• Home Office claims - Record keeping is onerous! If claiming a set rate per hour (70c per hour) you must have records – no averaging allowed. Best method to claim for working from home, from our experience is the Actual Method – receipts for expenses, percentage of electricity & gas, internet, stationery, phone etc.
• Motor Vehicle Usage - Set Rate Method - the set rate per kilometre is now 88c per kilometre. Logbook Method – a valid logbook is a must to enable business use percentage of car expenses & fuel.
• Financial Advisor fees paid — where the advice is directly related to current investments and/or tax advice this portion may be claimed as a tax deduction — however, the invoice/substantiation must be clear to enable the claim.
• It is important to declare your Spouse details on your tax return and their income to ensure entitlements for certain rebates are calculated correctly.
• Self-Education expenses - the course / cost must have a connection with your current job and/or lead to increasing your current income-earning activities.
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• Selling a Property? — a Clearance Certificate must be obtained before Settlement Date, to avoid having 15 per cent Withholding Tax from Settlement monies.
• Draw downs on Investment Property Loans – interest may not be deductible if the monies are not used for the investment property!
• Before you can claim personal Superannuation Contributions in your tax return, you must have completed a NOI to claim super form and have received “Acknowledgement” back from your fund to confirm the claim. (NOI — Notice of Intent).
• The Concessional Superannuation Contribution cap for 2025 and 2026 financial years is $30,000.
• Superannuation deduction — If your total super balance is below $500,000 you may be eligible for Unused Concessional Cap Carry Forward. If you have not reached the concessional contribution cap over the last 5 years, you can use this rule and top up your super. (Concessional Contributions include your Employer SG and any salary sacrificed amounts). The ATO have quite a bit of data on this now – eg. the amount you can contribute – available via your MyGov and your tax agent.
ATO AUDIT TARGETS – Individuals
• Car Expenses — validity of logbook
• Home Office Expenses — substantiation for working from home
• Rental Property — Interest — apportionment for private & deductibility (drawdowns for private render part of the loan and then subsequent loan repayments and interest, non-deductible)
• Rental Property — high Repairs & Maintenance claims — is it deductible or should it be depreciated?
• Online Sales — ATO receive information from platforms on how much you sell
ATO AUDIT TARGETS – Businesses
• Contractors — under reporting or failing to report their income
• Company Cars and associated Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) reporting — very easy for the ATO to pick up and audit.
• Shadow Economy (Cash) — a huge boost in ATO resources to scrutinise people and businesses operating outside the GST, tax and super systems.
• Small Business Capital Gains Concessions — eligibility and use of the CGT Concessions
ABF Partners ensure new legislation is adopted where eligible, to minimise your tax. The information above is general in nature, please ensure you contact ABF Partners or your advisor for clarification.
