Single Touch Payroll
Employers need to make a finalisation declaration by 14 July 2022 so that employees can access their tax-ready income statements.
Before finalising, make sure the STP information is correct and apply for a deferral if you need more time.
Superannuation guarantee
Ensure superannuation guarantee payments for employees are up-to-date and make sure contributions are received by the nominated super funds by 30 June.
Report and rectify any missed payments to the ATO. If you do not pay an employee’s super guarantee on time and to the right fund, you must lodge a superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) statement and pay the SGC to the ATO.
The SGC is not tax-deductible and there are significant administrative charges, fees and penalties. It’s therefore important to ensure that you’re paying the superannuation guarantee correctly throughout the year.
Taxable payments reporting system
Does your business earn income from building and construction, cleaning, courier, road freight, information technology, security, investigation or surveillance services? If so, you may need to lodge a taxable payments annual report by 30 August 2022 to report payments made to contractors.
The details you need to report are generally contained in the contractors’ invoices and include ABN, name, address and total amounts paid for the financial year.
GST adjustments
When you do a tax return for your business, your tax agent will often do a reconciliation against your GST accounts. This can identify misclassified transactions or unclaimed credits which will need to be fixed.
The ATO has worksheets to assist in calculating GST adjustments for sales, purchases, bad debts, creditable purpose and adjustments summary.
Businesses in financial distress
There are tax obligations to consider when deregistering a company and the ATO provides information for businesses in financial difficulty.
Individuals facing serious financial hardship can apply for release from their tax debts.
If you think your business is in financial difficulty, it is critical to get proper accounting and legal advice as early as possible.
Primary producers
One of the best tax planning measures available to primary producers is utilising the farm management deposits scheme (FMDs). They are an effective business and cash flow planning tool. Primary producers can deposit up to $800,000 in an FMD account and can then have early access to their FMD account during times of drought. You may be able to offset the interest costs on primary production business debt.
Tax averaging enables primary producers to even out their income and tax payable over a maximum of five years to allow for good and bad years. This ensures that farmers don’t pay more tax over time than taxpayers on comparable but steady incomes.
There is a range of other tax concessions available for primary producers and we recommend seeking professional advice to maximise the benefits.
Creative Artists
In a similar vein to Primary Producers, Creative artists (Writers, photographers, musicians, Theatrical and Film actors and the like) can take advantage of Tax averaging even out their income and tax payable over a maximum of five years to allow for good and bad years. This can apply even to short term contract roles that are intermittent, as well as royalty, merchandise sales (such as CD’s, digital media, Gallery sales and online orders, etc) performances and similar revenue generation. It does not include teaching or coaching services.
There is a range of other tax concessions available for Creative Artists, and we recommend seeking professional advice to maximise the benefits.
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