ATO cracks down on holiday homes

The ATO is targeting holiday-home owners who are over-claiming on tax deductions for periods when their property isn’t being leased.

Some owners have been rejecting tenants so that their holiday home is available for them to use. They provide their accountants with authority to rent documents to make it appear that they are trying to rent the house. They then use the tax deduction to claim ongoing property maintenance costs to upkeep it for potential tenants.

For example, an investor rented out their holiday home to friends and family at a lower-than-market rate and tried to claim a deduction.

The ATO has risk detection models in place to alert them when taxpayers have unusual rental income and deduction patterns compared to taxpayers with properties in similar locations. The tax office is advising investors to keep thorough records and only claim on a deduction when they have made a reasonable effort to get tenants in their holiday home.

Lost or destroyed tax 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.

Where the tax records are accidently lost or destroyed from a burglary or fire, the ATO will allow a taxpayer to claim a deduction for certain expenses. The conditions are:

– The taxpayer has a complete copy of a lost or destroyed document.

– The ATO is satisfied that the taxpayer took acceptable 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.

It is important that taxpayers keep a record of these circumstances and inform the tax office in writing to back up the claim.

ATO warning on aggressive tax planning

The ATO is warning taxpayers of aggressive tax planning strategies will attract a significant amount of scrutiny. A number of specific strategies have been flagged as aggressive in a video named ‘Tax Tricks That Will Get You In Trouble’.

When it comes to tax avoidance schemes, it is not uncommon for individuals to be duped by a fraudulent investment opportunity or given bad advice from an unqualified financial planner. The advice that the ATO give is fairly straightforward: if a tax planning strategy seems too good to be true then it probably is.
This is also advice that should be applied to investment returns that seem unrealistically high. Multiple research studies have proven that people with higher rates of education and investment experience are actually more likely to fall for fraudulent investment scams because they are less likely to seek an outside opinion.

Australians set to hit by ‘bracket creep’

The government’s tax white paper has revealed that in the next twelve months the average Australian will be pushed into the second highest tax bracket. As average wages become higher due to inflation, but do not actually rise in real terms, many taxpayers will be pushed up into a higher tax bracket. This phenomenon is known as bracket creep.

Currently, the average Australian wage is around $75 000, meaning that a majority of the population sits in the third highest tax bracket ($3572 plus 32.5c for every dollar over $32 000. However, by 2016-17 the average wage will be around $80 000, pushing people into the second highest marginal tax bracket.

Some experts are claiming that concerns surrounding bracket creep are overstated and that the government is most likely adjust marginal tax rates in response to wage inflation.

Plan to tax bank deposits

The federal government has announced that it is planning to place a tax on bank deposits in its next budget, which will be handed down in May. According to media reports, the tax will take the form of an insurance levy; the government offers consumers a savings guarantee of up to $250 000 to protect them in the event of a bank collapsing. To support this insurance guarantee, accounts holding more than $250 000 will incur a 0.05% levy.

Banking representatives are warning that the cost of the tax may be passed on to consumers. Further criticism of the scheme comes from assertations that the likelihood of an Australian bank collapsing is extraordinarily remote. The new banking tax is expected to raise $500 000 each year.

ATO Releases New Blueprint: Reinventing the ATO

Yesterday, the Australian Tax Office released a blueprint containing information on a new unit for wealthy taxpayers, as well as a new design to guide future proceedings with taxpayers.

Entitled ‘Reinventing the ATO’, the blueprint outlines an exclusive unit to deal with wealthy individuals in Australia and at least one million privately owned businesses. The announcement of this new unit comes in response to the government being forced to defend exempting Australia’s biggest private companies from tax disclosure requirements.

Beginning in late April, the taxpayers who make over $1 billion or have $500 million in assets will be personally contacted by the ATO to discuss assessments of tax risks or issues. Other taxpayers in this segment who attract attention from the ATO, will also be provided with a report outlining any risk assessments or concerns.

For thousands of small businesses, the ability to pay all their employee super contributions at once to the Small Business Superannuation Clearing House will be possible by July, and there will also be enhancements made to the ATO’s small business newsroom.

The blueprint is available today on the ATO website, and contains information for both the community and ATO staff.

Tips for cutting your tax bill

1. Put more into your mortgage offset account: Mortgage offset accounts are usually considered to be a mechanism for protecting yourself from interest rate rises. However, another advantage is that if you direct more money here and less to your savings account, you will save on tax earned on interest. With interest rates at record lows, this strategy may be particularly beneficial to some individuals.

2. Don’t forget about non-concessional super contributions: There is a lot of hype surrounding the massive tax benefits of concessional (before tax) superannuation contributions, but don’t forget about your non-concessional (after tax) options! By making after-tax contributions, you will save tax on the returns earned by your investments.

3. Discretionary family trusts: Family trusts allow you to direct the income earned towards lower income earners, thereby reducing the amount of tax you pay. If you are interested in starting a family trust, feel free to call our office to discuss your situation.

Australia and Switzerland enter into tax information exchange

Switzerland and Australia have entered into an unprecedented agreement that will see the two countries automatically exchange tax information. The move is intended to prevent tax evasion through income earned and held in offshore bank accounts.

Tax avoidance has been increasingly prominent on the international agenda recently, and Switzerland is striving to shake its reputation as a haven for tax dodgers and criminal organisation. Swiss authorities have even gone so far as to criticise the James Bond film franchise for the unsavoury image it has cast on the alpine nation.

Authorities from both countries have indicated that they expect the information exchange to be in full swing by 2018. While this is the first time that Switzerland has entered into such an agreement, negotiations for similar arrangements are underway with a number of OECD countries.

ATO focusing on personal electronic devices

This financial year, the ATO has announced that it will be focussing on specific types of deductible claims. In previous years, the tax office has announced specific industries or professions that will be subject to particular scrutiny.

The biggest announcement this year is that deductions for personal electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops will be closely examined. Last year, Australians claimed almost $19.5 billion in deductible expenses, and personal electronic devices represent the fastest growing sector in this area.

In order to make sure that you are claiming the right tax deductions for a personal electronic device, you should make sure that you have a clear understanding of what qualifies as personal and professional use.

Travel expenses are another area that will be a focus for the ATO this year, especially claims for transporting large or bulky tools.

Income protection insurance: An often overlooked tax deduction

Many Australians overlook the fact that they can claim the premiums paid for income protection insurance as a tax deduction. Income protection insurance policies are designed to protect you in the event that you become unable to work due to illness or injury. Most policies will pay you a pre-determined portion of your previous income, meaning that you will be able to maintain necessities such as mortgage repayments and groceries.

It is advisable for everyone to think about whether or not they can afford not to have income protection insurance. However, if you are the breadwinner in your household or have a significant amount of debt, then income protection insurance is an even more critical investment.

The high premiums associated with income protection insurance policies can see a lot of people justifying not purchasing one. However, it is also common for taxpayers to be unaware that they can claim income protection insurance premiums as a tax deduction, thus making significant savings on their overall tax bill.