When will I have to do my Aussie tax return?

[200bhp]

When will I have to do my Aussie tax return? I've been over here a month now and am already accumulating a list of things that should be tax deductable (professional membership fees etc.). When will I have to do my tax return? does everyone do it at the same time? etc.

[Pommygranite]

Arrived here after 1 july? If so after 30 june next year and by end October.

If you arrived before 1 july (I.e last FY) then now and ideally before end October.

Do it online - free and easy with decent guidance.

[200bhp]

Thanks.

I've found a few helpful pointers on the ATO website which should help me claim anything which is easily identifiable as deductable, but where should I look for the loopholes (such as the fuel thing you mentioned before)?

[james280779]

from my personal experience I have found out most by talking to people I work with.

We get around $10k a year back - this year I had the Aussies in my office asking for help as I was getting more than them.

I claim for literally anything I can think of - I figure in can claim innocence if questioned as I have never got professional agent advice.

This year I claimed for fights down to Adelaide, flights and hotels to UK, car hire, fuel, hats, suncream, ipad, laptop, iphone, 2 x hard drives, entire office furniture, clothes, boots, meals etc etc etc

[200bhp]

james280779 said:

from my personal experience I have found out most by talking to people I work with.

We get around $10k a year back - this year I had the Aussies in my office asking for help as I was getting more than them.

I claim for literally anything I can think of - I figure in can claim innocence if questioned as I have never got professional agent advice.

This year I claimed for fights down to Adelaide, flights and hotels to UK, car hire, fuel, hats, suncream, ipad, laptop, iphone, 2 x hard drives, entire office furniture, clothes, boots, meals etc etc etc

Do you know if you can claim relocation costs? A friend moved from the UK to the USA and back again, claimimg a large chunk of his costs each time.

I know you cant claim things which are done to help you get a new job, but I already had this job before I left the UK so had to pay for the flights to get here.

So far I think I can claim for all this lot which I've paid for since arriving a month ago!

Boots
Work trousers
Gloves
Sun cream
Washing my work clothes at home
My printer/scanner
Professional membership fees
Books
Stationary
A (small) portion of my gas/electircity bill
A portion of my internet bill
Sun glasses
Up to $300 petrol

Luckily my wife keeps recipts for everything.

If I buy an ipad, will the tax office check with my employer to see if it's used for work?

Edited by 200bhp on Friday 19th October 07:07

[Mattt]

I'd be interested to hear what kind of things I should keep receipts for!

[200bhp]

Mattt said:

I'd be interested to hear what kind of things I should keep receipts for!

This PDF is quite good for the basics:

http://www.taxpayersassociation.com.au/the-taxpaye...

Then there is the tax office website:

http://www.ato.gov.au/pathway.aspx?sid=42&ms=i...

[200bhp]

Its been a while since I started this thread and I already have receipts for a few things which may be useful. However, as tax return time approaches, I'm keen to find any opportunities to maximise my refund.

I'm looking at things which I wouldn't normally buy, but given I will be able to claim them, I may as well! These are things like work related books.

Can someone who has done this already tell me what evidence you have to provide to show you've paid for the item and that it's work related? Will I have to scan receipts during the on-line filing process?

I bought $300 of books on Amazon but through my wife's account - Is that going to be a problem? They were paid for with my credit card but her name is all over the receipt.

We decided to opt for Medicare only and dont have private cover which means that I have a $2000+ bill on the way for the Medicare levy. Therefore I need to find at least $2000 of things to claim.

[madazrx7]

Are you paying PAYG tax? ie as an employee?

I don't know for certain but I would assume the medicare levy amount is deducted as part of your PAYG tax amount shirley?

[200bhp]

madazrx7 said:

Are you paying PAYG tax? ie as an employee?

I don't know for certain but I would assume the medicare levy amount is deducted as part of your PAYG tax amount shirley?

I am paying PayG but there is nothing on my payslips to say medicare Levy has been taken out, not as a separate item at least.

I've done some googling and only found more confused brits here: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72...

The ATO website says "We will work out your Medicare levy, including any Medicare levy reduction, from the information you provide on your tax return."

Edited by 200bhp on Thursday 16th May 01:16

[madazrx7]

200bhp said:

madazrx7 said:

Are you paying PAYG tax? ie as an employee?

I don't know for certain but I would assume the medicare levy amount is deducted as part of your PAYG tax amount shirley?

I am paying PayG but there is nothing on my payslips to say medicare Levy has been taken out, not as a separate item at least.

I've done some googling and only found more confused brits here: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72...

The ATO website says "We will work out your Medicare levy, including any Medicare levy reduction, from the information you provide on your tax return."

