Update 1 October
If you’re a sole trader or operate your business as a partnership, you may be able to claim some running expenses if your home is your main place of business. This can include the cost of electricity, cleaning and depreciation of business assets.
You can use one of the following methods to calculate your expenses:
actual cost method
52 cents per work hour fixed rate, which covers heating, cooling, lighting, cleaning and depreciation of furniture and furnishings
80 cents per work hour temporary shortcut method, available from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2021 and covers all expenses.
The methods cover different expenses so keep good records and check the details to see which works best for you.
You may also be able to claim occupancy expenses if you have a specific area of your house with the character of a ‘place of business’ set aside. This would not include, for example, your dining room table.
If your business is a trust or company, you should have a market-rate rental contract. This will determine what expenses you may be able to claim as a deduction.
You can only claim deductions for the portion of your expenses related to running your business.
Source and credit: ATO.gov.au
Eligible employers have until 31 October to claim payments for the third JobMaker Hiring Credit period.
To claim you need to:
Register before 6 October 2021 through ATO online services, Online services for business or contact one of our team.
Nominate your additional eligible employees by running payroll events through your Single Touch Payroll-enabled software.
Claim your payments – enter your headcount and payroll information for the JobMaker period, and the ATO can calculate your claim amount based on the information you provide.
If you're already participating in the scheme, check you still meet eligibility criteria before claiming for this period.
The fourth JobMaker claim period opens on 1 November 2021.
The ATO have resources available to help you claim the JobMaker Hiring Credit, including a guide, a list of key dates and a payment estimator tool.
Find out about:
Source and credit: ATO.gov.au
There's a change coming soon that means to comply with 'choice of fund' rules you might need to do something extra when a new employee starts to work for you.
Currently, if a new employee doesn't choose their own super fund, you can pay super contributions for them to your default fund.
From 1 November, if you have new employees start and they don't choose a specific super fund, you may need to request their 'stapled super fund' details from the ATO.
A stapled super fund is an existing account which is linked, or 'stapled' to an individual employee, so it follows them as they change jobs. This change aims to reduce the number of additional super accounts opened each time they start a new job.
You'll be able to request stapled super fund details for new employees using the ATO's Online services for business.
To get ready for this change, you can check and update the access levels of your business' authorised representatives in the ATO's Online services. This will mean you're ready to request stapled super funds if needed. It will also protect your employees' personal information.
Next step:
Source and credit: ATO.gov.au
With the super guarantee rate rising from 9.5% to 10% on 1 July 2021, you might be wondering how much super you need to pay your employees.
The rate you use to calculate super contributions will depend on which quarter you pay your employee. It doesn't matter if the the work is performed in a different quarter.
This means you'll need to calculate your super contributions at the rate of:
10% on all salary and wages you pay to employees on and after 1 July 2021
9.5% on all salary and wages you paid to employees before 30 June 2021.
For example, for the fortnightly pay period starting 24 June 2021 and ending 7 July 2021, Sue earns $4,500. She is paid on 8 July 2021. The minimum super guarantee contribution for Sue for the pay period is 10%, so Sue's super for the quarter is:
$4,500 × 10% = $450
Information and further examples are available on the ATO website. It's important you pay your workers the correct amount of super.
Next step:
Source and credit: ATO.gov.au
Our office will be closed for the Labour Day public holiday on Monday, 4 October and will reopen on Tuesday, 5 October.
If you wish to arrange a telephone appointment or zoom meeting with one of our team please contact our office either by telephone or email.
21 October 2021 September monthly BAS due
28 October 2021 September quarter SG due
28 October 2021 September quarterly BAS due
28 October 2021 September quarter PAYG instalment due