Tax: what's changed, what's new? Preparing for EOFY

Submitting your EOFY tax return isn’t a simple task for many taxpayers and business owners – following another unusual year with additional allowances and tax subsidies, it’s important to be aware of all the changes, writes Keith Madden, Business Australia Growth Facilitator.

With some of these temporary programs coming to an end, Madden says it’s crucial to be on top of everything when it comes to completing this year’s tax return.

Some of the items small businesses might want to consider this year include salary sacrificing, asset write-offs and bad debts. It is important to note, that the existing instant asset-write off scheme for assets of up to $150,000, purchased between 12 March 2020 and 31 December 2020 and installed ready for use before 30 June 2021, by businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $500 million, is ending, and will revert back to assets up to $30,000 for businesses with turnover of less than $50 million.

Check out the information on tax, government programs and grants to ensure your business is making the most on what’s on offer to help drive growth.

Five tips for SMEs to prepare their tax return

Check to see if you are eligible for the lower tax rate.

Businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of under $50 million will see a tax rate drop of 1 per cent, down to 25 per cent for the 2021–2022 tax year.

Be aware of benefits for employers looking to hire and train

If you are planning on hiring new staff or bringing in apprentices or trainees, check if they are eligible for a wage subsidy. ‘

The JobTrainer Fund is being extended until the end of 2022 and supports training and upskilling in areas such as digital sectors and aged care.
The Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements program will pay businesses a 50% wage subsidy for new apprentices or trainees starting prior to 31 March 2022.
Through JobActive, Transition to Work and ParentsNext, the Government is increasing wage subsidies to $10,000 by investing $4.6 billion into helping vulnerable unemployed Australians find work and help with the economic recovery.

Temporary Full Expensing will be extended for an additional year until 30 June 2023.

Businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $5 billion can claim immediate deductions for the business portion of the cost of eligible new depreciating assets. Businesses with an aggregated turnover of less than $50 million, can also immediately claim the business portion of eligible second-hand depreciating assets. Assets must be acquired from 7.30pm AEDT on 6 October 2020 and first used or installed ready for use by 30 June 2023.

The temporary loss carry-back scheme will continue for another year

Businesses with a turnover of less than $5 billion can offset losses incurred in the tax years 2019-2022 against taxed profits related to the 2018-2021 tax years.

The working from home shortcut method

With countless Australians transitioning to working from home in early 2020, the ATO introduced a new working from home claim shortcut for your tax return. This shortcut is also applicable for the 2020–2021 tax year, allowing employees to calculate their expenses with minimal record keeping requirement. You can claim on expenses such as the electricity you used while working, the decline in value of your equipment, phone and internet expenses, home office equipment and more. The shortcut allows you to easily make a claim to the ATO for these combined expenses at a rate of 80 cents per hour.

Importantly, you just need to be able to show the hours you have worked from home. This could be in the form of a roster, timesheet or similar documentation, but if you use the shortcut method, you cannot make any other claims for working from home in your tax return.

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