With the Commonwealth government announcing changes to their support payments to individuals, we thought it would be a good idea to give an update on what’s on offer, eligibility and how to access it. The extended lockdown in NSW has resulted in a rethinking of the eligibility and amounts for the Covid-19 Disaster Payment, while the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment remains unchanged. Here’s a summary of the key points for both types of payments.

Starting a new financial year often signifies the start of new things. This year is no different with a number of things set to change in the tax landscape from 1 July. Here is a summary of what you need to know coming into the new financial year:

I have lost count of the times someone has set themselves up with a company or trust, as a contractor or as an individual, only to be bitterly disappointed when I tell them that all of the benefits of having a company or trust don’t apply to them. The tax act is full of exceptions and conditions, and the rules around personal services income and personal services businesses are just two of them.

There is a degree of flexibility around how payments out of a company are made when you are the one responsible for making the decisions (ie the director). Three common forms of payments from a company are dividends, bonuses and directors’ fees. But first, what's the difference between them?

In short, yes, you can set up your own company…BUT doing a Google search and asking around in a few Facebook groups is not going to equip you with everything you need to know to set your company up right. Having started a business from scratch myself I appreciate that every dollar spent is precious and that you do what you can yourself to save money. DIY’ing your company set up is not something that I would recommend. Not knowing what you don’t know can be very costly and here is why.

I don’t think I have ever met anyone who loves getting things ready for tax time. Even I don’t like getting my own things in order! I find getting a system in place and staying organised is the best way to tackle tax time. It also has the added bonus of being able to use the data you have to gather for tax to more effectively make decisions in your business, so it is a win win. Here are my tips for getting up to date and staying up to date:

Adrienne owns a small architecture firm and spent the 2018-19 Christmas break reading Mike Michalowicz’s book, Profit First. She was so excited by the read and wanted to implement it in her business straight away. I was a little sceptical as being an accountant I know that being in business is about cashflow first. Curious, I decided to have a read. I wasn’t long into the book before I realised it’s about a methodology to manage cashflow. I settled in and enjoyed the read.

I am yet to meet anyone, other than an accountant, who gets excited about tax time. With a fear of a tax bill, a loathing of paperwork and complex web of tax law to navigate it is no wonder most people find it a bit overwhelming, but with our savvy tips tax time will be a breeze!