February 2022 - Update

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If you have not yet lodged your 2021 tax returns, our office is open for Office, Zoom or Phone appointments. With due dates fast approaching, we encourage you to contact us on 03 9853 1000 or email admin@crawfordaccountants.com.au to organise your tax appointment.


New Recognition for Crawford Accountants

 

We are excited to announce our Platinum Champion partnership status with Xero – the leading accounting software provider. Our relationship with Xero has given us incredible insight into our clients’ businesses and has played an important role in making our team more effective business advisors.
 
The Platinum Champion partnership is a special distinction awarded to accounting firms with sustained growth and expertise in cloud accounting technology. A Xero Platinum Partner status means you are working with an advisor who knows the application inside out and selected by the platform itself as better suited to provide technical support to its clients.
 
As a certified Xero Platinum Partner, we can offer our expertise in the following areas. 

  • Work out If Xero is suitable to your business
  • Setting up Xero correctly
  • Migrating to Xero from another software
  • Training on Xero and best practice advice
  • Advice on add-on applications
  • Assistance with Payroll and STP

Get in touch with us and see the difference Xero can make to your business.


Support for businesses


The ATO has a range of support available for small businesses experiencing difficult situations, such as natural disasters, mental health challenges or financial hardship.

Depending on the business taxpayer’s circumstances, the ATO may be able to:

  • give the business extra time to pay its tax;
  • set up a payment plan tailored to its situation;
  • re-issue tax returns, activity statements and notices of assessment;
  • help the business reconstruct lost or damaged tax records;
  • prioritise any refunds the business is owed; and
  • remit penalties or interest charged during the time the business has been affected.

If your business is in financial difficulty and needs support, please contact our office and we can assist in finding a suitable solution. 
 

SME Recovery Loan Scheme extended to 30 June 2022


The SME Recovery Loan Scheme has been extended by a further six months (to 30 June 2022) to support SMEs adversely economically affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Under the Scheme, eligible businesses can obtain loans through participating bank and non-bank lenders with the backing of a Government loan guarantee. 

Around 80,000 loans worth approximately $7.3 billion have been written to date since the Scheme commenced in March 2020.

SMEs who are dealing with the economic impacts of COVID-19 with a turnover of less than $250 million will be able to access loans of up to $5 million over a term of up to 10 years.

Other key features of the Scheme include the following:

  • Lenders can offer borrowers a repayment holiday of up to 24 months.
  • Loans can be used for a broad range of business purposes, including to support investment.
  • Loans may be used to refinance any pre-existing debt of an eligible borrower.
  • Loans can be either unsecured or secured (excluding residential property).

Importantly, the Government’s loan guarantee has been reduced to 50% (down from 80%) for loans available from 1 January 2022 until 30 June 2022.

 

COVID-19 vaccination incentives and rewards
 

The ATO has reminded employers to consider their tax and super obligations when employees are provided with incentives or rewards for getting their COVID-19 vaccination.

When employees are provided a cash payment, including paid leave for employees to get their COVID-19 vaccination (or additional paid leave to recover from any vaccination side effects), employers should withhold PAYG withholding and make super contributions on the amount. 

Furthermore, the payment must be reported to the ATO via Single Touch Payroll (‘STP’) as part of the employee's salary or wage.

On the other hand, employers must consider the FBT consequences of providing non-cash benefits as an incentive for their employees to get vaccinated. 

Such benefits may include:

  • Goods or services provided to the employee.
  • Vouchers and gift cards.
  • Prizes won by an employee in a competition (e.g., a raffle).

Note that certain FBT exemptions and reductions may apply in some circumstances. 

For example, if an employer provides or pays for an employee's transport to get their COVID-19 vaccination, there is generally no FBT payable.
 

Higher PAYG withholding rates continue to apply to backpackers
 

As we recently communicated, the High Court has held that the 'working holiday maker tax' (also known as the 'backpackers tax') did not apply to a taxpayer on a working holiday visa from the United Kingdom who was also an Australian tax resident.

This was due to the application of the Double Tax Agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom.

This tax treatment will only apply where the working holiday maker is both an Australian resident for tax purposes and from Chile, Finland, Japan, Norway, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Germany or Israel.

However, the ATO has recently told employers that the higher PAYG withholding rates continue to apply to working holiday maker employees.
This is regardless of the country they are from (unless the employer receives an PAYG variation notice from the ATO). 

