Claiming travel expenses relating to rental properties

When making a claim in regards to your residential rental property, there are specific circumstances for when you can and cannot claim travel expenses. The law about claiming travel expenses for rental properties changed in July 2017. In the last year alone, the ATO received more than 70,000 incorrect claims for travel to and from residential rental properties.

A residential property is defined as land or a building that is either occupied as a residence or intended for and capable of being occupied as a residence. Owning one or several rental properties is not usually considered to be in the business of letting rental properties, with receiving income from letting property to a tenant being considered a form of investment rather than a business.

Entities that can claim travel expenses are:

• Corporate tax entity.
• Superannuation plan that is not a self-managed superannuation fund.
• Public unit trust.
• Managed investment trust.
• Unit trust or a partnership.

For those who are eligible to claim travel expenses, claims can be made on the following:

• Preparing the property for new tenants (except the first tenants).
• Inspecting the property during or at the end of the tenancy.
• Undertaking repairs, where those repairs are because of damage or wear and tear incurred while renting out the property.
• Maintaining the property, such as cleaning and gardening, while it is rented or available for rent.
• Collecting the rent.
• Visiting an agent to discuss the rental property.

Returning to work after accessing your super

Retirement isn’t necessarily a permanent thing as even the best-laid plans can collapse when circumstances change. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has found the most common reasons retirees return to employment are financial necessity and boredom. But what does this mean when you have already dipped into your superannuation funds? Depending on your circumstances, there are rules regarding how you can return to work after retirement.

For those who genuinely retired with no intention of ever returning to work but found that circumstances required them to, you can return provided that you work on a casual basis up to 10 hours per week. By meeting this requirement, you can still access your super whilst working, however, additional contributions made to your account after you met the definition of retirement will be preserved until you meet another condition of release.

In the event you access your super after an employment arrangement comes to an end once reaching age 60, you are able to work in a new position as soon as you like, provided the first arrangement ended. In this event, you will have access to the benefits that became available as a result of your first employment arrangement coming to an end.

When you turn 65, you don’t have to be retired or satisfy any special conditions to get full access to your super savings. This means you can continue working or return to work if you have previously retired, provided you complete the work test requirements before going back. If you return to work and earn more than $450 a month, your employer will be required to make superannuation contributions at the current rate of 9.5% until you reach age 75 where you can still work but receive no further super contributions, either voluntary or from your employer.

Are you meeting the Active Asset Test?

To qualify for small business CGT concessions, an asset must meet the conditions of the Active Asset Test to apply. An asset is considered active when you own it and it is used or held ready for use in relation to a business. You can also have an intangible active asset if it is inherently connected with a business you carry on.

An active asset of yours has been held for a certain amount of time, based on how long you have owned the asset and the test period to meet the requirements of the Active Asset Test. The test period begins when you acquired the asset, and ends at the earlier of

• the CGT event, or;
• when the business ceased, if the business in question ceased in the 12 months before the CGT event.

Assets owned for over 15 years need to have been held for at least 7.5 years within the test period and assets owned for 15 years or less need to have been held for at least half of the test period to satisfy requirements.

When the assets are shares or trusts, passing this basic active asset test is not enough to qualify for CGT concessions. In addition, the asset will need to pass a further test, called the 90% test, to determine whether it is to be counted as an active asset or not. The test is satisfied if CGT concession stakeholders in the company or trust in which the shares or interest are held have a total small business percentage in the entity claiming the concession of at least 90%.

The periods in which the asset is active does not have to be continuous, however, they must total the minimum periods specified. An asset does not need to be active just before the CGT event.

Super for different visas

Australian employers are required to pay super to their employees when they earn $450 a week or meet specific criteria based on age or industry. Employer requirements can get confusing however when dealing with international workers or sending employees overseas. Here are the requirements employers must follow when handling super payments to workers with different visas.

Temporary residents:
Temporary residents working in Australia may be eligible to receive super from their employer. Eligibility criteria are the same as it would be for a permanent Australian resident, you must be 18 years or older and have been paid $450 or more (before tax) in a month. Working holiday makers holding a 417 (Working Holiday), 462 (Work and Holiday) or an associated bridging visa can access the super paid as a departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP).

Employees working overseas:
For an Australian employee sent to work overseas, their employer must continue to pay super contributions in Australia for them. The other country may require the employer or employee to pay super there as well if Australia does not have a bilateral agreement with that country. To gain exemption from the super payment in the other country, the employer needs to show the authorities in the other country a certificate of coverage gained from the ATO.

New industries included under TPAR 

The taxable payment reporting system (TPRS) has extended to further businesses that provide particular services and those that pay contractors to provide the service. The extension was approved on 1 July 2019.

Road freight services, information technology services and security, surveillance and investigation services will now have to lodge taxable payments annual report (TPAR), even if those services only make up part of the business. Contractors can include subcontractors, consultants and independent contractors.

For these businesses, the first TPAR will be due on 28 August 2020. This will be for payments that have been made to contractors in the 2019–20 financial year for providing the relevant services. Business owners will now need to keep records of contractor payments made from 1 July 2019.

Exemptions from TPRS reporting obligations apply if payments received are less than 10% of the entity’s GST turnover in the following industries:

• Courier services and road freight services (combined).
• Cleaning services.
• Security, investigation or surveillance services (combined).
• IT services.

Businesses that are not required to lodge should complete a TPAR Not Required to Lodge form for the ATO to update their records, preventing any unnecessary follow up.

Salary sacrificing super

Contributing extra to your superannuation is a good way to boost your retirement funds. One of the ways you can add more to your super is through salary sacrificing. Salary sacrifice is an arrangement with your employer to forego part of your salary or wages in return for your employer providing benefits of a similar value, meaning your employer will redirect some of your salary or wages into your super fund instead of to you.

