The New Tax Year

Its July already and the compliance is underway. Here is are some simple pointers on what you can do to make your tax season more bearable, you might even find an extra tax deduction or two.

June 2010 Business Activity Statement (BAS)

The lodgement of the June 2011 BAS requires not only the collection of the quarters transactions but a chance to review the entire years GST reporting.

An annual review of your GST is an effective way to ensure your GST compliance obligations has been met and is aligned to your financial reporting for the year.

Please feel free to contact our office to discuss ways to review your 2011 GST reporting.

Payroll Reconciliations and Annual Payment Summary Reporting

If you are an employer then you would already be aware of your yearend compliance requirements in preparing your employees payment summaries annual ATO reporting.

You will be receiving from the ATO over the coming months the ATO PAYGW Annual Reconciliation Report. This form along with you employees Payment Summaries is due for lodgement at the ATO by the middle of August.

This process does require a review of your salary & wages for the financial year to ensure the reporting on the individual employee Payment Summaries matches what was recorded on your ATO Activity Statements throughout the year and what is recorded on the Annual Statement.

Please ensure the review and lodgement occurs before the lodgement deadline to avoid any penalties from the ATO.

If you have any questions on how this process is completed please do not hesitate to contact your Media Financial specialist.

 

Inventory Write Offs

The end of the financial year is a good time to review the level of inventory in your practice. If you discover any inventory that has zero value or is obsolete then that inventory can be written off creating a tax deduction for the 2011 year.

Ensure that the correct documentation and rationale behind any write off is retained as part of your business documentation policy.

 

Fixed Assets

Like the inventory mentioned above, your fixed assets require a review as at 30 June 2011.

The rate of deprecation determines the level of tax deduction your practice can utilise. The depreciation rates should be reviewed and if they are too low we can increase them to create the tax deduction you are entitled to. The ATO provide guidance on depreciation rates, aligning your practice assets with this guide will ensure you have maximised your deprecation tax deduction.

 

Contractors and you business

If you employ contractors or locum staff in your practice recent changes to the Common Law interpretation of an ‘Employee’ could affect your statutory financial reporting obligations.

That is there are rules that state a Contractor will be deemed an ‘Employee’ of the business if certain criteria are met resulting in the business being obligated to pay PAYG Withholding Tax, 9% super contributions and potentially Fringe Benefits Tax.

Essentially the benefits of having a Contractor are lost under these new provisions, it is vital you review each and every contract staff member to ensure your taxation compliance has been fulfilled.

Remember if this is all too much, please contact us here at MEDIQ and we will be more than happy to help you with all your medical taxation requirements.