Broadly, the working holiday maker withholding rates apply as follows:

  • If the employer is registered with the ATO as an employer of working holiday makers, they should withhold tax at the tax rate of 15% from the first dollar the working holiday maker employee earns up to $45,000. Tax rates change for amounts above $45,000.
  • If the employer is not registered with the ATO as an employer of working holiday makers, they must withhold tax at 32.5% from every dollar the working holiday maker employee earns up to $120,000. The foreign resident withholding rates must be applied to income over $120,000.
     

If a working holiday maker employee has had excessive amounts of PAYG withheld from their salary, they can lodge a tax return at the end of the income year to receive a tax refund (where eligible).
 

Single Touch Payroll exemption extended for WPN holders
 

Any entity covered by the exemption may still choose to voluntarily report under STP.

This continues the exemption that has been provided to relevant entities since the commencement of the 2018-19 financial year.

As a result of this extension, certain entities that have a WPN (but not an ABN) will not be required to report under STP for the 2021‑22 and 2022-23 financial years. 

The ATO has extended the Single Touch Payroll (‘STP’) reporting exemption available to entities that have a withholding payer number (‘WPN’).

 

Payment extension relating to JobKeeper objections
 

The JobKeeper rules have been amended to ensure the ATO can make payments to certain taxpayers after 31 March 2022.

Where a taxpayer has objected to an ATO decision relating to JobKeeper, a payment can be made by the ATO after 31 March 2022 to give effect to the objection decision and decisions of the AAT or a court.

Importantly, this extended payment date will only apply where a valid objection was given to the ATO on or before 30 November 2021.

The information provided in this update is general in nature and if you have any queries of require further information or assistance with the above, please contact our office.


Crawford News

December 2025 - Update

December 15, 2025
December 2025 Superannuation Guarantee is due on 28 January 2026 Employee super contributions for the quarter ending 31 December 2025 must be received by the relevant super funds by 28 January 2026. If the correct amount of SG is not paid by an employer on time, the employer must lodge a superannuation guarantee statement and pay the superannuation guarantee charge which includes admin fees and interest. ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House is closing ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House will close on 1 July 2026. Employers must make arrangements to move to an alternative clearing house now to avoid any unexpected delays with superannuation payments. Following are few key dates in relation to the clearing house. 10 December 2025 — Super payments, along with instructions, must be received by 5.30 pm AEDT on this date. Payments received after this time will be processed from 2 January 2026. 28 January 2026 — December SG due February to March 2026 — Employers should move to an alternative clearing house 28 April 2026 — March SG due 30 June 2026 — Final day of the service. Make final payments. Employers may already have other options readily available so they can exit from using the SBSCH ahead of time and your existing software and payroll packages may already include super functions they can use to pay SG. Popular software packagaes such as Xero contain their own clearing house.  ATO's approach to holiday home expenses ATO now takes the view that, if a taxpayer's rental property is also being used as a private holiday home, certain deductions relating to holding it will not be deductible in total as opposed to being apportioned. Expenses relating to ownership and use of the holiday home such as interest, rates and maintenance will not be deductible, unless the holiday home is 'mainly' used to produce assessable income. Whether a holiday home is used 'mainly' to produce assessable income will be determined based on a consideration of a number of factors. However, this will generally not apply to expenses incurred in relation to holiday homes that are rental properties before 1 July 2026, if those expenses are incurred under an arrangement entered into prior to 12 November 2025. ATO warns about barter credit tax scheme The ATO is warning the community to steer clear of an emerging tax scheme involving barter credits — a type of alternative currency used in some business networks. A tax scheme that involves artificially inflating deductions for donations of barter credits to deductible gift recipients is on the rise. While it may seem enticing, promoters and taxpayers could face potentially significant consequences if they are involved. The ATO is concerned that such schemes are being enabled by several barter exchanges that are allowing participants to access barter credits with a nominal face value that is much more than any payments actually made to the exchange. Participants then donate these barter credits to a DGR and claim a larger tax deduction than they are entitled to. Dental expenses are not deductible ATO has noted a number of claims for dental expenses this tax time. Dental expenses, including preventative and necessary dental treatment, medical expenses and other costs relating to personal appearance are not deductible. These expenses are generally private expenses, even if an employer expects an employee to maintain a certain appearance, or pays them an allowance to cover grooming expenses. A deduction can only be claimed for an expense that directly relates to earning their income. Private expenses cannot be claimed as a deduction. Taxpayers should have written evidence of all their expenses, and be able to show a direct connection with those expenses to their employment income. The information provided in this Newsletter is general in nature and if you have any queries or require further information or assistance with the above, please contact our office.

