12 Ways To Reduce Your Tax

The 2% levy for income earners over $180,000 is due to expire on 30 June 2017. If you are a high-income earner and can defer any income until after 30 June 2017, then you could save 2% tax.

A longer term tax planning strategy can be reviewing the ownership of your investments. Any change of ownership needs to be carefully planned due to capital gains tax and stamp duty implications. Please seek advice from your Accountant prior to making any changes.

Investments may be owned by a Family Trust, which has the key advantage of providing flexibility in distributing income on an annual basis and an ability for up to $416 per year to be distributed to children or grandchildren tax-free.

If you have an investment property, a Property Depreciation Report (prepared by a Quantity Surveyor) will allow you to claim depreciation and capital works deductions on capital items within the property and on the property itself.

The cost of this report is generally recouped several times over by the tax savings in the first year of property ownership.

Ensure that you have kept an accurate and complete Motor Vehicle Log Book for at least a 12-week period. The start date for the 12-week period must be on or before 30 June 2017. You should make a record of your odometer reading as at 30 June 2017, and keep all receipts/invoices for your motor vehicle expenses. Once prepared, a log book can generally be used for a 5-year period.

An alternative (with no log book needed) is to simply claim up to 5,000 business kilometres (based on a reasonable estimate) using the cents per km method.

If your marginal tax rate is 19% or more, salary sacrifice can be a great way to boost your superannuation and pay less tax. By putting pre-tax salary into super rather than having it taxed as normal income at your marginal rate you may save tax. This can be especially beneficial for employees nearing their retirement age.

Expenses relating to investment activities can be prepaid before 30 June 2017. You can prepay up to 12 months of interest before 30 June on a loan for a property or share investment and claim a tax deduction this financial year. Also, other expenses in relation to your investments can be prepaid before 30 June, including rental property repairs, memberships, subscriptions, and journals.

Possibly your greatest financial asset is your ability to earn an income. Income protection insurance generally replaces up to 75% of your salary if you are unable to work due to sickness or an accident. The insurance premium is normally tax deductible, plus you get the benefit of protecting your family’s lifestyle if you cannot work due to sickness or an accident. It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind. Similar to rental property interest, income protection premiums can also be pre-paid for 12 months to increase your deductions.

Don’t forget to keep any receipts for work-related expenses such as uniforms, training courses and learning materials, as these may be tax-deductible.

Tax is normally payable on any capital gains. You should consider selling any non-performing investments you hold before 30 June to crystallise a capital loss and reduce or even eliminate any potential capital gains tax liability. Unused capital losses can be carried forward to offset future capital gains.

If practical, arrange for the receipt of Investment Income (e.g. interest on term deposits) and the Contract Date for the sale of Capital Gains assets, to occur AFTER 30 June 2017.

The Contract Date (not the Settlement Date) is generally the key date for working out when a sale or purchase occurred.

Super co-contribution aims to help eligible people boost their retirement savings. If you’re a low or middle-income earner and make personal (after tax) contributions to your super, the Government also makes a contribution (called a co-contribution) up to the maximum amount of $500.

If your total income is less than $51,021 you may be eligible for a super co-contribution from the Federal Government. For each dollar in personal after-tax super contributions, the Government will contribute from 50 cents up to a maximum of $500 for those earning $36,021 or less.

For the purposes of this test, total income is assessable income plus reportable fringe benefits plus reportable employer superannuation contributions, less allowable business deductions.

Please contact us to verify that you can meet all the eligibility criteria for the Government Co-Contribution.

Now is a good time to seek specific advice in relation to this question, as it may be appropriate to establish an SMSF in conjunction with other tax planning opportunities, to maximise the benefit of the SMSF in your circumstances.