for sale

Changes for Australian and foreign residents buying and selling property

Withholding changes when buying and selling property

What Australian residents need to know about the updates to the Foreign resident capital gains withholding (FRCGW).

The Foreign resident capital gains withholding (FRCGW) rules are changing from 1 January 2025.

Currently, Australian residents selling property must provide a clearance certificate to the purchaser at or before settlement to avoid having 12.5% withheld from a property sale where the value of the property is $750,000 or more.

Under the changes:

  • the withholding rate will increase from 12.5% to 15%
  • the $750,000 property value threshold will be removed, and the withholding rules will apply to all property sales.

The changes apply to contracts entered into on or after 1 January 2025.

FRCGW is designed to support the collection of tax liabilities owed by non-residents selling Australian property.

All Australian residents selling property will require a clearance certificate from the ATO, or withholding will apply to the transaction. If an Australian resident vendor doesn’t provide a clearance certificate by settlement, 15% of the sale price must be withheld by the purchaser and paid to the ATO.

If an amount is withheld from the sale price, the vendor will only receive any refund due after their next income tax return is processed at tax time.

Most clearance certificates will issue within a few days, but it is important to apply early because some can take up to 28 days to issue. They are valid for 12 months, so the vendor doesn’t need to wait until they have signed a contract.

Foreign resident vendors may be able to apply to vary the withholding rate. 

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crypto

Investing in crypto – record keeping requirements

Crypto asset records you should keep

You need to keep records of each of your crypto assets for each and every transaction (including coin swaps), to work out if you have made a capital gain or loss.

For your crypto assets, you should keep:

  1. receipts when you buy, transfer or dispose of crypto assets
  2. a record of the date of each transaction
  3. a record of what the transaction is for and who the other party is (this can just be their crypto asset address)
  4. exchange records
  5. a record of the value of the crypto asset in Australian dollars at the time of each transaction
  6. records of agent, accountant and legal costs
  7. digital wallet records and keys
  8. a record of software costs that relate to managing your tax affairs.

You need to keep details for each crypto asset as they are separate CGT assets. Keeping good records is essential for meeting your tax obligations, and saves us time when we prepare your tax return.

Tips for protecting crypto asset records

Keeping good records is important as crypto can be volatile. These record-keeping tips may help safeguard you against loss of information, which could happen at any time. Keep these records during the period you hold or transact using crypto:

  1. Export your transaction history regularly (eg every 3 months) to protect you in case of loss of access to your account
  2. Before closing an account, export your complete transaction history
  3. Find a reputable Australian crypto tax calculator – there are free and low-cost services you can use to sync your exchange and wallet accounts
  4. Use a blockchain explorer or contact the crypto exchange’s customer service if you need to recreate lost records.

How long to keep records

Keep records for 5 years from the latter of:

  1. when you prepare or obtain the records
  2. when transactions or acts are complete
  3. the year that the CGT event happens.

You should keep records long enough to cover your amendment period (usually 2 or 4 years) for an assessment that uses information from the record.

Your records must be in:

  1. English or be translatable to English
  2. in writing, however they can be electronic/digital or paper.

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shares

Share investing versus share trading

Understanding Share Investing vs Share Trading: A Guide to ATO Classifications

Key tax differences between share investors and traders explained

A commonly asked question we receive at Allan Hall is how the ATO classifies a share investor vs a share trader.

Typically clients make a profit and they want to be assessed as an ‘investor’ so that the capital gain is taxed with any applicable discounts. Conversely if they incur a loss we receive questions as to whether they are classified as a ‘trader’ so that the losses can be deducted against other income they have earned.

Tax treatment

If you hold shares as an investor:

  1. your shares are assets and are subject to capital gains tax when you sell them
  2. your costs are taken into account at the time you sell your shares
  3. if you have a capital loss you can use it to offset capital gains but not to offset income from other sources
  4. income is earned from dividends and similar receipts.

If you are a share trader:

  1. your shares are treated like trading stock in the ordinary course of a business
  2. your gains are treated as ordinary income
  3. your losses and costs are treated as deductible expenses in the year they are incurred.

How to determine if you are a share trader

Determining if you are a share trader is the same as determining whether your activities are considered to be carrying on a business for tax purposes.

Under tax law, a business includes ‘any profession, trade, employment, vocation or calling, but does not include occupation as an employee’.

To determine whether you are a share trader or a business of trading shares, the following factors have been taken into account in court cases:

  1. the nature and purpose of your activities – typically the ATO wants to see a business plan that details the intention to make a profit and the ways this would be achieved
  2. the repetition, volume and regularity of your activities – the higher the volume the more likely you are carrying on a business
  3. whether your activities are organised in a business-like way – advice received, company analysis methodology, record keeping etc  
  4. the amount of capital invested

The above is a brief overview of the issues involved. Should you require further advice please contact your Allan Hall advisor.

