Customer Service

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Common ways of borrowing Overdrafts  Overdrafts provide flexible access to funds. You can withdraw money as needed (up to the approved limit). Interest is charged on the overdrawn amount, not on the limit, although interest is generally higher than for many other sources of finance. there is no fixed repayment amount required. In fact, overdraft limits can remain in place for many years, although the lender might retain the right to cancel the overdraft or reduce the limit. The overdraft interest is deductible. GST is not applicable. Unsecured loans: Unsecured loans allow you to borrow funds without offering any form of security. Because there is no collateral required, unsecured loans will generally be for smaller amounts, with higher interest rates. The loan interest is deductible. Secured loans: Secured loans require collateral, such as business assets or property. Due to the lower risk for the lender, you will generally be able to access larger sums of money and lower interest rates with a secured loan. Secured finance is commonly used to fund significant investments, such as the purchase of expensive machinery, land and buildings or the expansion of operations. Interest is deductible. Chattel mortgage: Chattel means "goods" and mortgage means "loan agreement", so a chattel mortgage is a loan agreement for the purchase of goods (such as plant and equipment). You own the asset immediately, unlike some other types of finance. Chattel mortgages became much more popular after GST was introduced in 2000, because you can claim all the GST on the purchase price up front (in the next BAS). The interest component of the repayments is deductible. Hire purchase: Hire purchase means what it says. Each payment has a hire component and a purchase component You do not own the asset until you have made the last payment. You can only claim the GST incrementally over the term of the repayments. The interest component of each payment is deductible Operating lease: Operating leases are indicated when you have no intention of owning the asset. Typically, you only need the use of it for a specified period of time. You can claim the GST on each lease payment and you can claim a tax deduction for the GST-exclusive amount of the lease payments. Finance lease: A finance lease is where the lender retains the ownership of the assets for the term of the lease. It is similar to an operating lease except that you can own the asset when the lease period expires. The interest component of each payment is deductible. Commercial property loans: Commercial property loans are usually long-term mortgages that you can use to buy commercial premises. The interest component of each loan payment is deductible. Bridging loans: These are commonly used to ‘bridge’ the gap when waiting for other finance to be secured. An example might be where you need short term finance to bridge the gap between when you have to pay for a new property and when you are going to receive the sale proceeds from the old property. Interest on the loans is deductible. Line of credit: A line of credit is a credit facility enabling you to draw money when needed. It is there if and wen you need it. Business credit cards: These are so widely used that no explanation is required. Other funding: Not all means of financing involve debt financing. In some situations, there are government grants and tax incentives that can be used to fund your company’s growth. Choosing a method of financing is not a one-size-fits-all situation. You need to take your estimated future cash flows into account as well as the income tax and GST implications into account. Wherever the word deductible appears, it assumes that the finance is used for business purposes.

Capital gains tax and holding costs  Did you know that if you sell an asset such as a vacant block of land, you can add holding costs such as rates, insurance and loan interest to the cost base when calculating the capital gain or loss. You can only claim these holding costs if they were not deductible in any year. For example, if the property was rented out at any time, the holding costs related to the time it was rented cannot be included in the cost base even if you did not actually claim them at that time. These holding costs can even be used to create a bigger capital loss, which you can use to reduce the tax on other capital gains in the current year or in future years.

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

How to claim tax deductible expenses as an individual

Energy Bill Relief Fund: How do you claim relief? In March 2025, the Government announced an extension to the Energy Bill Relief Fund for every Australian household, and around 1 million eligible small businesses. This rebate on your energy costs takes effect from 1 July, with a $1.8 billion extension of the Energy Bill Relief Fund for the six months leading up to the end of 2025. How big will your energy rebate be? The rebate will be up to $150 and will be payable to all Australian households and small businesses that meet the eligibility criteria. Who is eligible for the rebate? 1. Households: Australian households are eligible for the relief if you receive an electricity bill and are connected to the grid. This includes households in the external and non-self-governing territories and will apply until the end of 2025. 2. Small businesses To qualify, your small business must meet the state and territory definition of an electricity ‘small customer' for your state and territory. This is defined by your annual electricity consumption threshold. If you’re eligible, you should receive the rebate. How can you claim your rebate? Rebates will be automatically applied to your electricity bill in two $75 quarterly instalments. You shouldn’t need to take any action to make use of the rebate. You can find out more about eligibility for the small business energy relief here

