Blog – Accounting & Tax Practice

Accountants’ Reports

Accounting

Many companies provide their financial statements, along with a CPA’s report to any of the various stakeholders such as investors, lenders, trade unions, shareholders, and or because of a regulatory requirement. Informed readers of the report will gain varied levels of comfort based on the type of financial statement provided. Not all reports are the...

Borrowing Capacity – Part 1

Finance

When you apply for a loan, the bank will consider your ability to meet the loan repayments (called serviceability), and the maximum amount that you can borrow. The question is how do they work it out? It is interesting to know that each bank will work it out in a different way though the principles...

Borrowing Capacity – Part 2

Finance

Maximising the amount a lender will hand over to you isn’t about trying to take on unmanageable levels of debt. It’s a matter of taking a few simple but smart steps that would give a better chance to owning your dream home. Shop around for lenders Different lenders define income in so many different ways...

Foreign Income Tax Offset

Tax

You can claim the foreign income tax offset in your income tax return. Before you calculate your net income, you must convert all foreign income deductions and foreign tax paid to Australian dollars. To claim a foreign income tax offset of up to $1,000, you only need to record the actual amount of foreign income...

GST Errors – Part 1

Accounting

Quite often business owners and bookkeepers account for and report their GST activities incorrectly. Below are the frequent ones that are not given the attention they deserve: Businesses are either registered for GST under the cash or accruals basis. Applying the wrong method when completing the BAS will result in wrong reporting and create a...

GST Errors – Part 2

Tax

If you made a GST error on an earlier activity statement, you can choose to correct that error on a later activity statement if you meet some conditions outlined below. The benefits of correcting GST errors on a later activity statement are: you are not liable to any penalties or general interest charge (GIC) for...

Home Loan Guarantee

Finance

With the housing loan affordability is becoming an issue and first home buyers’ attempt to enter the market is becoming a mission impossible, it is probably unwise to do nothing and hope things will get better. This is where home loan guarantee comes into play and can be very helpful. Guarantors are generally limited to...

Medicare Levy Surcharge

Tax

If you fit in one of the following categories, you are exempt from MLS for the whole of 2024-25. Surcharge exemption categories Your income for MLS purposes was $97,000 or less, and for the whole of 2024-25, you were single without a dependent child. Your income for MLS purposes was $97,000 or less, and for...

PAYG Calculation

Tax

The Australian Taxation Office uses information from the most recent tax return to work out the PAYG instalment amount, which is adjusted to reflect any likely growth in the taxpayer’s income and changes in Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP). The GDP adjustment factor is updated at the start of each income year using data from...

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