MHP News
March 2021
The first three quarters of the financial year are almost done. This time last year, our March newsletter was about Covid-19 and turbulent times it presented- so much has happened in a year!
March brings with it the start of interim tax planning, quarter end obligations and the end of JobKeeper payment. We cover these topics and other important ATO snippets in our March newsletter .
Tax Time 2020/2021
Tax Planning/Interims
The end of the financial year is around the corner and it's time to start thinking about tax planning.
Tax planning or interims as we often refer to it, is the evaluation of your finances from a tax perspective. The purpose being to ensure maximum tax efficiency of your business.
Factors we examine include timing of income, timing of purchases, planning expenditures or even planning for retirement.
The overall aim is to give you an idea how your business is tracking and to determine your current tax position. We can then recommend strategies to manage tax and/or give you ample notice of any tax that may be due in the future.
In preparation of interims and to assist us in planning relevant tax strategies you can start thinking about the following in the lead up to June;
- Your projected income
- Your projected expenses in the lead up to June.
- Ensuring your accounting software is reconciled to date
15 May 2021 Due Date- DEADLINE
The 15 May deadline will be here before we know it. If you have not lodged your 2020 tax return then you need to by 15 May 2021
You must lodge (and pay where applicable) your 2020 tax returns by 15 May if;
- you have not already lodged and are not eligible for the 5 June 2021 concession.
- you are a company or super fund in this group you also need to pay on this date (if required).
Note: Individuals and trusts in this category pay as advised on their notice of assessment.
If this is you, we need your tax information NOW!
Remember, the ATO imposes fees for late lodgement of your income tax returns.
Call us if you are unsure if you fit in this category, we can quickly let you know.
Upcoming Due Dates
March is the end of our third financial quarter.
Due dates to be aware of are as follows;
- Superannuation Guarantee (SG): 28 April for the quarter end 31 March
- Instalment Activity Statement (IAS) and Business Activity Statement (BAS): 21 April for the month end 31 March AND 21 May for the month end 30 April
- BAS: 28 April for quarter end 31 March
- Pay as you Go Instalment (PAYGI): 28 April for the quarter end 31 March
- Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT): Pay Fringe Benefits Annual return (lodgement due 25 June)
End of JobKeeper
The Government's JobKeeper initiative is ending. The Jobkeeper Payment Scheme extension 2 will end on 28 March 2021. Therefore your last monthly business declaration (for March) will be due by 14 April 2021.
There is no need to do anything different now the program is reaching its expiration date.
Points to note;
- If you are not currently receiving the payment and past the eligibility criteria there is still time to enroll.
- Adversely you are currently in the JobKeeper program you can opt out at any time.
http://www.ato.gov.au/.../JobKeeper.../JobKeeper-guides/
Post JobKeeper Stimulus Package
The Federal Government announced that it will roll out a stimulus package across the travel and tourism sector.
Highlights include discounted air fares and will commence 1 April this year.
The package will see a subsidy of 50% of 800,000 domestic flights to select tourist destinations across our country. Destinations include; Gold Coast, Whitsundays, Alice Springs, Broome, Kangaroo Island and Merimbula.
The outcome is to get Australians travelling to support tourism operators, businesses, travel agents and other related industries/businesses who continue to do it tough through COVID-29 with international boarders still closed.
Small Medium Enterprise Loan Scheme Expanded
Another post JobKeeper announcement by the Federal Government sees an expansion to the Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Loan Scheme.
The limit of eligible loans will rise from $1 million to $5 million under the scheme. This announcement also comes with a cost split shift which will see the government guarantee a higher portion of the loan. The shift would see the government's 50-50 split with banks shift to an 80-20 split.
The expanded scheme will only be open to recipients of JobKeeper payments between 4 January and 28 March and those that applied during part one of the scheme. These loans will be available from 1 April 2021 and close 31 December 2021.
Always seek advice from us before entering into a SME Loan Agreement.
More in depth information about the expansion of the SME Loan Scheme is available here;
https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/sme-recovery-loan-scheme
FBT Season
The Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year is wrapping up and ends on 31 March 2021. If you provide or receive Fringe Benefits then there are a few things you need to remember.
If you provide Fringe Benefits to employees, your FBT Return (and payment where applicable) is due by 21 May 2021 (if you lodge through us the date for lodgement is 25 June 2021).
Examples of fringe benefits include, private use of cars, entertainment, reimbursement of employees expenses or salary sacrifice arrangements.
If you receive a fringe benefit(s) from your employer and the value of the reportable fringe benefits provided to you exceeds $2,000 in a fringe benefit tax year then you need to report it. Your employer is required to report this on your income statement. It is not included in your total income nor do you pay income tax or Medicare levy on it. It is used for calculating and determining things like your entitlement to the private health insurance rebate and your eligibility for particular tax offsets.
If you receive a fringe benefit for a work vehicle, remember to get your odometer readings, set up new log books and get declarations of use of work utes etc.
for more information on Fringe Benefits Tax, click on the ATO link below and contact us for assistance.
https://www.ato.gov.au/Newsroom/smallbusiness/Employers/When-is-it-a-fringe-benefit-/?sbnews20210317
ATO Quick Bits
Have you been working from home?
While you might not be able to claim your active wear (or inactive wear!), you can still claim 80c per work hour on working-from-home expenses until 30 June 2021!
All you need is a record of how many hours you've worked from home such as a timesheet, roster, diary or similar document.
For more info on claiming working-from-home expenses, visit http://www.ato.gov.au/.../deduction.../home-office-expenses/
SCAM ALERT
Hang up on scam phone calls claiming your tax file number (TFN) has been suspended!
Head to our scam alerts page to find out more: http://www.ato.gov.au/.../Identity-security/Scam-alerts/
Australian Taxation Office. (2021). Facebook Updates. Available: https://www.facebook.com/atogovau. Last accessed 11/03/2021.
Please contact us for any clarification on any tax matters or issues pertaining to your individual circumstances.
Be sure to check out the links below and keep up to date with the due dates for your tax obligations.
See you in June 2021.
Kind Regards
The Team
McDonnell Hume Partners
www.mhpartners.com.au
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