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tax accountants in eastern suburbs

Does Your Business Qualify for Tax Concession – RT Taxation

One of the most beneficial tax concessions available to a small business owner is the 15-year exemption under the small business Capital Gains Tax (CGT) concessions.

Basically, business owners who meet the following criteria can sell a business asset tax-free, with the option to contribute up to $1.565million of the gains into superannuation.

These rules state the business owners who can qualify and those who cannot. It is a tough result for those that barely miss out on the tax concessions. Your business ownership structure and your profit distribution decisions here could determine whether you can access the concessions or not. It is important to be alert to the legislation and plan accordingly.

5 qualification criteria for a business owner:

  1. There is a sale of a business asset (not share or trust interest) for a gain.
    1. For example, the goodwill of a business, or a business warehouse or office location (office location more pertinent in the current situation as more businesses opt for a remote workforce)
  2. Either
    1. The business owner, and its related entities, must have an aggregates turnover of less than $2 million or
    2. The net value of the assets of the business owner, including related entities must not exceed $6 million. This excludes personal use assets, including your family home or your superannuation
  3. The business asset must be owned continuously for the 15 years leading up to the sale
  4. If the sale is made by a company or trust; that entity must have had a significant individual. This means, there must have been an individual holding at least 20% interest in the entity for at least 15 years
  5. At the time of the sale, the individual seller, or significant individual of the entity seller, must be aged 55 years or over and the sale is made in connection with the business owner’s retirement.

It is important to note that where the asset is sold is a share in a company or interest in a trust, the exemption may still be available, but the rules become very complicated and you will need to work through the structure to ensure there is sufficient participation in the business by the owner and the entity in which the shares are sold satisfies additional conditions in relation to annual turnover or net business assets. For example, the owner must have a minimum of 20% interest in the entity. It is also important that the rules become even more complicated if there are two layers of ownership, for example, the common structure of a trust owning a company.

This potentially large tax concession has very specific rules attached which must be astutely assessed. If you would like more information or require assistance in determining your eligibility, please get in touch with one of our best tax accountants in eastern suburbs, who will be happy to assist you.

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Payroll services in eastern suburb

When payroll mistakes make your job taxing

A few high-profile Australian payroll services scandals have rocked the business world over the last year. George Calombaris underpaid workers $7.8 million. Lush Cosmetics discovered a significant payroll error, underpaying staff since 2010. Wesfarmers uncovered $24 million in payroll errors. And ABC (yes, the iconic Free to Air television broadcasting service) admitted to underpaying casual staff over the past six years! While the issues in each company may be different. All mistakes fall under the payroll umbrella of the business process. When it comes to payroll no business can afford to make mistakes.

Payroll blunders do not only occur in large businesses where staff numbers are high, and possibly more difficult to manage. Larger companies have dedicated teams and diverse payroll software to assist in flushing out all the payroll details (and yet some BIG mistakes are still made). Who takes care of payroll administration for small businesses?. As a business owner, focusing on building your business – doing what you love, will always remain your top priority. Losing sleep, trying to wrap your head around payroll tax legislation, remembering tax deadlines, and not forgetting superannuation contributions is not what building a business should look like. Don’t let payroll make your role as a business owner taxing!

In Australia, more businesses are relying on payroll software. For paying employees and manage the entire payroll process/function. Self-managing a payroll system can keep costs down. However, the complexity of software varies in the industry. It is often limited to the number of employees within a business. In addition, there are special factors that need to be accounted for. These are often overlooked by a business owner who does not have the time or knowledge to be abreast of all payroll laws and considerations.

In addition, Australian businesses need to ensure the payroll software is considering various employee requirements. Some of these include Child Support, Flexi-Pay, Salary Sacrifice, PPL, and more. This is why it’s important for businesses to recognize the complexities involved in the payroll process. Just to ensure they pay staff accordingly.

Payroll Mistakes

So, what kind of mistakes do businesses (large or small – this applies to all companies) make when it comes to payroll.

   1. Mis-handling data

Collecting the correct data, and ensuring data entry is precise is very important for an efficient payroll process. When collating information about employees, businesses are required to correctly classify employees to withhold the right amount of taxes. Payroll data includes employee tax file numbers, personal details, and payment information.

A simple way to minimize data entry blunders is to allow new hires to collate their own personal information into their payroll profile. Which involve them in the proofing process where employees can cross-check their profile. To ensure all details are correct.

   2. Not adhering to payroll deadlines

Believe it or not, employees are often faced with reminding their employer to correctly pay their benefits. Also superannuation and salary correctly and on time. According to a 2019 HRM “, 23% of organizations with 1-10 employees admit to making late payments to staff”. And “22% of these ‘micro-businesses’ admit to making late superannuation payments”.

Deadlines do not end with employee payroll. You can’t forget your monthly payroll tax liability lodged quarterly. Late payments may cause a penalty. So it’s important to follow regulations and complete payments on time!

And to make matters more complicated, the Australian Tax Office introduced the Job Keeper payments. Which has to change rates and wage condition amounts businesses need to adhere to. With so many deadlines and commitments that are tied to payroll. Any wonder why business owners find it taxing to manage it themselves!

   3. Forgetting the important bits

Just like data entry, the payroll process needs good attention to detail. There are so many different aspects of the entire process that can be overlooked quite easily. For example, Misclassifying employees. This simple mistake will lead to the incorrect application of award with overtime. Incorrectly understanding the award rate with overtime is a common mistake made by small businesses.

Don’t forget the superannuation contributions. Did you know that you can accidentally overpay an employee’s superannuation if they do overtime?. When it comes to superannuation contributions Small business directors are not always aware of the specifics.

