All employees who work in Australia are liable to a minimum wage. In today’s blog, we’ll discuss the minimum wage in Australia in 2024. Let’s get started: Find the Right Minimum Wage For most employees, the minimum wage depends on the award that covers their occupation or industry. Awards cover various occupations and industries so it is crucial to get it right. The National Minimum Wage The National Minimum Wage applies to workers not covered by a registered agreement or an award. This is the minimum wage offered by the Fair Work Act 2009 and is reviewed every year. As of 1 July 2023, $23.23 ..read more

In difficult times, some people might think of accessing their superannuation early. However, it’s important to understand that this is illegal and can have serious outcomes. Promoters have approached members and these promoter claims to help them withdraw their super or use a self-managed super fund (SMSF) to pay off debts, buy a car, or pay for a holiday. This is not true, and the ATO has developed a fact sheet “Accessing Your Super Early May Be Illegal,” to help you know the warning signs. The ATO requests super funds to remind members that super is used for retirement. To access your super ..read more

Are you a small business owner? Trying to check the taxation process can be difficult to keep up with. However, by receiving help from a professional tax accountant in Melbourne to manage your tax matters, you can get relief from the tax burden. This blog post will provide relevant information on business owners dealing with lodging taxes and understanding the legal requirements when running a business under the current income tax rules. Tax Tips for Small Businesses Tax planning is not only about reducing tax liabilities, it is about managing business finances strategically to achieve long-te ..read more

You can determine a depreciating asset’s effective life by checking out how long the asset can be used for a taxable purpose by an entity. In today’s blog post, we’ll discuss the basics of depreciating asset’s effective life along with other important aspects. Overview of Effective Life of Depreciating Assets The effective life of a depreciating asset refers to the time period during which it can be used by any entity for a taxable purpose. It also includes the time period for which it can be used for producing exempt income or non-assessable non-exempt income. The calculation of effective li ..read more

To avoid penalties and interest, it is important to file and pay your business activity statement in full and on time. Now, the question arises, can you still have time to lodge and pay your March quarterly BAS? Yes, you can file and pay BAS by 28 April to avoid interest and penalties. What is Your Business Activity Statement? If your business is registered for GST, you have to file a business activity statement (BAS). Your business activity statement (BAS) will make you able to record and pay your: Goods and services tax (GST) PAYG withholding tax Pay As You Go (PAYG) instalments Other taxes ..read more

If you are an employer providing benefits to your employees, then you need to be ready to file your fringe benefits tax return and pay the FBT you owe. Fringe benefits tax is time here. From 1 April, the FBT year starts. To know more about FBT year, read this blog. Do You Need to File an FBT Return? If you are an employer and have offered some benefits to your employees apart from their wages and salary, it is crucial to understand how FBT works and what will be included in fringe benefits. You need to file fringe benefits tax return if, for the FBT year (1 April to 31 March), you either: hav ..read more

In today’s blog, we’ll discuss changes to your pay-as-you-go (PAYG) withholding cycle. Let’s get started: PAYG Withholding Cycle The PAYG withholding cycle is used to help you check how often you are required to report and pay the withholding amounts to the ATO. The ATO will write to tax agents and employers in April to announce if your PAYG withholding cycle needs to be upgraded. If affected, your paying and reporting obligations changes will come into effect from 1 July. Your new withholding and payment cycle will depend on the amount you withheld under your Australian Business Number (ABN ..read more

The tax office found most breaches in relation to misunderstandings of basic concepts, that’s why it has started a year-long lecture series on Division 7A. Tax agents across the board still keep getting Division 7A wrong by avoiding basic concepts, the ATO says. During the launch of a year-long campaign to provide “tough messages” to tax agents to highlight the errors regarding Division 7A, assistant commissioners Kasey Macfarlane and Anthony Marvello told participants they were not happy and were disappointed with how many tax agents in the industry were not focused on getting fundamental rig ..read more

When more than 50% of your income is produced from your personal efforts or skills, then it is considered Personal Services Income (PSI). When you check out if your income is PSI, you must look at the income you received from each contract. Who Can Earn Personal Services Income (PSI)? You can earn personal services income in any industry, profession or trade. The following are some common examples but are not limited to: engineers financial professionals IT consultants construction workers medical practitioners. Basically, PSI is a reward for an individual’s skills or efforts, only individua ..read more

Are you paying for your employees’ external training? If yes, then you might qualify to claim the skills and training boost. Does your business have a total turnover of less than $50 million? You might be eligible for the small business skills and training boost. The boost will allow you an additional 20% bonus tax deduction for eligible expenses incurred on training new and old employees. If eligible, you are allowed to claim a deduction on expenses for external training courses provided to your employees, either online or in-person in Australia. The training should be given by a registered e ..read more