No Images? Click here September 2018 Business NewsletterOpportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Thomas Edison If you’re a home-owner, you’ll notice that there’s extra work to do now that the garden has come out of hibernation. The much-welcomed sunshine has brightened our spirits and give us some motivation to tick a few more items off our to-do lists. Whether you’ve signed up for a half-marathon or a new training course, we wish you continued success in your endeavours over Spring. Superannuation Guarantee Amnesty Between 24th May 2018 and 23rd May 2019 you will be able to catch up on unpaid super for employees and claim a tax deduction for the payment. This is a major shift from the current stringent requirements for timely payment. If you have any employees, past or present, who have had their super unpaid or underpaid between 1 July 1992 and 31 March 2018 for whatever reason, now is your time to fix the situation. The Interest will still be payable on late payments however the $20 administration fee per pay period will not apply for new employees. Any short or non-payment issues after 1 April 2018 will be subject to the current reporting and payment requirements. Voluntary disclosure is made by submitting an SG Amnesty Form via MyGov, the Business Portal or your Tax Agent. Please contact us if you have questions relating to the amnesty or would like assistance. Do note that the legislation in relation to this amnesty has not passed through Parliament as yet. Given that the detail on how to use the amnesty is all over the ATO’s website, it would be difficult to see a back-flip on the deduction if the legislation is not passed. Time will (hopefully) tell. Helping the Farmers It’s amazing to see the community support our fellow Australians doing it tough. Quite often our attention is drawn overseas while there are issues in our own backyards. Donations are making their way to the drought affected farmers from all directions. Sausage sizzles, bake sales, even down to Scout badges are raising much needed funds to keep rural Australia a viable business. Many businesses will also be digging deep with the expectation that these donations are tax deductible. Care should be taken as to where you direct your cash as deductions are only available for payments made to Deductible Gift Recipients (DGRs). You can check the DGR status on the ABR website by entering an ABN or business name. Crowd funding initiatives like Go Fund Me, Just Giving and the like will give you a warm feeling but no tax deduction. Working from home ‘Flexible hours’ can easily equate to a mere increase in the number of hours you are expected to work. Mental health and family dynamic issues aside, working from home should result in a claim in your tax return for the running costs of your home. Home office costs are claimed in one of two ways: the proportion of your home that your office occupies is multiplied by your heat/ light/ power costs; or 45c is claimed for each hour you work at home over the year. The latter method is clearly the easiest to calculate and is typically used by people without a designated office, or who prefer to work from their dining table or couch. Applying the proportion of your office to your gas and electricity bills will get you a higher tax deduction in most cases, although it relies on you keeping a record of your payments. Consideration also needs to be given to other users and uses of the room. Internet and telephone costs are claimed separately to home office use as they are mobile expenses not usually limited to your home. Percentages are easily applied to remove costs incurred by others or for non-work related purposes. Note that the percentages and method used can vary from year to year to suit your working schedule and lifestyle. PAYG Instalments The next round of PAYG (Pay As You Go) Income Tax Instalments will be hitting your letterbox or MyGov inbox shortly, if not already. These instalment amounts are intended for you to make payments of tax as you earn the income, rather than waiting until the end of the financial year. The amount payable on your Activity Statement can seem like a mystery at the best of times however there is a logical calculation that the ATO use in working out the payment amounts and percentages. The underlying basis for the tax payment is your last tax return. How much tax did you have to pay in relation to non-salary income? This is either calculated as a percentage of your untaxed income, or multiplied by a GDP uplift factor (currently 6%) and divided by 4 to get a quarterly amount. At the time of lodging your tax return the ATO will recalculate the amount you need to pay in PAYG instalments. Any prior instalments paid during the year will impact how much you have left to pay. The ATO make an assumption that your income will be stable from year to year, with a slight improvement (hence the GDP uplift factor). Instalment amounts or percentages can be varied where your circumstances have changed considerably from the last year. Care should be taken when making variations as underestimating your tax liability can result in unwanted attention from the ATO. Please call us to discuss if a variation is required and how to calculate it. Key dates for the coming quarter: AFL Grand Final: 29th September 2018 NRL Grand Final: 30th September 2018 September 2018 quarter superannuation guarantee: 28th October 2018 September 2018 quarterly BAS: 29th October 2018 Melbourne Cup: 6th November 2018 October 2018 monthly IAS/ BAS: 21st November 2018 The above information is general advice only. To discuss how this may affect your personal situation, please contact your Synstrat Adviser before taking any specific action on (03) 9843 7777 or office@synstrat.com.au The Synstrat Group provides Business Advice, Accounting and Financial Services. Prepared by Synstrat Accounting Pty Ltd for clients of Synstrat Group. Liability Limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation Synstrat Accounting Pty Ltd P. 03 9843 7777 ACN 053 416 149 If you are not the intended recipient of this communication please delete and destroy all copies of this message and telephone Synstrat on +61 3 9843 7777 immediately. If you are the intended recipient of this communication you should not copy, disclose or distribute this communication without the authority of Synstrat. Any views expressed in this communication are those of the individual sender, except where the sender specifically states them to be the views of Synstrat. 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