Low-income earners do not pay the compulsory 2% Medicare levy until their assessable income reaches the threshold. The threshold is different depending on whether you are a single taxpayer, pensioner, and the number of children you have that are dependent on you. Parliament has confirmed the increase to the Medicare levy threshold announced in the Federal Budget. The threshold change
Personal tax cuts From 1 July 2026, personal income tax rates will change. On the last sitting day of Parliament, the personal income tax rate reduction announced in the 2025-26 Federal Budget was confirmed. The modest reduction of 1% applies to the $18,201-$45,000 tax bracket, reducing from its current rate of 16% to 15% from 1 July 2026, then to
In a recent decision, the Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’) rejected a taxpayer’s claim for input tax credits on the basis that all the relevant GST returns (i.e., BASs) were lodged out of time. For the GST periods from 1 October 2015 to 31 March 2017, the taxpayer filed each of her GST returns more than four years after they were
The ATO has the following tips to help taxpayers get their BAS right before they lodge: They should make sure they enter the figures for their obligations at the correct label, and only complete applicable fields. If lodging online, or through a registered tax or BAS agent, they may be able to get an extra 2 or 4 weeks to
The Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year ends on 31 March. We’ve outlined the hot spots for employers and employees. FBT exemption for electric cars Employers that provide employees with the use of eligible electric vehicles (EVs) can potentially qualify for an FBT exemption. This should normally be the case where: The car is a zero or low emission vehicle (battery
The Government has announced its intention to introduce mandatory standards for large superannuation funds to, amongst other things, deliver timely and compassionate handling of death benefits. Do we have a problem with paying out super when a member dies? The value of superannuation in Australia is now around $4.1 trillion. When you die, your super does not automatically form part
The amount of money that can be transferred to a tax-free retirement account will increase to $2m on 1 July 2025. The transfer balance cap – the amount that can be transferred to a tax-free retirement account – is indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released each December. If inflation goes up, the general transfer balance cap (TBC) is
The Government recently passed legislation making changes to the foreign resident capital gains withholding laws (among other changes). Foreign resident capital gains withholding is relevant for all vendors selling certain taxable real property (e.g., Australian land). Even Australian residents can be caught by these laws because, if they do not have a valid ‘clearance certificate’ issued by the ATO at,
The ATO has recently published a document ‘debunking’ various Division 7A ‘myths’ Division 7A of the tax legislation is intended to prevent profits or assets being provided to shareholders or their associates tax free. A payment or other benefit provided by a private company to a shareholder or their associate can be treated as a dividend for income tax purposes
With many businesses looking at Christmas parties, celebrations and gifts, now is a good time to look at what is tax deductible and what isn’t. Are the costs of client gifts deductible? What about gifts for your staff? Those client lunches or drinks, they’re a deductible expense right? Let’s see if we can answer some of these questions for you.