Individual tax returns will regularly be completed on the day of the appointment when the client is able to provide all documentation required to complete the return.  For more complex individual and business returns, the appointment will help clarify any questions and the return will be processed later.  Your tax specialist will be able to communicate the time frame for completion of the return which will generally be from 7 to 28 days from the receipt of all information depending upon the complexity of the return.

If you are a new client, a copy of last year’s tax return is always very helpful.  Your full name, date of birth, and tax file number is required at a minimum, plus health insurance policies.

Records you need to keep and provide include:  Payment summaries from employers, statements from your bank and other financial institution showing all transactions and interest, dividend statements from companies, summaries from managed investment funds, receipts or invoices for equipment or asset purchases and sales, receipts or invoices for expense claims and repairs, rental records.  If your total claim for work-related expenses is $300 or more, you must have written evidence to prove your claims.

Please click on the following link to download a checklist of what you need to bring to your appointment. 

Tax checklist

Yes, we will never release any of your personal information without your permission.  Sage Business Group have recently developed the Sage Business Group portal.  This cloud based service allows you to upload your important financial documents with bank level encripted security measures.  These documents are then available to you for secure viewing anywhere, anytime you have internet access. 

Contact Liz on (03) 9744 7144 or email liz@sagegroup.com.au

The due date for lodging and paying is displayed on your business activity statement (BAS). If the due date is on a weekend or public holiday, you can lodge your form and pay on the next business day.

Quarterly reporting

Monthly reporting

The due date for your monthly BAS is usually on the 21st day of the following month. If the due date is on a weekend or public holiday, you can lodge your form and make any payment due on the next business day.

When lodging through a tax agent, you generally receive an extended amount of time to lodge which can vary on the type of lodgement. Also, under special circumstances, we can apply for an additional extension period if necessary.

Do you know how to read your BAS?  To see how click on the link here to watch our video

You may be able to claim a deduction for self-education expenses if your study is work-related or if you receive a taxable bonded scholarship. In some circumstances you have to reduce the amount of your claim by $250.

Self-education expenses are deductible when the course you undertake leads to a formal qualification and meets the following conditions.

The course must have a sufficient connection to your current employment and:

maintain or improve the specific skills or knowledge you require in your current employment, or

result in, or is likely to result in, an increase in your income from your current employment.

You cannot claim a deduction for self-education expenses for a course that does not have a sufficient connection to your current employment even though it; might be generally related to it, or enables you to get new employment.

Expenses you can claim.

You can claim the following expenses in relation to your self-education;

accommodation and meals (if away from home overnight)

computer consumables

course fees

decline in value for depreciating assets (cost exceeds $300)

purchase of equipment or technical instruments costing $300 or less

equipment repairs

fares

home office running costs

interest

internet usage (excluding connection fees)

parking fees (only for work-related claims)

phone calls

postage

stationery

student union fees

student services and amenities fees

textbooks

trade, professional, or academic journals

travel to-and-from place of education (only for work-related claims)

A capital gain or capital loss on an asset is, broadly speaking, the difference between what the asset costs you and what you receive when you dispose of it adjusted for any depreciation of capital works deductions claimed during the period of ownership.

You pay tax on your capital gains, but often with a discount where the asset is used in a small business or is held for more than 12 months. The gain forms part of your income tax and is not considered a separate tax – though it's referred to as capital gains tax (CGT).

If you use your own car for work purposes, you can claim a deduction using the cents per kilometre method or logbook method.  If you use someone else's car for work purposes, you can only claim for direct costs you pay for - such as fuel.

You can claim a deduction for car expenses if:

• You use your car in the course of performing your work duties
• You attend work-related conferences or meetings away from your normal workplace
• You travel directly between two separate places of employment and one of the places is not your home
• You travel from your normal workplace to an alternative workplace and back to your normal workplace
• You travel from your home to an alternative workplace and then to your normal workplace
• You perform itinerant work

You can calculate your car expenses in two ways

Cents per kilometre method

• You can claim a maximum of 5,000 business kilometres per car,using this method
• Your claim is based on 68 cents per kilometre
• You don't need written evidence but you need to be able to show how you worked out your business kilometres (for example, by producing diary records of work-related trips).

Logbook method

• Your claim is based on the business use percentage of expenses for the car
• Expenses include running costs and decline in value.  You can't claim capital costs, such as the purchase price of your car, the principal on any money borrowed to buy it and any improvement costs (eg, adding paint protection and tinted windows).
• To work out your business-use percentage, you need a logbook and the odometer readings for the logbook period.  The logbook period is a minimum continuous period of 12 weeks.
• You can claim fuel and oil costs based on your actual receipts or you can estimate the expenses based on odometer records that show reading from the start and the end of the period you used the car during the year.
• You need written evidence for all other expenses for the car

Your vehicle is not considered a car if it is a motorcycle or a vehicle with a carrying capacity of;

• one tonne or more, such as a utility track or panel van
• nine passengers or more, such as a minivan

Keep receipts for your actual expenses.  You cannot use the cents per kilometre method for these vehicles.  While it is not a requirement to keep a logbook, it is the easiest way to show how you have calculated your work-related use of the vehicle.

For more information please click on the ATO link here

Audit Shield is a comprehensive tax audit insurance product which covers the professional fees incurred as a result of an official audit, enquiry, investigation or review instigated by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and other federal, state and territory based agencies.

We would like to say yes. As much as we would want this to be the case, we know that from time to time our team members are presented with and will take up new opportunities for many and varied reasons. We also know that Partners are generally in for the long haul as the business itself is a great opportunity. With this in mind every business client is assigned a Partner and Accountant to look after them. The Partner is like the Project Manager, who oversees what is going on.  They are the contact point for the client when they have specific higher level and strategic issues that they would like to discuss. The Partner also knows what is going on with the client on a year to year basis from an overall perspective.

The accountant will handle your day-to-day needs including preparation of Financial Statements, BAS's and Income Tax Returns. Further to this, our training systems have a heavy slant on commercial acumen as well as technical tax and accounting training.  Therefore we encourage our clients to direct questions in the first instance to your appointed accountant who is well versed in the file. If ever a team member is unsure of the answer we are committed to finding the answer or your Partner will contact you with the answer.

Before hiring a worker you need to check if they'll be an employee or contractor.

It's important you get this right because it affects your tax, super and other obligations. If you wrongly treat your employees as contractors you risk having to pay penalties and charges.

If you've previously hired a worker without checking whether the arrangement is employment or contracting, you should review your earlier decision now to make sure you got it right.

You make a lot of decisions when running your business.

So what about the people who work for you? They're contractors, right? You sure? Because you're responsible for getting it right.

Be careful! There are myths about what makes someone a contractor such as;

having an ABN

only being needed for short term work

simply agreeing to the arrangement

invoicing you for work, or

just that everyone else in the industry calls them a contractor

It turns out that none of these things by themselves determine whether someone is a contractor or employee. It's not a choice.

There are rules and every working arrangement may be different.

Getting it wrong could land you in trouble - putting your business at risk of penalties.

Read our e-book.  What is the difference between an employee and a contractor?

You have to start repaying your HECS/HELP debt through the taxation system once your repayment income is above the compulsory repayment threshold, even if you are still studying. The compulsory repayment threshold is different each year. The compulsory repayment threshold for the 2020-2021 income year is $46,620.

For more information click on the ATO link here.