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Saving money. For many of us it can be a tiresome effort that can range from being inconsistent to non-existent (that’s unless you’re already great at it!), but there are some great ways to re-wire yourself to make saving easier.
With support from a fantastic TED talk, here we discuss some psychological tricks that can help you save.
According to one study (thanks to TED), environmental queues around us can heavily impact how much and how consistently we save, in fact it’s one of the biggest factors. As you’ll see in the video below, presented byWendy De La Rosa, a US based behavioural scientist, something as simple as viewing your income on a weekly basis can help you budget more effectively than if it were presented in monthly increments (that’s a solid tip if you’re in the middle of creating your budget).
Although the dates and geographical references in the video aren’t quite right for us here in Australia, the tips held within it are founded on research and can work amazingly well.
The key is that saving isn’t just knowing how to open and manage a savings account, but rather, knowing how to convert your best intentions into real savings.
The first tip is a good one – think of your future self so that you make plans to save in advance. This generally creates a situation where you want to meet a commitment you’ve made to yourself. The alternative is waiting until you have money to save, and simply placing some of it aside, which as you’ll see doesn’t garner the same level of savings results. It’s proven through science!
A good method of making and meeting a commitment to your future self (aside from a decent budgeting spreadsheet), is to use an app that’ll help you commit to your savings plans. It’ll become a kind of binding contract with yourself.
One great example App is MoneyBrilliant. It does quite a bit, but the key for us is the savings goals and budget tracking feature. Although it isn’t free, it’s super worthwhile.
MoneyBrilliant Features include:
At this point, you’re hopefully planning your path to saving like a champion, but if you’re looking for powerful strategic advice and help with your budget and financial plans for the future, the Attune team is here to help. Let’s build you a bright financial future – give the team a call on 1300866 113 or send us an email to start the conversation. You’ll be glad you did.
With the holiday season quickly approaching, you’re probably thinking about how you can best reward and recognise your employee’s hard work… (with as minimal ATO and FBT attention as possible!) Let’s explore the tax treatment of some common gifts and incentives.
Gifts for your employees that cost below $300 are tax deductible to you as the employer, provided they are an “infrequent” and “non-entertainment”gift. So, what does infrequent and non-entertainment mean exactly?
There is an FBT exemption commonly referred to as the “minor and infrequent exemption” and this basically means that if you can keep the cost of the benefit under $300, and it’s not provided in a consistent manner it can be exempt for FBT. The same even applies to a Christmas party for example, if you can keep the cost per head to under $300, the entire function should be exempt from FBT (generally speaking of course!)
When it comes to gifts, birthday or Christmas presents are usually OK, provided you keep them to under $300 per head. Examples of non-entertainment gifts include gift vouchers, a bottle of alcohol, hampers, groceries, flowers, beauty products and computers.
If you want to maintain your tax deductible and FBT exempt status, the “entertainment” gifts are the ones to steer clear of. These include theatre, concerts, movie, theme park or sporting tickets, holidays, flights and accommodation.
A bonus can be a great way to reward your employees with some hard-earned cash. But! With bonuses come a number of things you need to consider from a tax perspective.
Bonuses are treated as ordinary income to your employees, just like their regular salary or wages. This means it is fully taxable to them, so you’ll be required to withhold tax on the bonus and it must be reported to the ATO via the normal STP channel. This means it’ll show on their usual end of year Payment Summary to be included in their tax return.
The other thing you need to consider is the potential super obligation – super is generally payable on bonus payments (the only bonus payment where super isn’t payable is a bonus in respect of overtime only). Therefore, super will also need to be paid on the gross bonus you pay your employees.
So if you want your employee to receive a neat $2,000 in their bank account, you may need to pay them a little more to allow for the tax you need to withhold, and the super that is payable. If this bonus might push them into a new tax bracket, you’ll also have to make sure you’re withholding the right amount or even not affecting their overall tax outcome heavily!
Gifts and bonuses can be a great way to incentivise, but they can be a little complex so it’s important to make sure you do the right calculations before diving into this kind of incentive.