Accounting basics: the profit and loss and balance sheet reports Understanding your finances is a vital part of managing your business. The profit and loss report and the balance sheet are key reports in this regard. What is your profit and loss statement? Your profit and loss statement is commonly called your P&L, but is also referred to as your income statement or statement of earnings. It is a full breakdown of your company’s revenue (money coming into the company as sales and other business income) and your expenditure (direct costs, overheads, expenses and other costs). The profit and loss statement is good for: Letting you know your profit (or loss) Highlighting areas where you might be able to increase income or reduce expenses Comparing current year results with previous years. Providing information you need to include in your tax return What is your balance sheet? The balance sheet offers a snapshot of the financial health of your business on the last day of the year or period. The balance sheet shows shows you: Assets (what you own) Liabilities (what you owe) Equity (the net worth of the business) The balance sheet is helpful for: Assessing your current financial position (It is also called the Statement of Financial Position) Assessing whether you can pay your debts as they fall due (by comparing current assets with current liabilities). Assessing longer term solvency (by comparing total assets with total liabilities) Tracking growth Supporting loan or other finance applications making informed investment decisions Providing a foundation for the value of a business (for succession planning or sale of the business). Nothing is as simple as it seems. You might sell an item for $1000. That $1000 will be included in sales in the profit and loss statement whether you have been paid for it or not. If you have not been paid, it will still be included in your net profit, but it will also be included in debtors in the balance sheet. You have to look at both the profit and loss and the balance sheet to assess the true result of the sale. You have not made the profit until the $1000 is in your bank account. You might buy an asset for $10,000. That asset might stay in the balance sheet at original cost for years or decades. It might currently be worth scrap value or it might be worth $50,000. You have to take that into account when reading the balance sheet. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) often has rules about income or expenses which are different from accounting principles. If you prepare the accounts to suit the ATO they might prove to be misleading in assessing your true profit or net worth. Time is the enemy of the accounting profession. At any point in time, how do you assess the value of a tractor which was purchased five years ago and which has a useful life that can only be estimated. Both the profit and loss and the balance sheet have to be interpreted in order to glean useful information. Please get in touch if you would like an analysis of your profit and loss and balance sheet. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. There was a little girl, Who had a little curl, Right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, She was very, very good, But when she was bad she was horrid. In no way am I inferring that AI is a girl, but otherwise the cap fits. if you define AI as information produced by a machine, it has been around for decades. The Ugly Between 2000 and 2015, the UK Post Office wrongfully prosecuted more than 700 sub-postmasters and postmistresses for theft, false accounting or fraud. Many of the accused were financially ruined, wrongfully imprisoned, lost their homes and reputations and suffered mental health issues. Some committed suicide. They were innocent. A flawed accounting system was incorrectly reporting shortfalls in takings. The UK Post Office believed the system and not the victims. To this day many of the victims have not been compensated. The full story is heart-breaking. Do yourself a favour and research it, or you might be able to find a four-part 2024 ITV drama titled “Mr Bates vs the Post Office”. Was AI or IT the problem? No. The software was flawed, but humans were the problem. This is the most horrific example you will ever find of how not to use AI. In Australia, you might remember the Robodebt Scheme, which the Royal Commission condemned as “crude and cruel” and “neither fair nor legal.” The Bad Firstly, do not give AI any information you do not want to be in the public domain (or in the hands of the baddies). Secondly, AI does consume enormous amounts of electricity worldwide, although currently not as much as cryptocurrency. Thirdly, AI “hallucinates” which is the term used for getting it wrong. You need to verify. If you press the wrong buttons on a calculator you get the wrong answer. You own the problem. If you blindly believe AI, you own the problem. The Good When it is good it is very, very good. Try it. Choose your most difficult problem, one that might take days to research. Then ask AI. I can almost guarantee that it will provide you with an answer within four seconds. It is next level and then some. Of course, you must verify, but overall it is a massive time-saver. I do not think anybody knows the future of AI, but it will certainly change the nature of many jobs. I am hopeful that it will be for the common good because I cannot envision a time when humans will not be needed. When calculators first came on the scene, the general opinion was that this would cause problems because people would not know how to add up anymore. When computers arrived, there was fear that many jobs would be lost. Now everyone embraces calculators and computers as useful and in fact essential, and the number of jobs has proliferated. I am hopeful that it will be the same with AI. One thing is certain. Ignore AI and you will be left behind.

Rise in the minimum wage: the impact for your business On 3 June 2025, the Fair Work Commission’s Expert Panel announced the National Minimum Wage and award wages will increase by 3.5% from 1 July 2025. This wage increase follows on from the 2024-25 Annual Wage Review and its recommendations. This increase in basic pay is great news for Australian workers, especially with the country facing an ongoing cost-of-living crisis. But how will an increased wages burden affect your small business? What’s the new minimum wage? The 3.5% increase will mean that the National Minimum Wage will increase by: $0.85 to $24.95 per hour $32.10 to $948.00 per 38-hour week $1,669.20 to $49,296.00 per year. How will the wage increase impact your payroll costs? If your workforce includes a large percentage of employees that are currently on the minimum wage of $24.10, that jump of 85 cents per hour will put extra pressure on your cashflow. For example, if you’re currently employing 20 people on the minimum wage, and pay them every two weeks, the salary component of your payroll will jump from $36,636 to $37,920. That’s an extra $1,284 on your payroll bill every fortnight – and that’s before you factor in super contributions and other benefits. Talk to us about preparing for the wage increase If you’re concerned about the cashflow impact of an increase to the minimum wage, please do come and talk to the team.