And there is so much more to payroll than just employee taxable wages and superannuation contributions. Businesses need to specify contractor, apprentice, and trainee payments, document employee fringe benefits. And also employee allowances, include the director’s remuneration and manage employee sick leave. Fair Work states that a single employee is entitled to 10 days of sick leave per year calculated. As 1/26 of an employee’s ordinary hours of work in a year (I’ll leave that to your accountant to go over the finer details).

And lastly – what many would say, most importantly – the Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS). I’ll start with saying, you could receive a fine of up to $62,000. If you fail to provide your employees with a Fair Work Information Statement. 

Overlooking reporting

Payroll audit is unpleasant for any business, regardless if you’re running a large multinational organization or a small 20 employee company. In the case that your business is to be audited, you’re accurately kept business and payroll records will allow you to breeze through the audit with flying colors. This is a testament to why it is important to report every month and reconcile any issues. There may be some sort of human error. But going over your payroll records (and not forgetting to include all those important bits in point 3) will allow your business to continually improve accuracy. Always better to show you have self-corrected any mistakes along the way rather than being caught out trying to hide them further down the track.

Ever-changing Tax Law

Yes, the Tax Laws change frequently, and business owners need to keep up with variations made. It can be difficult for those small business owners who are focusing on actually building their business. To stay on top of law changes dictated by the Australian Taxation Office.

There you have it… There is so much to learn when it comes to payroll services in eastern suburbs. Staying on top of every little detail and law is tough. But it’s critical for your business to do so, to run smoothly and avoid payroll mistakes. The best way to take the “taxing” feeling out of payroll is to get in contact with our Accountants at R T Taxation & Accounting Services. You can take advantage of our Outsourced CFO Services to leave the administrative hassle of running your small business to the experts and for you to do what you know best.

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Taxpayers Tax Return

Tax Deadline Looming: What to do to Avoid a Penalty

Australian taxpayers who have not yet submitted their Tax Returns have less than a week. They have to fix the situation in order before they start accumulating late lodgement fees.

For taxpayers submitting their own returns, the official last lodgement date is October 31st, 2020. However, since October 31st is a Saturday, this has been moved forward to Monday, November 2nd.

If you need more time, this October 31st rule does not apply if you are on a registered tax agent list by 31st October. This is a quick and easy process and as simple as sending us a message via any of our platforms.

Scammers

It is also important to note that scammers are on the rise in approaching the tax deadline day. Taxpayers should never send their myGOV details, passwords, credit card. Bank details, driver’s license, and passport details to anyone.

Scammers can also make full use of victims. The full name, date of birth, and current address if those details are combined with the above details.

Phishing scams lure victims into passing over personal details by pretending to be respected groups. They use the ATO or Australia Post, with email scams leading the way, followed by phone calls and text scams. Australians need to be vigilant when it comes to their email inbox.

This means taking a good look at the senders’ email address to see if something doesn’t seem right, even things such as spelling errors or an email address that has nothing to do with the business or group they claim to be representing.

There is one golden rule in that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Even the converse may apply. That means if the ATO is offering a bigger refund, or demanding any tax debt should be paid urgently, you should get in touch with your tax agent as soon as possible and never give your personal details to people you don’t trust.

If you’re not entirely sure about the process to lodge your tax returns, don’t be afraid to give us a call or send us an email beforehand and one of our specialists will be more than happy to guide you through the process.

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New Tax Tables Services

New Tax Tables Brought Forward

With the news of the 2020 Federal Budget bringing forward the Coalition’s three-stage tax cut package. Our payroll services in the eastern suburb of Sydney have implemented the new tax tables into our facility for our small business customers.

The ATO has announced that since changes have been made partway through the income year. All the employers have until 16th November 2020 to do so.

Employees and other payees will receive their entitlement to the reduced tax payable for the entire 2020–21 income year. After lodging their income tax return.

Employers seek to pay their workers an accurate amount. Payroll providers are working to have their products updated with the correct tax tables implemented.

Reckon

A statement released to its customer base last Friday. Reckon announced that they have updated their systems with the tax changes.

“The Government announced changes to personal income tax thresholds for the 2020-21 income year in the 2020 Federal Budget. Changes to income tax tables took effect from 13 October 2020.

We have updated the 2020-21 ATO PAYG tax tables in Reckon One, so there is nothing else you need to do. Pay runs dated from 13 October 2020 automatically use the 2020-21 PAYG tax tables.”

Xero

Xero has updated their software to reflect the new tax tables in Xero Payroll. They want to match the new withholding rates as of 13th October 2020. Employers have a grace period up to 16th November to start using the new table, however, it would be wise to use them as soon as possible to avoid any confusion.

MYOB

MYOB have updated their products in line with the tax changes last week. This reflects all their products updated with new tax tables well ahead of the 16th November deadline.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks have updated their payroll system to match the new withholding rates as at 13th October 2020. Employers have a grace period up to 16th November to start using the new table, however, it would be wise to use them as soon as possible to avoid any confusion.

What are the tax cuts?

The income tax threshold for 19% will increase from $37,000 to $45,000 and lifting the 32.5% threshold from $90,000 to $120,000.

In 2020-21 tax years, single low and middle income earners will receive up to $2,745 tax relief and dual income families can receive up to $5,490 in refundable tax offsets.

The new tax cuts are as followed

  • All Income owners with $40,000 earnings will have a 21% tax reduction
  • Income owners with $60,000 earnings will have a 17% tax reduction
  • 11% tax reduction for the Income owners with $80,000 earnings
  • Income owners with $160,000 earnings will have a 5% tax reduction

For further information on our Payroll Services, feel free to get in contact with our Accountants at R T Accounting & Taxation Services.

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