Personal Income Tax

Tax Rules on Foreign Income for Australian Residents

Australian residents are required to pay income tax on both domestic and foreign income. Ordinarily the gross amount of foreign income (including any paid taxes) must be considered taxable income.

Single Touch Payroll

Single Touch Payroll is a government initiative designed to simplify business payroll reporting obligations. This system is mandatory starting on July 1, 2018. It sends employee payroll information to the ATO directly through the business’s payroll software.

Scams and Fraud: Stay Alert and Beat the Scammers

An astonishing $2.7 million was fraudulently taken from 2,500 Australians by scammers last year. Even more shocking is the fact that many of those people willingly handed over sensitive data, including tax file numbers. Why? Because they fell victim to tax-related scams. With this in mind, the ATO is embarking on a series of initiatives to educate taxpayers on how to spot, avoid and report identity theft and scams.

Changes to Legislation Means Rental Property Owners Lose Some Deductions

After its announcement in the Federal Budget in 2017, the passing of the ‘Housing Tax Integrity’ Bill in the last quarter of 2017 confirmed once and for all that government intends to deny certain deductions previously available to rental property owners. Specifically, those deductions are those related to travel expenses in connection with the collection of rent and maintenance or inspection of residential properties used as an investment. Furthermore, the legislation also removes deductions for depreciation of plants and second‑hand equipment that came with the purchase of said property.