the ATO believes you should be taxed on the income you make may change under a new draft determination […]
30 November director ID dealine
The deadline for existing directors of Australian companies to obtain a Director Identification Number is 30 November 2022. All directors of a company, registered Australian body, registered foreign company or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation (ATSI) will need a director ID. This includes directors of a corporate trustee of a self-managed super fund (SMSF). […]
ATO contacts ‘at risk’ professional services firms
New guidelines for professional services firms – lawyers, architects, medical practitioners etc., came into effect on 1 July 2022. The guidance takes a strong stance on structures designed to divert income in a way that results in principal practitioners receiving relatively small amounts of income personally for their work and reducing their taxable income. The […]
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Australian super funds gorge on cryptocurrency
The value of cryptocurrency assets inside Australian self managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) increased by 589.9% ($1.17bn) between June 2019 and June 2022, according to the latest ATO statistics. While cryptocurrency is a relatively small asset class at only 0.16% of the $837bn held in SMSFs, it is a growing asset class, larger than collectibles and […]
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Queensland backs down on Australia wide land tax assessment
The Queensland Government has backed away from an amendment that would have seen the land tax rate for investment property in Queensland assessed on the value of the investor’s Australia wide land holdings from 1 July 2023, not just the value of their Queensland property. The amendment passed the Queensland Parliament and became law on […]
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COVID downgraded but not gone
National Cabinet agreed to end the mandatory isolation requirements for COVID-19 effective from 14 October 2022. Each state and territory has, or will, implement the end of the isolation rules. The Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment, the payment to workers who have lost income they needed to self isolate or care for someone with COVID-19, also […]
Stamp duty or an annual property tax for NSW first home buyers?
First home buyers purchasing property in NSW of up to $1.5m will have a choice of paying stamp duty or an annual property tax from 16 January 2023. The annual property tax payments will be based on the land value of the purchased property. The property tax rates for 2022-23 are: $400 plus 0.3% of […]
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Can I claim my crypto losses?
The ATO has released updated information on claiming cryptocurrency losses and gains in your tax return. The first point to understand is that gains and losses from crypto are only reported in your tax return when you dispose of it – you sell it, convert it to fiat currency, exchange it for another type of […]
120% deduction for skills training and technology costs
An election ago, the 2022-23 Budget proposed a 120% tax deduction for expenditure by small and medium businesses on technology, or skills and training for their staff. This proposal has now been adopted by the current Government and details released in recent exposure draft by Treasury. Timing Two investment ‘boosts’ will be available to small […]
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How to sell your business
We’re often asked the best way to sell a business. There are two key components at play in the sale of a business: structuring the transaction; and positioning the business to the market. Both elements are important and can significantly impact your result. Structuring the transaction covers areas such as pricing the business, the terms […]
Register your .au domain!
23:59 UTC on 20 September 2022 is the cut-off to register for your .au direct domain. The .au domain is the new, general purpose, shorter Australian domain name option. If you do not register the direct match of your existing domain for the direct .au domain, you risk your brand equity being consumed by someone […]
What changed on 1 July?
A reminder of what changed on 1 July 2022 Business Superannuation guarantee increased to 10.5% $450 super guarantee threshold removed for employees aged 18 and over Small business GST and PAYG tax instalments lowered (the total tax liability remains the same, just the amount the business needs to pay through the year is lowered) ATO […]