As tax practitioners we have always tried to look after our clients by seeking extensions for late lodgements where required –  and historically these were usually granted.

But we have received repeated warnings in the last 6-12 months from the ATO that the same level of leniency from the ATO will be a thing of the past.  That’s also why we have always reached out to our clients months before due dates arise as a reminder that ATO commitments are coming up.

So if we reach out, please take it seriously, because we can no longer rely on the ATO providing the same extensions as has been the case previously.

The post You Can No Longer Rely on an ATO Extension appeared first on Mark Accountants.

• approved SMSF auditors (and SMSF trustees – if they hold an ABN).
• businesses and their owners.
• not-for-profits.
• other organisations.

Logging in to Online services to business

• how to log in
• setting up your permissions

Home Page Functions (including)

• Account Header
• Menu
• Notifications
• Items for Action  
• Quick Links
• Feedback
• More Information
• Help Links

Account and Payments

• view your accounts
• payment plans and options
• transfers
• refunds

Lodgements

• Income Tax Returns
• BAS
• and over a dozen other lodgement items

Employees Menu

Used by businesses to manage most employer obligations, including

• registrations
• annual PAYG withholding reports
• TFN declarations
• STP functions
• Superannuation functions

Communication with the ATO

• secure mail
• lodging Tax Return amendments
• communication history

Profile Menu

Used by businesses to manage their business details with the ATO, including

• business details
• business addresses
• email addresses
• authorised contacts
• Registered Agents details
• associates
• financial institution details
• card details
• add, update or cancel a tax type
• SMSF auditor details

Of course, if you don’t want to go it alone, or you are worried about getting it wrong, use the services of a registered tax agent. This is the best way to ensure that your lodgements are not only made on time, but are both correct and compliant.

The experienced team at Accountplan have been helping client of all sizes get it right for almost 40yrs. For peace of mind call us on 07 3883 8999.

The post ATO Online Services for Business – User Guide appeared first on Mark Accountants.

If your circumstances have changed, and your business has grown or reduced in size, you may need to register or cancel your GST registration.

Things to check:

• Exceeded the threshold? If your GST turnover is $75,000 or more, you need to register for GST. Once registered, you need to charge GST on taxable sales and issue tax invoices.
• Below the threshold? If your GST turnover is less than $75,000, you can choose to cancel your GST registration. Once cancelled, you can no longer claim GST credits.
• Stopped trading? If you’re no longer in business, you need to cancel your GST registration within 21 days of stopping your business activities.
• Taxi or ride-sourcing driver? You must be registered for GST, regardless of your turnover.

You can register or cancel your GST registration through Online services for business or your registered tax or BAS agent.

Need help? Mark Accountant’s experienced team can help take the confusion out of your tax responsibilities, call us on 07 5491 9439.

The post Check Your GST Registration as the Year Wraps Up appeared first on Mark Accountants.

Get set up

Online services for business is your central hub for managing tax and super online. To set up your access, you’ll need to:

• download and set up your myID, the Australian Government’s Digital ID app
• link your myID to your ABN in Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM).

Tip: if you’re a sole trader, you can use ATO online services through myGov to engage with us. For more secure and flexible access, we recommend signing in with myID.

Declare everything

Make sure you declare all your business income – even non-monetary payments like goods or services you’ve received in exchange for your work. It all counts.

Understand losses

Business losses and non-commercial losses aren’t the same thing. Knowing the difference can impact how you report and carry forward losses, so it’s worth getting your head around it to get your tax right.

Keep track of private use

If you’ve used business money for personal expenses, keep clear records. It’s important to separate business activities and expenses from personal ones to avoid headaches later.

Nominate your tax agent

Using a tax agent? Make sure you nominate them in Online services for business. They won’t be able to access your information or act on your behalf until you’ve authorised them.

Deductions: remember the 3 golden rules

1. The expense must have been for your business, and not for private use.
2. If the expense is for a mix of business and private use, you can only claim the portion that is used for your business.
3. You must have records or receipts to prove it.

Cash vs accruals: know your method

The income you receive from running your small business will be assessable for tax purposes. How you account for income affects what you report:

• Cash basis: Report income when you receive the payment – even if the work was done earlier.
• Accruals basis: Report income when you earn it – even if you haven’t been paid yet.

