Entries by Karen Anderson

Claiming work-related expenses this year?

COVID-19, the bushfires and other natural disasters that occurred across Australia during the 2019-20 financial year, have the ATO reviewing their approach to work-related expenses. In particular, they are expecting to see a decrease in work-related expenses such as: Car use Travel and Clothing expenses To claim these items at similar levels to last financial […]

Naughty vs Nice expense claims … Ho, Ho, Ho!

Before we all go on holidays, let’s talk about the “naughty” expenses the ATO finds on submitted tax returns. Expenses placed on the ATO’s “Naughty” list When you prepare your own tax return, you run the risk of claiming inappropriate deductions. This slows receipt of any refunds you may be entitled to and places you […]

Spring clean your finances

“Failing to plan is the same as planning to fail.” In life and in business, if we don’t set goals or review our finances, we will never achieve our dreams. Trouble is, it can be difficult to set aside time to think about what we want or track where our money goes. But if you […]

Tax Tips

For investment properties If you own a residential investment property, you can’t claim travel expenses as a tax deduction unless you are in the business of letting rental properties. To be considered “in the business of letting rental properties”, you need to be a: Corporate tax entity (e.g. a company) Public unit trust Managed investment […]

What’s better?

We look at the 2 different schools of thought on retirement savings It’s reported Albert Einstein called compound interest “the eighth wonder of the world”. When it comes to your retirement, compound interest is the secret sauce that takes regular weekly savings and turns them into extraordinary sums of money. But what’s better – saving […]

Get tax time ready!

Everyone wants a tax refund so what you do in the next couple of weeks will affect the tax you will pay and any possibility of receiving a tax refund. Here’s what you need to do to get tax time ready: Collate all your income records. This includes the amount of money you received from […]