November 2025 - Update

November 6, 2025
ATO Focus on Small Business The ATO is actively identifying and addressing errors among businesses with turnovers between $1 million and $10 million. Key industries under scrutiny include property and construction, as well as professional, scientific, and technical services such as engineering, IT, design, and consulting. Common issues observed include: Omitted income or sales in Business Activity Statements and tax returns, including income from related entities. Overstated expenses or GST credits. Private expenses incorrectly reported as business-related or not properly apportioned. Failure to register for GST when required. Incorrect R&D tax incentive claims for ineligible activities. Lack of independent advice from registered tax agents, particularly in contractor arrangements. By highlighting these issues, the ATO aims to help small business operators improve compliance and avoid common mistakes. Dual Cab Utes and FBT Dual cab utes are not automatically exempt from fringe benefits tax. If an employer provides a dual cab ute for work purposes and it is available for personal use, it may be subject to FBT. To qualify for an exemption, the vehicle must: Be an eligible vehicle , meaning it is designed to carry at least one tonne, more than eight passengers, or it is not primarily designed for passenger use. Be used only for limited private purposes , such as minor, infrequent, or irregular trips. If these conditions are not met, the employer may be liable for FBT. Employers should monitor employee vehicle use and maintain proper documentation to determine eligibility. Claiming Business Expenses Taxpayers can claim deductions for most business expenses if they comply with the ATO’s three key rules which are: The expense must relate directly to business use. If the expense has both business and private use, only the business portion can be claimed. Taxpayers must keep records to substantiate their claims. New ATO Data-Matching Programs The ATO continues to enhance its data-matching programs to improve compliance, detect errors, and prevent fraud. Data is used to pre-fill returns, verify accuracy, and identify taxpayers who may need assistance. When discrepancies arise, the ATO may contact tax agents or their clients to clarify the differences. Rental Properties ATO will issue letters to taxpayers where its data suggests that rent income was omitted or incorrect in previously lodged returns. If you receive such a letter, please contact our office for assistance. Offshore Merchant Data-Matching The ATO will collect merchant transaction data from Australia’s major banks for the 2025–2027 financial years. Around 9,000 offshore merchant records will be acquired annually. SMSF Compliance and Release Authorities The ATO has noted an increase in self-managed super funds failing to comply with release authorities such as excess contributions or Division 293 tax. Common issues include: Failure to respond within the required 10 business days. Incorrect responses, such as not releasing the full amount or not submitting a release authority statement. Non-compliance can attract significant penalties. Trustees should ensure robust systems are in place to respond promptly and correctly to ATO release authorities. The information in this publication is general in nature and should not be relied upon as professional advice. Individuals should seek specific guidance to ensure applicability to their personal circumstances.