The salary sacrificed amounts count towards your concessional contributions cap, in addition to your employer’s compulsory contributions such as super guarantee payments and salary-sacrificed amounts sent by you to your employee’s super fund. The annual concessional contributions cap is $25,000 for everyone and these salary sacrifice contributions are taxed at a maximum rate of 15%. If you have more than one fund, all concessional contributions made to all of your funds are added together and counted towards the concessional contributions cap. Concessional contributions in excess of these caps are subject to extra tax.

Salary-sacrificed amounts are paid from pre-tax salary so they don’t count as non-concessional contributions and will not be considered a fringe benefit if the super contributions are made to a complying super fund. Individuals should also consider whether the amount sacrificed will attract Division 293 tax. This tax applies when you have an income and concessional super contributions of more than $250,000. Division 293 tax levies 15% tax on taxable contributions above this threshold.

What is a CGT event?

Capital Gains Tax (CGT) events occur when an individual or company makes a capital gain or capital loss by selling or disposing of an asset they own. The timing of a CGT event is quite important, as it determines which income year an individual will report the capital gain or capital loss, and may affect how their tax liability is calculated.

CGT events can happen when:

• Selling or giving away an asset.
• The destruction or loss (voluntary or involuntary) of a CGT asset.
• Receiving compensation for the loss, destruction or compulsory acquisition of a CGT asset.
• The disposal of a depreciating asset used for non-taxable (private) purposes.
• Capital distributions to company shareholders or unitholders in a unit trust or managed fund.
• Shares or units being cancelled, surrendered, redeemed or declared worthless.
• You stop being an Australian tax resident.
• You enter into an agreement not to work in a particular industry for a set period of time
• A trustee makes a non-assessable payment to you from a managed fund or other unit trusts.
• A company makes a payment (not a dividend) to you as a shareholder.

When a CGT asset is disposed of, the CGT event usually takes place when a contract for disposal is entered into or when an individual is no longer the owner of the asset. Cases where a CGT asset is lost or destroyed, the CGT event will happen when the owner of the asset receives compensation for the loss/destruction or when the loss is discovered/when the destruction happened.

Diversification requirements for SMSFs

The ATO has identified approximately 17,700 SMSFs where investment strategies may not meet the requirements under regulation 4.09 of the Superannuation Industry Supervision Act (SISA). Records show these SMSFs may hold 90% or more of funds in one asset, or a single asset class.

Diversification aims to maximise an individual’s return by investing in different asset classes that react differently to the same event. Although it does not guarantee avoiding a loss, diversification is an important component of reaching long-term financial goals while minimising risk. This can help to control a super fund’s risk, as the better performing asset classes will help offset the others that aren’t performing very well. Diversification also provides the super fund with the opportunity for long-term growth, as the portfolio is exposed to asset classes with strong growth potential.

SMSF trustees that don’t have the appropriate blend of different asset classes in their fund risk their portfolio experiencing increased and unnecessary volatility. Well-diversified SMSFs include all the major asset classes including cash, fixed interest, shares and property.

To help ensure an SMSF is properly diversified, consider the exposures the fund currently has to the major asset classes and assess how diversified the fund is. Trustees must then engage in the process of working out which asset classes the fund requires to be properly diversified.

Reestablishing lost or damaged records

Taxpayers are responsible for safely storing a written backup copy of their tax record in case the original electronic form becomes inaccessible or unreadable. In the event that your records have been damaged or destroyed, there are a number of ways you can reconstruct them.

Where the tax records are accidentally lost or destroyed from a burglary or fire, the ATO will allow a taxpayer to claim a deduction for certain expenses, provided that:

• The taxpayer has a complete copy of a lost or destroyed document.
• The ATO is satisfied that the taxpayer took reasonable precautions to avoid the loss or destruction of the form. If the tax record was a written document, it is not reasonably possible to attain a substitute document.
• Taxpayers keep a record of these circumstances and inform the ATO in writing to back up the claim.

The ATO holds and can re-issue or supply copies of tax documents, such as:

• Income tax returns.
• Activity statements.
• Notices of assessment.

If you have lost your TFN, you can still access your tax information by phoning the ATO. They will allow for other information to verify identity, such as an individual’s date of birth, address or bank account details.

If you are unable to substantiate claims made in your tax returns or activity statements because records have been lost or destroyed, the ATO can accept the claim without substantiation, where it is not reasonably possible to obtain the original documents.

Succession planning for your SMSF

A mandatory component of managing a self-managed super fund (SMSF) is planning out what will happen to the fund if its trustee were to pass away. While succession planning may not be one of the first responsibilities that comes to mind when managing an SMSF, it is a necessity that can provide certainty and peace of mind for a deceased trustee’s family.

Succession planning can become complex if little or no attention is paid to it on an ongoing basis, but there are ways trustees can ensure the best outcome for both the fund and their family.

One option for a sole member fund is to appoint another trustee. Note that the non-member trustee cannot be the employer of the member unless they are related. This would not be an option for a fund with two members as the available exemptions only apply to single member funds. Those who appoint a family member or close friend must consider first whether they are suitable for a role; running an SMSF requires expertise and knowledge, and appointing someone with limited experience may not be in the best interest of the fund’s future.

Some SMSF trustees may also choose to appoint an enduring power of attorney. An enduring power of attorney is someone who makes decisions on the trustee’s behalf if they become incapacitated or pass away. Common power of attorneys include accountants, financial advisors and lawyers; people who understand SMSF management and the associated challenges. For an enduring power of attorney nominee to be appointed, legal documents, i.e. the succession documents appointing the replacement director, must be in place before the member loses their capacity to be a member.