If your personal information falls into the wrong hands, it can be used to steal your identity. If you think your identity has been stolen, report it to your local police and your bank, and change your passwords.   Signs of identity theft If your identity has been stolen, you may not realise for some…

With the property market hitting all-time highs in 2021, interest in investing in direct property through your SMSF has never been higher. In the September 2021 quarter, Australia’s SMSFs had almost $88 billion invested in non-residential real property, with another $47 billion in residential real property. But before you add property investments to your SMSF, there…

It’s been a busy year for Australia’s two million plus directors dealing with the pandemic and lockdowns and there’s now a new task on their to-do list. From 1 November 2021, if you’re a director or want to become one, you will need to apply for the new Director Identification Number (Director ID) being rolled…

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…

Introduction If you’re receiving the JobSaver payment, you’ll need to reconfirm your eligibility each fortnight to continue receiving payments. You’ll receive fortnightly reminders via email. If you no longer require support, you may request to withdraw from receiving payments. Eligibility You must be currently receiving the JobSaver payment and confirm that you: have continued to experience…

After falling off in the early days of the COVID pandemic, share prices and dividends bounced back strongly in the year to June 2021. Investors who depend on income from their shares also have more certainty now that the Labor Party has dropped its opposition to cash refunds of excess franking credits, a policy that…

As we head into a new financial year, we thought it was important to remind businesses of two important changes to superannuation commencing 1 July 2021. On 1 July 2021, the super guarantee rate will rise from 9.5% to 10%. If you have employees, you will need to ensure your payroll and accounting systems are updated…

There are a number of red flags that can spark the ATO’s interest in your business or personal tax affairs. At present though, having applied for early release of your super, or receiving government support through JobKeeper, definitely puts you at a higher chance of an audit. The ATO has identified a number of concerning and fraudulent…

With so many of us confined to our homes over the past year, the big deductible item this year is likely to be working from home expenses. Home office expenses The shortcut method covers the additional running costs for home expenses such as electricity, phone, internet, cleaning and the decline in value of home office…