It seems a common problem being that the BASLink isn’t showing the PAYG or the figures that are generated by MYOB don’t appear to be a true reflection of the business activity.

The ATO are aware that over 80% of BAS fomrs are incorrectly completed. What this means for you, the small business owner, is that you maybe paying the ATO more than you need to.

Contact our Robina Bookkeeping service today for help with MYOB and BASLink

Some clients want us to leave no stone unturned when looking for tax savings**

Depending on your circumstances, there may be some opportunities to reduce your taxable income for the year ending 30 June 2011

Common errors arise through incorrect allocations within the data files that can lead to declaring more taxable income than legally required – We have seen some large savings in the past

We will review your MYOB / Quckbooks data files and run various checks to show any anomolies **We are not registered tax agents and advise you to speak to your accountant or tax agent regarding such matters

He got an ABN (Australian Business Name) and registered for GST, and is now confused between GST and income tax.

To simplify the GST issue.

If you are registered for GST you now become a tax collector for the Government, so every time you invoice a client, you need to add 10% to the invoice.

This 10% extra money belongs to the ATO. It’s not yours to keep. SO put it in a separate bank account.

Every time that you buy a product/service for your business you will see on the suppliers invoice or cash receipt how much GST they have charged you

Rather than sending the 10% on each transaction to the ATO, you lodge a Business Activity Statement BAS (normally each quarter) and tell the ATO that you have COLLECTED $xxx in GST, and you tell them you have PAID out $yyyy in GST

So if you’ve collected more than you’ve paid out in that reporting period then you need to give the ATO their money back

If you’ve paid out more than you’ve collected at the end of the reporting period, the ATO needs to give YOU money back

i.e if you’ve collected $3000 in GST, and paid out (to your suppliers etc) $1000 in GST you owe the ATO $2000

if you’ve collected $1000 in GST and paid out $1500 in GST then the ATO will REFUND $500 in that reporting period

INCOME TAX
This is different. Quite simply you get taxed on all your TOTAL income less any BUSINESS expenses.

If you earn $70k as a carpenter, another $20k from rental properties, and $10k from shares/stockmarket investments, then that’s a total of $100k (the GST part was never yours and is not included here)

If it’s cost you $30k to run your carpentry business (suppliers, subbies, tools etc) and $10k to run your rental properties (loans, maintenance etc) then your expenses would be $40k – so your taxable income would be $60k (less other things like medicare, etc etc, )

This is why small business owners need bookkeepers – to track the GST and income / expenses for your business, or help you set up a bookkeeping system so that you can do the same.

We are not tax agents and cannot give specific advice. Before taking any direction please speak to a professional registered tax agent and do not rely on the example above.

We encourage our Robina bookkeeping clients to meet with their tax agents / accountants to look at minimizing their tax obligations prior to June 30.

Maybe you’re looking for a MYOB bookeeper, or an expert in QuickBooks. For all your bookkeeping needs, contact our Robina bookkeepers today

We’re not registered tax agents and suggest that you contact the ATO or your accountant / tax agent for clarification.

What we have seen is a trap that some Robina business owners fall into concerns claiming GST credits for full amount of purchase when goods are used partially for private purposes

An example would be your telephone account when running your business from home. Assuming that some of your calls are of a personal nature, and the rest business, then the ATO allow you to claim a partial GST credit for the GST you pay.

The amount of the GST credit you are entitled will depend on how much you use the purchase for business purposes.

In other words, your supplier has just increased the invoice by 10% – so do you go back and question the invoice amount and request that they issue the invoice without the GST component?

Whether you choose that course of action or not, your supplier must be registered for GST before you can claim a GST credit on a purchase. Ask the supplier whether they are registered for the GST or ring the Australian Tax Office for more details.

For small business owners in and around Robina, Varsity Lakes, Reedy Creek and Mudgeeraba , contact our Robina Bookkeepers and bookkeeping service for help with your bookkeeping.

Since we’re not registered tax agents we can only refer you to the ATO website. There you will discover that if you carry on a business, you must register for GST if your GST turnover is at, or above the GST turnover threshold, that is, it is $75,000 or more ($150,000 or more for non-profit organisations).

You must also register for GST if you provide taxi travel as part of your business, regardless of your GST turnover. Taxi travel means transporting passengers by taxi or limousine for fares.

For people who are just starting their small business in and around Robina, Varsity Lakes, Reedy Creek and Mudgeeraba , the ATO advise that if you are not registered for GST, you must check each month to see whether you have reached the $75,000 GST turnover threshold. If you reach the threshold, you must register for GST within 21 days.

It can be confusing for people who are just starting their small business in and around Robina, Varsity Lakes, Reedy Creek and Mudgeeraba.

Maybe you’ve been trading for some time, and now you find that you’re within reach of the $75,000 threshold, this means that now you’ll need to become GST registered

To claim a GST credit for purchases you must be registered for the GST and have a valid tax invoice for items over $75 (excluding GST). If you use an incorrect or incomplete tax invoice to claim a GST credit, the GST credit may not be allowed.

For purchases that cost $82.50 or less (including GST), you must keep documents such as cash register dockets, receipts or invoices to support your claims. You must also keep your tax invoices and other GST records for five years.

Did you Miss The BAS Deadline?

If you missed the deadline and need help, then rather than struggle with completing your BAS forms Contact Us TODAY for H E L P

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) recognise that people may be taking annual leave over the Christmas / New Year period , and so they automatically extend the (theoretical) lodgement date for the December quarter from January 28 to February 28

Consequently you’ve already had a month’s extension, so there’ll be a Buckley’s to none chance of a further extension

One wonders what happens to business owners that have lost all their documentation in the devasting floods of Queensland and NSW. You can show your support too the flood victims and donate Online to the SALVATION ARMY Disaster Relief Fund HERE

Need Help with Your BAS??
Completing a Business Activity Statement can be daunting, so if you need help lodging your BAS forms Contact Us TODAY

Maybe you’re having trouble getting all the paperwork finalised for your income tax returns for year ending 30 June 2010

We saw a temporary kiosk set up in Robina Town Centre to handle tax returns where there’s straight forward bookkeeping for employees

Book keeping can get tricky if your self-employed and have a number of expenses that you think can be claimed to offset your taxable income

Contacting a professional bookkeeping service can be of great benefit, though some people may regrd that as an unnecessary expense.

Consider the situation of saving a few dollars on your bookkeeping by trying to do it yourself, and paying the ATO more than you really need to.

Clients utilise our Robina mobile freelance bookeeping service because they understand the benefits of having all their paperwork in order and the potential savings when declaring their taxable income after we’ve helped them claime all their legitimate business expenses

We’re not registered tax agents and cannot advise in matters of taxation, but we can potentially save you a heap of headaches and show you ways to reduce your taxable income so that your tax agent is more informed when lodging your income tax returns