3 tax time tips to maximise your 2019 end of financial year small business success

We are getting closer to that busy time of the year again: Tax Time. If you are a small business, it’s time to balance the books, organise your receipts and go shopping!

The Government’s asset write-off initiative has increased to $30,000 and is one of the best tax breaks for small businesses in Australia and a great excuse to do some shopping.

The instant asset write-off now also includes businesses with a turnover from $10 million to less than $50 million. These businesses can claim a deduction of up to $30,000 for the business portion of each asset (new or second hand), purchased and first used or installed ready for use from 7.30pm (AEDT) on 2 April 2019 until 30 June 2020.

Businesses with a turnover of up to $10 million can also claim a deduction for each asset purchased and first used or installed ready for use, click here to refer to the ATO thresholds.

Our Winc eofy sale helps you maximise your 2019 tax time savings with discounts across a huge range of tax deductible items such as office furniture, kitchen equipment, laptops, printers, tablets, and more. We have listed out our favourite tax time tips to help you save time and money.

What can be deducted

According to the ATO you can tax deduct:

  • Home Office expenses: If you are a sole trader and your home is your place of business you can claim tax deductions. This can be for a part of the costs of owning, maintaining and using your home for this purpose.
  • You can claim a deduction for the decline in value of your depreciating assets. If you are small business, depreciating assets may include printers, scanners, or shredders.
  • Most operating business expenses can be claimed as tax deductions. Make sure these expenses occur in the same income year. Examples include: office stationery, costs for running a commercial website and work clothing.

What can’t be deducted?

Likewise it helps to understand what isn’t tax deductible. The ATO states that there are certain expenses that are not deductible, such as:

  • Entertainment expenses and traffic fines.
  • Private or domestic expenses, such as childcare fees or clothes for your family.
  • Expenses relating to earning income that is not assessable, such as money you earn from a hobby.
  • The GST component of a purchase if you can claim it as a GST credit on your business activity statement.

Use the ATO online resources to your benefit

The Australian Tax Office has some fantastic resources to make Tax Time easier:

  • This calculator will help you work out the income amounts you need to answer the Small business income tax offset in your tax return. This offset can help reduce the tax payable on your small business income by up to $1,000 per year.
  • The ATO also helps you keep track of your business income and expenses via its ATO app. Android and Apple device versions are available.
    Finally, a convenient way to lodge your business tax return is online via the myTax portal. Access is either by desktop, tablet or mobile. The deadline for lodging your tax online with myTax is 31 October, 2019 but make sure you start early!

Being aware of what you can and can’t claim will enable you to process you tax claims faster. Above all we recommend you contact your local registered tax practitioner. This will allow you to get expert advice before you lodge your business tax deduction claim for 2019.

Still have questions? We’ll give you answers!

Join us on the ‘Winc Australia’ Facebook page on Wednesday 12th June at 12:30pm (AEST) for a Tax Time Q&A session with our tax expert Jason De Boer. Jason will be online to answer all your tax time questions. Click here to add the event to your Facebook calendar.

 

Disclaimer

The material contained on this website is general commentary only. The information posted here should not be regarded as advice and is not intended to replace consultation with a qualified professional or tax and accounting practitioner. We do not answer specific legal or financial questions. While we have made every attempt to ensure that the information contained in this site has been obtained from reliable sources, Winc Australia Pty Limited is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information in this site is provided “as is”, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Certain links in this article connect to other websites maintained by third parties over whom Winc Australia Pty Limited has no control. Winc Australia Pty Limited makes no representations as to the accuracy or any other aspect of information contained in other websites.