Byfields September 2015 Newsletter

View this email in your browser

September 2015 Newsletter

What's Inside This Issue

Advance Payment of Annual Review Fee
Payroll Tax Diminishing Threshold
Trade Support Loans
myGov Account for Individuals & Sole Traders
Upskill Employees Through My Skills Website
Changes to Work-Related Motor Vehicle Expense Deductions

Advance Payment of Annual Review Fee

This year ASIC have offered companies the option to pay their annual review fee in advance for a period of ten years by a single payment at a discounted rate. Advance payments will protect the company from future fee increases for the term of the payment.

Once the fee is paid no refund will be available.

The advance payment option will require an upfront payment of $1,847 (or $347 if the company acts solely as trustee of a superannuation fund) and is GST free. This represents a sizable discount to the total fee paid over a ten year period (currently companies pay $246 a year or $46 a year if acting solely as trustee of a superannuation fund).

Please note that:

There will be no confirmation or receipt issued at the time of payment by ASIC.
The advance payment of annual review fees will be separately recorded and will not appear as a credit balance on the company’s account.
ASIC cannot deduct money from an advance payment of annual review fees to pay for other amounts owed to ASIC.
Separate cheques must be written for separate companies – even if paying for more than one company at the same time.
Forward payment can be done at any time so you don’t have to wait for the annual review statement to be issued.
The advance payment can only be made by cheque. It is not available through online services.

If you are interested taking up this option, contact your Byfields adviser.

Back to Top

Payroll Tax Diminishing Threshold

As at 1 July 2015, the Payroll Tax Assessment Act 2002 was amended and a new gradual diminishing tax-free threshold was introduced.

The amended Act now provides that the annual tax-free threshold will gradually phase out for employers or groups of employers with annual taxable wages in Australia between $800,000 and $7.5 million.

Employers with total taxable wages equal to or less than the annual threshold of $800,000 will pay no payroll tax. Employers with total taxable wages equal to or greater than the upper threshold amount of $7.5 million will not be eligible to claim any deductible amount.

If taxable wages are between the annual and upper threshold amounts of $800,000 and $7.5 million, eligible employers will be able to claim a deductible amount at a pro-rata rate, using a tapering value.

As an employer, you do not need to manually calculate your payroll tax liability as these calculations are performed by the Office of State Revenue (OSR) once you have declared your taxable wages through the Revenue Online (Online Payroll Tax) system. If you would like to have an estimate of the payroll tax liability, you can use the calculator on the Department of Finance WA – Calculators website.

Back to Top

Trade Support Loans

Trade support loans provide up to $20,000 to apprentices in priority areas to assist them with the costs of living and learning while completing an apprenticeship. A 20% discount is applied on the amount borrowed when the apprenticeship is successfully completed. Apprentices are required to pay the loans through the tax system when their repayment income meets the repayment threshold.

Trade Support Loans are a more effective method of assisting eligible apprentices with their everyday cost while they undertake their apprenticeship. The program provides apprentices with up to $20,000 as an income contingent loan, compared with the Tools For Your Trade payments that ceased on 30 June 2014.

Who is Eligible for Trade Support Loans?

To be eligible for the loan, you must:

Reside in Australia and be an Australian citizen or be a Permanent Resident.
Be undertaking a:

Cert 3 or 4 level qualification that leads to an application on the National Skills Needs List;
Cert 2, 3 or 4 agriculture qualification; or
Cert 2, 3 or 4 horticulture qualification while working in regional or rural Australia.

Meet the eligibility criteria which is assessed by your Australian Apprenticeships Centre (AAC) on receipt of a Trade Support Loans Application Form.

There are no age restrictions for applying for the loan but if you are under the age of 18, you are required to read the “Under 18s Fact Sheet” before applying and are encouraged to seek the acknowledgment of a parent or guardian by having them sign the Trade Loan Application Form so that they are aware of the requirements and obligations that they are taking on.

Repayment of the Loan

The loan becomes repayable once the loan recipient’s income reaches the income repayment threshold ($54,126 in 2015/16) similar to repayment thresholds for the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP).