Don’t miss out on deductions and concessions

Now is a great time to check if you’re eligible for any deductions or concessions when lodging your income tax return. You might be able to take advantage of:

• simplified depreciation rules
• immediate deductions for pre-paid expenses
• the instant asset write-off.

These can make a real difference to your bottom line – so it’s worth checking what applies to your business.

Tools to help you

The ATO have a range of resources, tools and services available to help you get it right this tax time, including the 2025 Tax Time toolkit for small business.

Keep up to date

The ATO have set up tailored communication channels for small businesses. They will keep you updated on important information and changes.

Source: ATO

The post Ready, Steady, Tax Time! appeared first on Mark Accountants.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has announced that from 1 April 2025, it will be moving around 3,500 small businesses with a history of non-payment, late or non lodgment, or incorrect reporting from quarterly to monthly GST reporting to improve their compliance.

Moving to a monthly reporting and payment cycle can help small businesses to keep on top of their obligations and remain viable. Small businesses that report monthly will be better able to address their past unmet tax obligations in a structured way, rather than falling further behind.

The ATO will contact small businesses and their tax professionals when their GST reporting cycle is changed from quarterly to monthly.

The move is designed to improve compliance with GST obligations and build good business habits. Changes to reporting cycles will remain in place for a minimum of 12 months as part of the ATO’s ‘Getting it right’ campaign.

Small businesses that voluntarily moved their GST reporting and payment cycle to monthly have found it easier to manage their cash flow and meet their obligations with smaller, more manageable payments. For many, reporting and paying GST monthly aligns better with their reconciliation process, which is more efficient and saves time.

Small businesses struggling to meet their tax obligations need to not ignore the problem but act early, whether that’s seeking assistance from their registered tax professional, a business adviser or the ATO.

Quotes attributable to ATO Deputy Commissioner Will Day:

‘Running a small business is serious business – so it pays to keep on top of your tax obligations, and we know that when GST is reported monthly rather than quarterly, this reduces the risk of falling behind’.

‘We recognise most small businesses try to do the right thing. Our goal is to help small business owners get their tax and super obligations right by providing transparency on the areas we are focused on.’

‘The ATO has a responsibility to level the playing field, as small business owners rightfully expect us to ensure fair competition and compliance.’

‘We take our role seriously and are committed to supporting viable small businesses to comply with their ATO obligations, while also taking firmer action on those who are deliberately not complying to ensure they aren’t getting an unfair advantage.’

‘If you’re a small business who continues to deliberately disregard your obligations, you can expect the ATO to move you to more frequent GST reporting’.

As part of our ‘Getting it right’ campaign, this quarter the ATO is also focused on:

• contractors in the building and construction, cleaning, courier and road freight, information technology (IT), or security, investigation or surveillance industries omitting income
• compliance in relation to small business boost measures (the small business skills and training boost and the small business technology investment boost).

A review process is available for small businesses who don’t believe they have a history of poor compliance and should be able to remain on their current GST reporting cycle.

The ATO will continue to publish new focus areas quarterly to ensure all small businesses have an equal chance at success.

Source: ATO

The post ATO Shifts Non-Compliant Small Businesses to Monthly GST appeared first on Mark Accountants.

We know small businesses are busy, so we want to help you get your BAS right. Here are some tips to help you before you lodge.

• Make sure you enter the figures for your obligations at the correct label, and only complete fields that apply to you.
• Enter whole dollar amounts, leave cents out and don’t round up to the next dollar.
• If you have nothing to report for the period, you can lodge a ‘nil’ BAS online by selecting ‘Prepare’ and then ‘Prepare as nil’, or you can call the ATO’s automated service any time of the day.
• If you made a mistake on your last BAS, instead of lodging a revision, you may be able to use your current BAS to fix them. For example, you can use label 1A to adjust GST on sales, label 1B to adjust GST on purchases, or label 7C if you have claimed fuel tax credits for fuel that has subsequently been sold, lost or disposed of.
• You can also use your BAS to vary an instalment amount.
• You won’t be able to get extra time to lodge this quarter as everyone gets 8 weeks to lodge. However, if you lodge your next quarterly BAS online, or through a registered tax or BAS agent, you may be able to get an extra 2 or 4 weeks to lodge and pay.
• If you still receive paper BAS, update your ATO communication preferences from ‘paper’ to ‘online’. Online statements are generally available one week after the generation date, but it may take up to 3 weeks to receive your BAS by post. You will also receive other correspondence more quickly from the ATO, receive less paper and save the time it takes to file these documents.

