As a general guideline, the ATO will allow a deduction for certain insurance premiums if it can be shown that the insurance cover relates to earning assessable income. In other words, life insurance, trauma insurance or critical care insurance are generally…
Division 7A is an integrity measure that was designed to prevent companies from making tax-free distributions to shareholders or their associates. This can occur where distributions of profit are disguised as loans or other transactions. This effectively allows the shareholder…
How well do you understand the taxation of partnerships? Try these questions to find out Question 1 Which of the following is the definition of a tax law partnership? An association of persons (other than a company or a limited…
Click here for a pdf version of this article. The pension loans scheme To help pensioners who are asset rich but income poor, the government launched a version of a commercially available financial product, the reverse mortgage. The government’s answer…
To help pensioners who are asset rich but income poor, the government launched a version of a commercially available financial product, the reverse mortgage. The government’s answer is its pension loans scheme (PLS), whereby a pensioner can apply for a…
Q&A on the small business concessions and super’s non-concessional contribution cap Q: I am close to reaching my total super balance, however I have assets in my business that I want to contribute to my superannuation. Can I do so…
It is sometimes said that a superhero like the DC Comics character Superman can be an uninteresting character because he is, for all practical purposes, indestructible. Critics have said the knowledge that he will most likely win can make Superman’s…
When calculating a super benefit, it is necessary to identify and determine the value of the various components that make up the benefit. The law around superannuation dictates that the tax-free component and taxable components of a member’s payment must…
As a general rule, travel from your home to your workplace is not allowed as a deduction because it constitutes a “private expense”. There are however specific situations where this rule may not apply, and there can be circumstances where you…
Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson has announced that the ATO is particularly concerned about taxpayers either making mistakes or deliberately lodging false claims in relation to work-related car expenses over tax time 2018. “Last year around 3.5 million people made a work-related…