A new system alerting SMSF trustees of changes made to their SMSF will roll out this month.

Legislation that passed through Parliament last month prevents taxpayers from claiming a deduction for expenses incurred for holding vacant land. The amendments are not only retrospective but go beyond purely vacant land.

From 1 July 2020, new rules will come into effect to ensure that an employee’s salary sacrifice contributions cannot be used to reduce the amount of superannuation guarantee (SG) paid by the employer.

The Government has resurrected its plan to remove access to the main residence exemption for non-residents – a move that will impact on expats and foreign residents.

The investment strategies of Self Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSFs) are under scrutiny with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) contacting 17,700 trustees about a lack of asset diversity.

Five years ago, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) offered a penalty amnesty on undisclosed foreign income. Five years on, the ATO has again flagged that underreporting of foreign income is an issue but this time the gloves are off.

One of the stranger pieces of legislation to be introduced into Parliament last month is an attempt to ensure that overseas welfare recipients over the age of 80 are in fact, alive.

The end of financial year is upon us again (yep sneaks up doesn’t it!). Are you ready? Have you considered what you can do to maximise your opportunities at this time of the year? There are many ways to take advantage of tax planning initiatives to manage taxable income.

Single Touch Payroll (STP) is a new regulation introduced by the ATO. All large businesses (more than 20 employees) should now be using STP, or have applied for a later start date. For employers with less than 20 employees, STP reporting will begin on 1 July 2019.

For most people the end of a relationship is an extremely traumatic time, and there are very few couples who go through this process without seeking the professional advice of a family lawyer.

In general, taxpayers are able to deduct from their assessible income any expenses they incur generating or producing that income. An investment is negatively geared when the cost of owning the asset is more than the return. Negative gearing is not limited to property but can apply to other assets such as shares.

The Federal Budget announced a series of measures, some of which were legislated before the election was called.

The latest data breach report from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is surprising for the simplicity of the problems - 37% of data beaches resulted from human error not malicious attack. In over 20% of reported cases, personal information was simply sent to the wrong recipient. Another 6% of complaints were attributed to system faults.

It’s a sad fact that life does not always go to plan. While we logically know that, most of us don’t plan for the worst - it’s all a bit morbid and time consuming.

The downside of not planning is the potential for hard earned assets to be squandered, family fall-outs, and money handed to the Government that could have been distributed in accord with your wishes. If you are a business owner, then the stakes are even higher.

Why is it that many women choose not to seek more professional financial advice?

In general, women have a longer life expectancy than men, living on average 6 years longer, so there is a high chance of women outliving a partner. This means that for many women, their superannuation will have to stretch further.

No one wants to pay more tax than they need to or face unnecessary risks. We’ve compiled a list of our top tips for you.

For individuals there are personal tax bracket changes coming from 1 July 2018 - The top threshold of the 32.5% personal income tax bracket will increase from $87,000 to $90,000*.

Employers that have fallen behind with their superannuation guarantee (SG) obligations will have 12 months to “self-correct” under a new amnesty announced late last month.

The 2018 Federal budget was handed down by Treasurer Scott Morrison in Canberra on Tuesday 8 May in the midst of Australia experiencing its 27th year of consecutive growth.

Single Touch Payroll (STP) – the direct reporting of salary and wages, PAYG withholding and superannuation contribution information to the ATO – comes into effect from 1 July 2018.

A recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Tax Deductions created some fairly sensational headlines about what and how deductions are being claimed - $22 billion worth to be exact. 

From 1 July 2018, new laws come into effect allowing first home buyers to use their super to help buy a home, and at the other end of the spectrum, downsizers to contribute proceeds from the sale of their home to super without many of the normal restrictions.

The Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year ends on 31 March. We’ve outlined the key hot spots for employers and employees.

On 1 July 2018 Super concessions for downsizers come into effect. If you are over 65, have held your home for 10 years or more and are looking to sell, you can contribute a lump sum of up to $300,000 per person to superannuation without being restricted by the existing non-concessional contribution caps - $100,000 subject to your total superannuation balance - or age restrictions.

An analysis by Industry Super Australia submitted to the Economics References Committee into Wage Theft and Superannuation Guarantee Non-compliance, indicates that employers failed to pay an aggregate amount of $5.6 billion in SG contributions in 2013-14

ASIC is in the midst of a concerted campaign targeting private companies that have outgrown the reporting exemptions.

The ATO receives around 20,000 reports each year from people who believe their employer has either not paid or underpaid compulsory superannuation guarantee (SG). In 2015-16 the ATO investigated 21,000 cases raising $670 million in SG and penalties.

The issue of Director’s fees often comes up – should we pay directors, how to pay, and if we do pay fees how should they be paid? We answer the common questions for private companies.

Does superannuation offer an avenue to help downsizers and first home savers? The Government seems to think so. Late last month the detail of the housing initiatives announced in the Federal Budget were released for consultation. We explore what’s on offer and the implications.

Every vendor selling a property needs to prove that they are a resident of Australia for tax purposes unless they are happy for the purchaser to withhold a 12.5% withholding tax. From 1 July 2017, every individual selling a property with a sale value of $750,000 or more is affected.