October 2025 - Update

October 7, 2025
Reminder of September Quarter Superannuation Guarantee Employee super contributions for the quarter ending 30 September 2025 must be received by the relevant super funds by Tuesday, 28 October 2025. If the correct amount of SG is not paid by an employer on time, they will be liable to pay the SG charge, which includes a penalty and interest component. Dealing with rental property repairs Taxpayers who have had work done on their rental property should ensure the expense is categorised correctly to avoid errors when completing their tax return. A deduction for repairs and maintenance expenses can be claimed for work done to remedy, or prevent defects, damage or deterioration from using the property to earn income. These expenses can be claimed in the year they were incurred. However, some capital expenditure may not be immediately deductible, such as for initial repairs, capital works, improvements and depreciating assets. Initial repairs include fixing any pre-existing damage or deterioration that existed at the time of purchasing the property, even if the damage or deterioration was unknown to the taxpayer at the time of purchase. Initial repairs are treated as part of the acquisition cost and included in the cost base of the property for CGT purposes, unless they are capital works or depreciating assets. Capital works are structural improvements, alterations and extensions to the property, and can generally be claimed at 2.5% over 40 years. Capital works deductions can only be claimed after the work has been completed, regardless of when the taxpayer pays the deposit and instalments. Improvements or renovations that are structural are also capital works. Work that goes beyond remedying defects, damage or deterioration that improves the function of the property is regarded as an improvement. Repairs to an entirety are capital and cannot be claimed as repairs. Repairs to an entirety generally involve the replacement or reconstruction of something separately identifiable as a capital item. ATO warns private use of work vehicles and FBT Employers who provide vehicles to their employees need to check how the vehicles are used and whether any exemptions apply to determine if they attract fringe benefits tax. FBT generally applies when a work vehicle is made available for private use, even if it is not actually used. Private use includes any travel not directly related to the employee's job. Exemptions may apply depending on the vehicle's specifications and the nature of the private use. The most common issues the ATO sees include: incorrectly treating private use as business use; assuming dual cab utes are exempt from FBT — exemptions only apply if the vehicle is eligible for the specific FBT exemption and private use is limited; incorrectly classifying vehicles; poor record keeping that does not support the claims or the FBT calculations made Tips to help sole trader clients The ATO is seeing sole traders make mistakes in the following areas: not reporting all income — this includes income earned outside their business (like a 'side hustle'), cash jobs, or payments in-kind/barter deals; overclaiming expenses — this includes claiming the portion of an expense related to personal use, or overstating the cost of goods sold and other business expenses; calculating business losses; incorrectly claiming and offsetting losses from non-commercial business activities against other income sources; misreporting personal services income ('PSI') to gain tax benefits; not registering for GST if they are in the taxi or ride-sourcing industry, or when they reach the GST threshold; and not keeping accurate and complete records. The information provided in this Newsletter is general in nature and if you have any queries or require further information or assistance with the above, please contact our office.

September 2025 - Update

September 8, 2025
Are you covered in the event of an audit or a review? With government revenue authorities increasingly using data matching, artificial intelligence, and even social media, they can compare disclosures made in your lodged tax returns to those of other taxpayers or benchmarks. If a data matching check escalates to an official audit, inquiry, investigation, or review, costs in defending your position can accumulate quickly, regardless of whether any adjustments are made to your returns The Audit Shield service is designed to cover such unexpected costs in the event of an audit or a review, and the policy is underwritten by AAI Limited. Benefits of our Audit Shield service: Audits and reviews of Employer Obligations (PAYG/FBT/SG), Income Tax, and GST covered. Previously lodged returns are covered automatically. Fees of any other external specialist (e.g. taxation lawyers) or relevant consultant engaged or instructed by us to assist us in a response to audit activity are also covered. Payment is tax deductible. Please contact our office for more information. Reducing student debt is now law 2026 Federal budget announcement of reducing student debt is now law. A 20% reduction will apply to Higher Education Loan Program debts and other student loans that were incurred before 1 June 2025. The minimum repayment threshold is also increased from $54,435 to $67,000 in 2026 financial year and a new marginal repayment system will apply to taxpayers with income above $ 67,000 for repayment calculations. Previously the repayments were based on a percentage of the repayment income. Small Business Superannuation Clearing House is closing The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House will close on 1 July 2026. SBSCH is a free online service provided by the Australian Government through the ATO to enable superannuation payments. New user registrations will close on 1 October 2025. Existing users must now transition to alternative solutions such as Xero. ATO will include on hold debts in account balances From August 2025 ATO will be including debts on hold in taxpayer ATO account balances. A debt on hold is an outstanding tax debt which ATO has previously put debt collection actions on hold. ATO is currently offsetting such debts on hold against any refunds or credits the taxpayer may get, and ATO has not historically recorded these debts on taxpayer statements of account. If you have debts on hold, more than $100, you will receive a letter before it is added to your ATO account balance. If you have a debt on hold of less than $100, the debt will be included in their ATO account balance but will not receive a letter. PAYGW reminders for activity statements ATO will be sending employers a reminder to lodge their activity statements which include the amounts the ATO has on record for them such as PAYGW reported via STP, GST instalments and PAYG instalments. The ATO's reminders are intended to provide a timeframe for employers to review the prefilled information before lodging activity statements. If the employers do not lodge by the specified date, the ATO will lodge the activity statements based on the information they have, and the debt will be payable. If employers do not make any changes to correct the data or lodge by the due date and the activity statement has been finalised by ATO, they will need to adjust these amounts by lodging a revised activity statement. The information provided in this Newsletter is general in nature and if you have any queries or require further information or assistance with the above, please contact our office.

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