Source: ATO

The post Tips to Help You Stay on Top of Your BAS appeared first on Mark Accountants.

Super Guarantee (SG)

• 28 January, 28 April, 28 July, and 28 October are the quarterly due dates for making SG payments.
• The SG rate is currently 11.5% of an employee’s ordinary time earnings. From 1 July 2025, the SG rate will increase to 12%.
• Ensure SG for your eligible employees is paid in full, on time and to the right super fund. If you don’t, you’ll need to lodge a super guarantee charge (SGC) statement and pay the SGC to the ATO.

Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT)

31 March 2025 marks the end of the 2024–25 FBT year. There are 4 key steps to nail your obligations for FBT tax time.

1. Identify if you’ve provided a fringe benefit.
2. Determine the taxable value to work out if you have an FBT liability.
3. Lodge an FBT return and pay any FBT owed (if you have a liability) by 21 May 2025. If your registered tax agent lodges electronically for you, you have until 25 June 2025.
4. Keep the right records to support your FBT position.

Pay As You Go (PAYG) Withholding

You need to withhold the right amount of tax from payments you make to your employees and other payees, and pay those amounts to the ATO.

This helps your employees meet their end-of-year tax liabilities.

Your accounting or payroll software, the ATO’s tax tables or their online tax withheld calculator will help you do this.

Single Touch Payroll (STP)

Finalise your STP data by 14 July 2025 for the 2024–25 year.

This ensures your employees have the right information they need to lodge their income tax returns.

If you have any closely held payees, you may have a later due date for those payees only. Remember to finalise all employees you’ve paid in the financial year.

You can also check out our range of resources for employers.

Remember, a registered tax agent can help you with your tax and super obligations.

Source: ATO

The post Master Your Employer Obligations in 2025 appeared first on Mark Accountants.

• it can make accessing finance more difficult
• major Banks will sometimes even increase their own rates to businesses with tax debt (to them tax debt is a sign of default risk)
• it can damage supplier relationships and the trade terms you may be offered

Mark Accountants has access to a range of lenders who happily assist businesses refinance their tax debt onto manageable loans that will generally have longer terms and much lower rates than is available from the ATO themselves. In fact, rates start from as low as 6.99%.

Want to know more?

Call the team at Mark Accountants on 07 3883 8999.

The post We Can Help With Your Tax Debt appeared first on Mark Accountants.

What Is Considered A Small Business? 

From a tax perspective, a business is generally classified as a small business when the annual turnover is below $10,000,000 and not linked with another business. In terms of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) concessions, a small business is one with an aggregated turnover under $2,000,000. 

According to the law, businesses must calculate turnover from the aggregated amounts. This refers to the annual turnover (gross income excluding goods and services tax) of all affiliated or connected businesses. 

Understanding Taxes for Small Businesses 

Small businesses are vital to the Australian economy and this is demonstrated by the government’s various support packages.

You can deduct the cost of the following capital items: 

• Technology (e.g security equipment, EFTPOS systems, laptops and computers);
• Office furniture;
• Solar;
• Fittings, fixtures, plant, tools, and equipment;
• Motor vehicles bikes for delivery, fieldwork, etc.

Only businesses with an aggregated annual turnover below $5 billion are eligible for these tax deductions. 

Additionally, if your global aggregated turnover is over $5 billion but less than $5 billion in income in Australia, you are eligible to claim the tax break, provided you have spent over $100,000,000 between the financial years of 2016-17 to 2018-19. 

For example, if you claim a new computer as a business expense but it is for business and personal use, you need to deduct the cost as a percentage. If the purchase was $2,500 and you use it for work 50 percent of the time, you can only claim $1,250 for business use.

Tax on Trading Stock

There is a simplified set of trading stock rules if your stock did not experience more than a $5,000 change in value over the financial year.

Tax on Prepaid Expenses 

Small businesses can gain immediate tax deductions for a variety of prepaid expenses. For example, if you make a payment to cover an expense that extends into a new financial year (memberships, rents, or insurance premiums), you can claim it in the previous financial year.

