SDM Accounting & Taxation Services

20/07/2023

24/01/2022

We understand that meeting your tax and super obligations during difficult times can be a challenge.

With natural disaster season here, it’s important to remember the range of support options we have available to those facing difficult circumstances. From disasters and COVID-19 to mental health challenges and financial hardship, we can work with you to find a solution.

To learn more, visit www.ato.gov.au/support

24/01/2022

Do you earn income from overseas? Even though over 100 countries end their financial years in December, you’ll still need to include any foreign income you received in your Australian tax return.

There are a few things to remember when declaring your foreign income, like:
✔️ calculating your overseas earnings to our financial year
✔️ claiming the foreign income tax offset if you already paid tax in another country
✔️ converting your income into Australian dollars.

For more info visit www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Income-and-deductions/Income-you-must-declare/Foreign-and-worldwide-income/

16/11/2021

Do you know how cryptocurrency is taxed in Australia? If you buy, sell or trade crypto, you need to be aware of your tax obligations.

Whether your preferred language is Arabic, Korean, Mandarin or Vietnamese, our latest in-language podcast episode will guide you through what you need to know.

Listen now at www.ato.gov.au/podcastlanguages

07/09/2021

Just to make it clear. If you decide to get vaxxed, that’s ok. If you decide not to get vaxxed, that’s ok, too. We will accept vaxxed and non vaxxed clients equally. We also do not have a no jab, no job policy.

17/12/2020

Still working from home? Take note because the shortcut method (80c per work hour) for claiming working-from-home expenses has been extended until 30 June 2021! 📅💻🏠

Remember to keep good records now to make next tax time easier.

For more info, visit www.ato.gov.au/individuals/income-and-deductions/deductions-you-can-claim/home-office-expenses/

17/08/2020

Contractors and consultants – do you provide any of these services?
👷 Building and construction
🧽 Cleaning
📦 Courier
🚛 Delivery and road freight
👩‍💻 Information technology
🔒 Security, investigation or surveillance
Businesses who pay you to provide these services may need to include your payments to us as part of their annual reporting. We'll use this info to prefill these payments in your tax return, making it easier for you to get tax time right! Learn more at www.ato.gov.au/Business/Bus/taxable-payments-reporting---what-it-means-for-you/?=redirected_TPRandyou

02/07/2020

Happy NFY to all. For those in a rush, the ATO won’t process refunds before Monday and the portal reports won’t be available before the middle of the month.

25/06/2020

Businesses: The increased instant asset write-off has been extended to 31 December 2020! This means that eligible businesses can continue to invest in assets that cost less than $150,000 each 🏪

Check out what you can claim at www.ato.gov.au/Business/Depreciation-and-capital-expenses-and-allowances/Simpler-depreciation-for-small-business/Instant-asset-write-off/

17/06/2020

Working from home
The ATO has introduced a temporary ‘shortcut method’ to simplify how you calculate your working from home deduction. If you had some work-related expenses as a result of working from home due to COVID-19, you can claim 80 cents per hour for every hour you worked from home between 1 March and 30 June 2020.
The shortcut method covers all deductible expenses and can be used by multiple people working from home in the same house. Anyone working from home can use the shortcut method, even if you were working from home before COVID-19.
If you claim your working from home expenses using the shortcut method, include the amount at the ‘other work-related expenses’ question in your tax return and include ‘COVID-hourly rate’ as the description. This rate includes all expenses so if you use this method you do not claim for any other items as a result of working from home.
If you use the short cut method, you must have a record of your hours, such as diary entries or a timesheet.
You can choose to use one of the other existing methods to calculate your working from home deduction during the COVID-19 period. The other methods are the fixed rate and actual expenses methods.
Using the fixed rate method, you can claim a rate of 52 cents per work hour for heating, cooling, lighting, cleaning and the decline in value of office furniture, plus calculate the work-related portion of your phone and internet expenses, computer consumables, stationery and the decline in value of a computer, laptop or similar device.
Using the actual expenses method, you can claim the actual work-related portion of all your running expenses, which you need to calculate on a reasonable basis.
Whether you use the actual or fixed rate method you must also keep a record of the number of hours you worked from home along with records of your expenses.
Claims for working from home expenses prior to 1 March 2020 cannot be calculated using the shortcut method, but you can use the pre-existing working from home fixed rate or actual expenses methods.
If you are working from home only due to COVID-19, you can't claim:
• occupancy expenses such as mortgage interest, rent and rates
• the cost of coffee, tea, milk and other general household items your employer may otherwise have provided you with at work
• expenses for online schooling as they are not used to earn assessable income.
Generally, most people cannot claim a deduction for the cost of travelling from home to work. If you are working from home due to COVID-19 but sometimes need to go to your office, the travel between your home and your workplace still cannot be claimed and is a private expense.
If you have been working in an occupation that requires physical contact or proximity with customers or clients during the COVID-19 period, you may be able to claim a deduction for items such as gloves, face masks, sanitiser or anti-bacterial spray if you have paid for the items and haven't been reimbursed. This includes industries like healthcare, retail and hospitality.

22/05/2020

Please don't hesitate to contact us about this if you require assistance or clarification about any of the government stimulus packages. We are here to help.

Businesses: Don’t forget, you have until 31 May 2020 to enrol for JobKeeper to claim April and May payments for your staff!

Make sure you’re ready to be reimbursed for JobKeeper payments by:
✅ checking both you and your employees meet the eligibility requirements, and
✅ paying your employees by the appropriate date for each fortnight.

For more info, visit www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment/In-detail/JobKeeper-key-dates/

15/04/2020

We are closer to knowing how this works. If you need my help with this, please don't hesitate to call me.

Tax agents will now be able to enrol their clients for the JobKeeper payment from as early as next week as the ATO releases its first tranche of guidance.