The loan is repayable whenever and for as long as the loan recipient earns above the income threshold. The loan will remain payable until it has been fully repaid. If the loan recipient’s income is below the income threshold they are not required to make repayments.

Eligible Australian Apprentices should contact their Australian Apprenticeships Centre for further details. Contact details for Australian Apprenticeships Centre can be accessed by using the Find my AAC search tool or calling 13 38 73.

Back to Top

myGov Account for Individuals & Sole Traders

The ATO’s online services are a secure way for individuals and sole traders to access information and services for their tax and super affairs.

Manage your tax and super in one place using the online services for individuals and sole traders. All you need is a myGov account linked to the ATO.

myGov is a fast, simple way to access government services online. A secure myGov account lets you link a range of Australian Government services with one username and password, all in one place.

What can you do with the ATO online?

Lodge your tax return using myTax – or tell us if you don't need to lodge a tax return;
Check the progress of your tax return;
Lodge your claim for a refund of franking credits;
View or amend your 2015 tax return;
View your notices of assessment;
Find and manage your super;
Lodge, view and revise activity statements;
Manage your PAYG instalments;
Make a payment or create a payment plan;
View your tax and activity statement account balance and transactions;
View your study and training support loan account balance and transactions;
View and update your contact details;
Receive most of your personal ATO letters directly to your myGov Inbox, rather than through the post.

Note, however, that if you do link your myGov account to the ATO, you will no longer receiver paper correspondence (such as your notice of assessment or activity statements) from the ATO.

For further details about the myGov account, see ATO and the myGov Inbox | Australian Taxation Office.

Back to Top

Upskill Employees Through My Skills Website

If you are thinking of training or upskilling your employees, the My Skills website has been updated to better assist employers to find appropriate training for employees.

The My Skills website is the national directory of vocational education and training (VET) organisations and courses.

The website provides useful tools for employers to search for VET courses and training providers by:

Industry sector;
Location of training providers; and
Specific skills required.

The My Skills website is updated on a daily basis to provide the most up-to-date information about courses on offer by registered training organisations (RTOs).

The most current version of My Skills 3.0 offers new features, which includes:

An updated homepage;
A faster and more intuitive search engine;
Tools to compare courses and training providers;
A VET FEE-HELP calculator;
Information on student outcomes for the most popular courses; and
Identification of sanctioned training providers.

To access the My Skills website, go to My Skills – Australia’s Training Directory.

Back to Top

Changes to Work-Related Motor Vehicle Expense Deductions

In the 2015-2016 Federal Budget, the Government introduced changes to an individual taxpayer’s option for claiming tax deductions for the use of a work-related motor vehicle. These changes have since received Royal Assent.

Traditionally, taxpayers were eligible to claim a work-related motor vehicle expense deduction using one of the following four methods.

Cents per kilometre
12% of original value
One-third of actual expenses
Logbook

The changes, which take effect from 1 July 2015, discontinue the 12% of original value and the one-third of actual expenses methods.

Change to Cents per Kilometre Method

From 1 July 2015, the three different rates for different engine sizes became irrelevant with the introduction of a flat rate of 66 cents per kilometre for all vehicles. This change will reduce the deduction for taxpayers with larger engine vehicles.

Log Book Method

Given the abolishment of the abovementioned methods, together with the reduction of the cents per kilometre method, to maximise the deductibility of the usage of a work-related motor vehicle, we’re encouraging all individual taxpayers to consider transitioning to the log book method.

This method can be used regardless of the kilometres travelled. The deduction is calculated by multiplying all expenses incurred by the business percentage specified by maintaining a log book.

The log book must be kept for a 12 week continuous period and, once completed, the percentage can be used for up to 5 income years before a new log book is required to be kept.

If you are interested in completing a log book to maximise your work-related motor vehicle deduction, and ensure you know precisely how you may be affected by these measures or recordkeeping requirements, please consult your Byfields adviser.

Back to Top

Disclaimer:
The information contained in this email is provided as a guide to the general public and, whilst the content is believed to be accurate, no liability is accepted for any errors or omissions. Recipients should contact Byfields before acting on any recommendations and cannot place any reliance on such recommendations without this contact.