Edited by 200bhp on Thursday 16th May 01:16

[quote=http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/PrintFriendly.aspx?doc=/content/25869.htm]
Medicare levy variation
Most Australian residents are liable for the Medicare levy of 1.5% of taxable income. If you are exempt from the levy, or entitled to pay a reduced levy, and want to have the amount withheld from your pay reduced to reflect that, you should complete a Medicare levy variation declaration (in addition to a Tax file number declaration).
You may also wish to complete a Medicare levy variation declaration if you either:
want to claim an exemption from HELP repayments because of low family income
are liable for the Medicare levy surcharge and want the amount withheld from your pay to cover the surcharge.

.
.
.
I can't imagine the ATO not withholding the Medicare levy then trying to collect it later.

Edited by madazrx7 on Thursday 16th May 11:02

Edited by madazrx7 on Thursday 16th May 11:09

[200bhp]

Well, at last my employer has come back to me with an answer - They dont withhold anything to cover the Medicare levy

So I've just been on a spending spree buying useful work related text books so at least I'm going to get something for my $2000!

You'd be surprised how expensive books can be, particularly when you buy half a dozen technical books at a time.

[madazrx7]

I'd still be very surprised if you find it isn't covered. In my experience it's far more likely in Australia that the person whose job it is to understand and perform payroll duties hasn't really got much of a clue.

AFAIK (and I have never worked in payroll or HR) employers withhold PAYG tax as per a table from the ATO. That would HAVE to include Medicare, there is no way the ATO would allow the entire population to be accruing a huge annual debt to Medicare.

[Genks]

200bhp said:

Well, at last my employer has come back to me with an answer - They dont withhold anything to cover the Medicare levy

So I've just been on a spending spree buying useful work related text books so at least I'm going to get something for my $2000!

You'd be surprised how expensive books can be, particularly when you buy half a dozen technical books at a time.

Good Luck, if the ATO audit you (they have 7yrs to do so) then your attempt to save $2k is going to cost you dearly and you'll be audited randomly for the next 12-15yrs afterwards. If you don't know what your doing, ignorance is no defence.

[Genks]

madazrx7 said:

I'd still be very surprised if you find it isn't covered. In my experience it's far more likely in Australia that the person whose job it is to understand and perform payroll duties hasn't really got much of a clue.

AFAIK (and I have never worked in payroll or HR) employers withhold PAYG tax as per a table from the ATO. That would HAVE to include Medicare, there is no way the ATO would allow the entire population to be accruing a huge annual debt to Medicare.

Medicare levy due is always worked out on your actual completed tax return, never before. However, PAYG tables employers use (provided by ATO) always ensure you pay more tax than actually due over the year, ensuring most employees receive a refund come tax time. Try to screw the system and you'll pay a heavy price......

[Genks]

madazrx7 said:

I can't imagine the ATO not withholding the Medicare levy then trying to collect it later.

Edited by madazrx7 on Thursday 16th May 11:02

Edited by madazrx7 on Thursday 16th May 11:09

Then your not familiar with the Australian Tax system.........

[200bhp]

Genks - Are you an Australian accountant?

[200bhp]

Well the suspense is killing me I've just looked at my most recent pay slip to see how much tax I've paid this year and then used http://www.paycalculator.com.au/ to see how much I should have paid.

It would appear that this year, I've already over-paid by $3k.

[Bibbs]

200bhp said:

Well the suspense is killing me I've just looked at my most recent pay slip to see how much tax I've paid this year and then used http://www.paycalculator.com.au/ to see how much I should have paid.

It would appear that this year, I've already over-paid by $3k.

http://www.unwords.com/unword/intaxication.html

Well I've just looked at mine and it looks spot on to the nearest dollar. Which is lucky as I did the calculations this time last year for how much to pay myself.

[Pommygranite]

The answers on this thread are a bit mixed aren't they?!

Employers utilising withholding for PAYG employees will generally withhold the Medicare levy - I've not dealt with many, if any, that don't so that is strange. Just google PAYG withholding Medicare and you'll get a few links to the ATO to explain. However the ATO do a final reckoning at year end and will then bill/refund accordingly.

Of course for self employed it is a case of building a tax liability and then being billed - hence the question having multiple answers.

200- If they haven't dealt with Medicare just make sure they're paying Super as required (9% on OTE paid no later than the 28th of the following quarter). If they haven't paid super there are penalties and well worth chasing.

Also, I disagree that buying allowable deductions will trigger an audit - they're nto spurious and are legitimate so quite allowable. However $2000 of text books isn't going to offset $2000 of Medicare levy - remember the levy is a physical $ charge as opposed to a deduction which is a % value of the deductible charge.