Last week, Australian small businesses with 19 employees or less, were required by law to report using the new digital Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting system - but about a third are yet to start reporting or notify the ATO that they need more time to start. STP requires employers to electronically send payroll information including wages, salary payments and superannuation to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), at the same time as their usual pay run. Many businesses c

Don't forget - if you employ 19 or less employees, you have until 30 Sept 2019 to start reporting their salary/wages, tax and super info through Single Touch Payroll (STP). STP reporting is currently available through most payroll, accounting and business management software. A number of no-cost and low-cost Single Touch Payroll solutions (less than $10 per month) are available for micro employers (those with four or less employees). Some providers have asked the ATO for a la

From a small business perspective, the Federal Budget delivered by Treasurer Scott Morrison last night has some good indicators - but there

Many small businesses use gift vouchers, particularly at this time of the year - so remember if you sell vouchers it is important to know when to report the GST on your activity statement. If you sell a gift voucher which can be redeemed for a choice of goods or services up to that value, you report the GST for that gift voucher when the gift voucher is redeemed, not when it is sold. If only part of the gift voucher is redeemed, you only need to report the GST on that part. H

Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Commissioner Chris Jordan has signaled five key target areas of small business owner tax compliance while assuring the tax agent community the ATO will strengthen its IT services and ensure systems stability in the years ahead. Speaking at the Institute of Public Accountant’s (IPA) National Congress last week, Jordan told the audience of accountants that systems outages over the past year had “caused us to defer the program of work we had been

Think you know all the things that need to be included on a valid Tax Invoice? Do you check expense receipts to make sure they're correct? Of course you do! Or do you? These questions caused a few double takes at this morning's Bxnetworking Penrith breakfast meeting where everyone did, sort of - in a fashion, particularly where those valuable expense receipts are concerned! They were posed during a presentation from Teresa Tidball (left) of Tidball Accountancy. So here's the

#SMETax #Tax #ATO

A new round of free Tax Basics workshops have been scheduled throughout Greater Western Sydney starting from this week. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is running them in Bankstown, Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Fairfield, Mt Druitt, Penrith and Springwood, to help new business owners or people considering starting a business. Each workshop lasts between 90 minutes to two hours and includes a Q&A session. Participants can attend any session at any location but must registe

#Tax #ATO

Changes to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) myDeductions app from 1 July 2017 aim to simplify tax returns for sole traders. From 1 July 2017 you can upload your records to the ATO to pre-fill your tax return or email your tax agent a copy of your detailed records. Sole traders with simple tax affairs can use myDeductions app to record income and expenses. In this instance, 'simple tax affairs' means you don't have: a primary production business personal services income an

Whether you use a registered tax agent or lodge your own tax return, here are a few tips to help you get ready for tax time 2017. Prepare your records Make sure you have all the records ready to send to your tax agent or to prepare your tax return, including: cash, EFTPOS, credit or debit card, and online sales records records of the expenses you can claim as a deduction this tax time. Check if you have personal services income (PSI) If you are paid mainly for your personal

Micro business owners preparing their own tax returns are being cautioned by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to claim only actual expenses and not maximum limits. The ATO says it will be vigilant in reviewing business-related deductions to ensure claims are legitimate. Assistant Taxation Commissioner, Kath Anderson (at right), said many taxpayers believe they can claim business related deductions as long as they stay within acceptable limits. “Many taxpayers don’t have a

If you are a new new to business or thinking about starting up, the ATO has some free seminars coming locally that can help you. Individual two-hour seminars will cover Tax Essentials, Good record-keeping and Employer Essentials focussing on payments, the difference between employees and contractors, tax and super obligations. Locations include Penrith, Springwood, Parramatta, Lidcombe, Campbelltown, Sydney and several regional areas. You will need to select which sessions yo

The Small Business Association of Australia Summit has agreed that the current Tax System needs significant change, is a complex minefield for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and in most cases, a major cause of small businesses failures. The Summit, on the Gold Coast, featured small business owners and representatives from the ATO, Fairwork Australia and Small Business & Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell, AO. Discussion centered on the over-complication of the

Small business changes announced in the 2015-16 budget are now law. The following changes apply from 1 July 2016: 27.5% company tax rate for small businesses. The maximum franking credit that you can allocate to a distribution is also 27.5%. If you have lodged early, see below for more information. 8% small business income tax offset (up to $1,000) limited to businesses with a turnover of less than $5 million. It applies only to business income for sole traders, or share of b

Learn the tax essentials, good record-keeping and employer essentials at FREE two-hour workshops around Sydney including Springwood, Windsor, Castle Hill,Liverpool, Campbelltown and many more locations. See list here: #TaxComplications #ATO #Tax #Workshop