Goods & Services Tax 

Goods & Services Tax (GST) is a tax of 10 percent on most goods and services in Australia. If your small business is registered for GST you will have to collect this extra money from your customer and then pay that collected money to the ATO.

As a small business, you will need to register for GST if: 

• Your business has a GST turnover of $75,000 or more;
• You are a non-profit organisation and have a GST turnover of $150,000 or more;
• Your small business provides taxi or limousine travel (this includes riding services such as Uber, Didi, or OLA);
• You want to claim fuel tax credits for your business.

As a small business, you may also be able to access some GST concessions as long as your business has an aggregated turnover of less than $10,000,000. Some of these concessions include:

• Accounting for GST and claiming GST credits within a tax period when you have been paid by a supplier, instead of accounting for GST once the invoice is received; 
• Paying GST on quarterly instalments;
• Claiming full GST credit on purchases for private purposes; and
• Accounting for your private use purchases by making a single adjustment by the end of your income year. 

Capital Gains Tax Help 

There are several CGT concessions for businesses earning below $2 million annually or whose net CGT assets are below $6 million.

15-Year Exemption

For taxpayers over 55 who are retiring and disposing of CGT assets that they have owned for at least 15 years.

CGT Rollover

A gain arising from the disposal of a CGT asset can be deferred if a replacement is acquired within two years. This gain can be deferred until the replacement is disposed of.

Retirement Exemption

A taxpayer can apply CGT asset proceeds using the retirement exemption. The lifetime limit is $500,000. 

CGT proceeds are what you receive, or are entitled to receive from a CGT event such as selling an asset. 

50 percent Active Asset Reduction

You can discount 50 percent of a CGT asset, but only where rules apply. 

Maintain Separate Accounts for your Small Business

If you are a small business owner, keep separate accounts for your business and personal expenses. There are many small business tax write-off options, but deductions can be difficult to claim if you mix your records between your personal expenses and your business expenses. 

Keeping clear records about your business expenses will help you ensure you have all the required information when the time comes to lodge your tax return. 

The Golden Rules of Record-Keeping 

The key to tax time in Australia is record-keeping. According to the ATO, a variety of records should be maintained for five years. These may be stored either electronically or on paper but must be easy to access if the ATO requests to view them. It is important to note that these records must be kept in English or easily converted to English.

Record-keeping can include:

• Credit card and bank statements;
• Expense invoices and sales receipts;
• Vehicle records; 
• Asset purchases;
• A list of creditors and debtors;
• Employee records, including contracts, wages, tax declarations, and superannuation contributions.

Tax Deductions for Small Businesses 

As a small business, you can claim tax deductions for most costs associated with running your business. However, you need to be careful not to inflate your deductions to reduce your taxes. Doing so runs a high risk of capturing the ATO’s attention and putting your business through an audit. 

You can claim some work-related deductions such as:

• Advertising and sponsorship costs;
• Unpaid debt that previously fell under assessable income and has since been written off;
• Cost of borrowing capital/money;
• Business travel;
• Car expenses – keeping a logbook for a minimum of 12 weeks or claim 72 cents per kilometre up to 5,000 km;
•  Fringe benefits;
• Working from home expenses;
• Insurance;
• Equipment and tools; replacements, repairs, and maintenance; 
• Tax management expenses;
• Superannuation contributions, salary, and wages; and
• Phone expenses. 

Source: Quickbooks

The post Small Business Tax Guide – Australia appeared first on Mark Accountants.

If you’re a pay as you go (PAYG) instalment amount payer, your instalments have been increased by the gross domestic product (GDP) adjustment factor. For the 2024–25 income year, the GDP adjustment factor is 6%.

We’ll use the latest information you’ve provided to us when you lodge your SMSF annual return (SAR) to calculate your new PAYG instalments amount or rate.

You can vary your PAYG instalments if you think your current instalments will be more or less than your expected tax liability for the year. Your varied amount or rate will apply for the remainder of your income year or until you make another variation. You can lodge your variation through Online services for business.

We encourage you to review your tax position regularly, so that your PAYG instalments reflect your expected tax for the year. Calculating and paying the right PAYG instalments will help you manage SMSF investments.

Contact a registered tax agent if you need help or tax advice.

Source: ATO

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