Last minute tax tips

With less than two weeks to go until End of Financial Year, here’s a quick run-down of what you need to do, by when and some tips on how. It’s a good idea to have a quick read through now and take a few minutes to make a note in your diary or outlook of the deadlines so you don’t forget anything.

30 June

• It’s a great time of year to make donations. Not only are you helping a worthy cause but you can also claim it as a tax deduction. Remember a donation is where you don’t receive anything in return so buying a $5 pen for charity isn’t considered a donation. Just as importantly make sure you get a receipt every time.
• If you’re on a cash basis pay any memberships, subscriptions or make other prepayments before 30 June to get the deduction in this financial year. Make sure that anything you do prepay is for a period of less than 12 months or else it doesn’t qualify for this neat little advanced tax deduction.
• Cash flow permitting, pay as much of this quarter’s superannuation contributions as you can to the super funds. The rule is that in order for you to be able to claim it as a deduction in this financial year you must have physically paid it in this financial year too but that’s not all – the fund must have actually received the funds by 30 June as well. My tip is to pay it as early as you can to make sure it gets there. If you’re using MYOB’s pay superannuation the cut-off date for payments is
• If you’ve trading as a company and you owe the business money now is the time to speak to your accountant. It’s against the law to for a Director to owe the business any money without a special Director’s loan agreement in place and that means you also must pay the business interest at commercial rates.
• If you need assets costing less than $20,000 getting them before 30 June is absolutely the way to go. Although at the time of writing this legislation isn’t passed yet I’m confident it will get through parliament easily. The key here is that you will need to own it so either pay for it by cash, credit card or chattel mortgage and not lease. If you’re wondering it good for either new or used assets so if you need something now is a great time. Remember if you’re registered for GST the $20,000 limit is GST exclusive and if you’re not registered for GST then its GST inclusive. If you’re not sure email your accountant today.
• If you’ve on an accruals basis and you’ve got customers who haven’t paid and are realistically aren’t going to you need to write them off before 30 June or at least document that you want them written off before 30 June.
• Make sure you’re ready for SuperStream. SuperStream is a government initiative to streamline superannuation payments and although it’s been in effect for employers with more than 20 employees since last year as of 1^st July 2015 it now applies to small employers too. If you’re using MYOB Essentials or MYOB AccountRight to pay your superannuation never fear as you’re already compliant as are you if you’re using the Government’s small business clearing house. If you’re not using any of these now is the time to get your act together and get ready. MYOB have made it quick and easy and it only takes a few minutes to get registered so click here now to get started.
• I’ve saved the best for last – stocktake. I know it’s painful and I can hear you groaning from here but trust me when I say it’s one of the best things you can do for your business. Not only does it allow you to ensure your system is accurate but it also gives you the perfect opportunity to go through your stock and have a serious look at any old stock to see if it’s obsolete and should be written off or if it’s just slow moving and needs a bit of a promotion to get it out the door and converted into cash.

14 July

You must have issued your employees their payment summaries by 14 July.

If you’re still handwriting your payment summaries you really are doing it the hard way. Both MYOB Essentials and MYOB AccountRight online accounting software have the ability to produce payment summaries directly from within the software and better still you can lodge it with the ATO even easier. If you’re not sure how to do this get onto the MYOB website and look up their support notes or there is even a video you can watch in the software but if you’re still not feeling confident contact an MYOB Certified Consultant. These independent consultants are experts and doing this and will make sure what you’re reporting to the ATO is right both for your employees sake and your sake.

21 July

This is only really a deadline if you either pay payroll tax or do monthly BAS’s. If you do monthly BAS’s your June BAS will be due and if you’re registered for payroll tax you will need to make sure your annual reconciliation has been done and lodged by this day too.

28 July

Quarterly BAS’s are due today unless of course you use a registered tax or BAS Agent in which case you get an additional 4 weeks to both lodge and pay.

If you’re in the building & construction industry the 28 July is the date you need to have your Reportable Contractor Payments reconciled and lodged with the ATO. Once again you can easily produce this from within either your MYOB Essentials or MYOB AccountRight software and lodge it with the ATO. Note that if you use a BAS or Tax Agent to do your contractor payments then the due date is extended to the 28 August.

14 August

Last but not least the 14 August is the deadline for submitting your payment summaries and the summary to the ATO. This is the ‘empdupe’ file that was created when you produced your payment summaries using MYOB software or if you’re handwriting them it’s the summary the ATO have sent you along with a copy of the individual payment summaries.

Remember that you’re not 100 percent sure of any of the things in this article your MYOB Certified Consultant or your BAS or Tax Agent can help you with any of the things I’ve mentioned so you don’t need to struggle through alone as that’s what they’re all there for and love helping you with.