If you’re looking at rewarding your staff, now or in the future, get in touch with the Attune team to make sure you get the best outcome for both your business and your employees. Call 1300 866 113 or send us an email to start the conversation.
There’s certainly a lot going on right now… from rising interest rates, the costs of supplies or possibly lack of consumer demand, that might make it feel like you are paying too much on your quarterly Pay-As-You-Go(PAYG) income tax instalments. Know however, that you do have the option to vary these down. There are a few important factors you need to consider so we’ll run through them to help you avoid getting caught out.
The ATO automatically sets your PAYG instalments based on your last return lodged. So, if your business circumstances have changed since your last tax return (keeping in mind this can sometimes be 12-18 months depending on when you last lodged!), the ATO actually won’t know about it unless you let them know.
Your first step is to work out what your tax estimate is for the current financial year. Then work out what you expect to pay on your PAYG instalments. If your estimated tax is less than your PAYG instalments, you can vary down your instalments to avoid paying too much to the ATO. Just remember, if you do pay too much to the ATO you will receive a tax refund when you lodge your return so not all is lost (and some taxpayers even prefer this).
You either receive notification of your PAYG instalment on an Instalment Activity Statement (IAS) or a Business Activity Statement (BAS).
The ATO generally sends out IAS each quarter, and the payment due date is 28 days after the end of the quarter:
Quarter & Due Date for Payment
1 July to 30 September – Due 28 October
1 October to 31 December – Due 28 February
1 January to 31 March – Due 28 April
1 April to 30 June – Due 28 July
For BAS lodged through a BAS or Tax Agent, you receive an extension as follows:
Quarter & Due Date for Payment
1 July to 30 September – Due 25 November
1 October to 31 December – Due 28 February
1 January to 31 March – Due 25 May
1 April to 30 June – Due25 August
When you receive your IAS or BAS which includes the details of your PAYG Instalment enter the following:
You can only vary an instalment on or before the due date of the BAS or IAS. You cannot vary if it is after the due date – and this is an important date to remember!
If you have missed a due date, please pay the PAYGInstalment as notified and process the variation in the next statement. You can then request a credit from the previous instalment you paid incorrectly so not all is lost.
The ATO can sometimes penalise you with interest and penalties if you vary down your instalments and your estimated tax is vastly different to what you advised. Keep clear records and calculations as to how you came up with your figures, as honest mistakes can happen. Also, if you vary down due to a natural disaster, the ATO will not penalise, and they will usually send out some information regarding this if you are ever impacted.
If you need a hand with your PAYG instalments, or processing a variation, reach out to the Attune team by phone on 1300 866 113 or send us an email to start the conversation.
ASIC defines companies as being either ‘large’ or ‘small’ and the criteria was recently updated for years commencing 1 July 2019 and onwards. If your company satisfies at least TWO of the following criteria, it will be a ‘large’ company according to ASIC:
If your company ticks at least two of these, it will be considered a large proprietary company, and this means it must prepare and lodge a financial report with ASIC each financial year it is determined large.The accounts must also be audited unless ASIC grants audit relief.
If the company does not meet at least two of the above criteria, it will be considered 'small'. In some circumstances, however, small proprietary companies may also have to lodge financial reports (more on this below!)
There are a few different types of large companies, and each type can have its own reporting obligations, so as director you must be fully aware of how your company might be treated. The ASIC website is a good place to start.
Generally, a large proprietary company must prepare annual financial reports in accordance with Chapter 2M of the Corporations Act. These financial reports must also be:
- Audited;
- Lodged with ASIC within four months of the financial year end; and
- Sent to members within four months of the financial year end.
If your year ends on 30 June, this means you must have audited financial reports ready to go by 30 October each year. If you operate on a calendar year, your due date will be 30 April.
Generally, small proprietary companies are off the hook when it comes to ASIC reporting obligations unless you fall into one of the following three categories:
If you think you fit into one of these categories, As a start, you can check out the ASIC website for more information here, or please touch base with the Attune team so we can ensure you’re meeting your obligations.
We’re here to give you and your business sound, strategic advice when you need it. Call Attune on 1300 866 113 or send us an email to start the conversation.