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parliament canberra

2024–25 Federal Budget Highlights

Budget 2024–25 key measures you must know

Described as a “responsible Budget that helps people under pressure today”, the Treasurer has forecast a second consecutive surplus of $9.3 billion.

The main priorities of the government, as reflected in the Budget, are helping with the cost of living, building more housing, investing in skills and education, strengthening Medicare and responsible economic management to help fight inflation.

The key tax measures announced in the Budget include extending the $20,000 instant asset write-off for eligible businesses by 12 months until 30 June 2025, introducing tax incentives for hydrogen production and critical minerals production, strengthening foreign resident CGT rules and penalising multinationals that seek to avoid paying Australian royalty withholding tax.

The Budget also includes various amendments to previously announced measures, as well as a number of income tax measures that have already been enacted prior to the Budget announcement, including:

These enacted measures have not been discussed in detail in our summary report:

Income tax

The tax, superannuation and social security highlights are set out below. The government anticipates that the tax measures put forward will collectively improve the Budget position by $3.1 billion over a 5-year period to 2027–28.

  • The instant asset write-off threshold of $20,000 for small businesses applying the simplified depreciation rules will be extended for 12 months until 30 June 2025
  • The foreign resident CGT regime will be strengthened for CGT events commencing on or after 1 July 2025
  • A critical minerals production tax incentive will be available from 2027–28 to 2040–41 to support downstream refining and processing of critical minerals
  • A hydrogen production tax incentive will be available from 2027–28 to 2040–41 to producers of renewable hydrogen
  • The minimum length requirements for content and the above-the-line cap of 20% for total qualifying production expenditure for the producer tax offset will be removed
  • A new penalty will be introduced from 1 July 2026 for taxpayers who are part of a group with more than $1 billion in annual global turnover that are found to have mischaracterised or undervalued royalty payments
  • The Labor government’s 2022–23 Budget measure to deny deductions for payments relating to intangibles held in low- or no-tax jurisdictions is being discontinued
  • The start date of a 2023–24 Budget measure to expand the scope of the Pt IVA general anti-avoidance rule will be deferred to income years commencing on or after assent of enabling legislation
  • Income tax exemptions for World Rugby and/or related entities for income derived in relation to the Rugby World Cup 2027 (men’s) and Rugby World Cup 2029 (women’s)
  • Deductible gift recipients list to be updated.

Superannuation

  • Superannuation will be paid on government-funded paid parental leave (PPL) for parents of babies born or adopted on or after 1 July 2025
  • The Fair Entitlements Guarantee Recovery Program will be recalibrated to pursue unpaid superannuation entitlements owed by employers in liquidation or bankruptcy from 1 July 2024
  • Prior to the Budget the draft of the $3 million super tax legislation was given Senate go-ahead and remains unchanged — it will include the taxing of unrealised gains and no indexation. Read more »

Tax administration

  • The ATO will be given a statutory discretion to not use a taxpayer’s refund to offset old tax debts on hold
  • Indexation of the Higher Education Loan Program (and other student loans) debt will be limited to the lower of either the Consumer Price Index or the Wage Price Index, effective from 1 June 2023
  • A pilot program of matching income and employment data of migrant workers will be conducted between the Department of Home Affairs and the ATO
  • A new ATO compliance taskforce will be established to recover tax revenue lost to fraud while existing compliance programs will be extended.

GST

  • Refunds of indirect tax (including GST, fuel and alcohol taxes) will be extended under the Indirect Tax Concession Scheme.

Small business depreciation — instant asset write-off threshold of $20,000 extended to 2024–25

The instant asset write-off threshold of $20,000 for small businesses applying the simplified depreciation rules will be extended for 12 months until 30 June 2025.

Small businesses (aggregated annual turnover less than $10 million) may choose to calculate capital allowances for depreciating assets under a simplified regime in Subdiv 328-D of ITAA 1997. Under these simplified depreciation rules, an immediate write-off applies for low-cost depreciating assets. The measure will apply a $20,000 threshold for the immediate write-off, applicable to eligible assets costing less than $20,000 that are first used or installed ready for use by 30 June 2025.

Assets valued at $20,000 or more (which cannot be immediately deducted) can continue to be placed into the small business simplified depreciation pool and depreciated at 15% in the first income year and 30% each income year thereafter. The provisions that prevent small businesses from re-entering the simplified depreciation regime for 5 years if they opt-out will also continue to be suspended until 30 June 2025.

The measure extends a 2023–24 Budget measure to increase the instant asset write-off threshold to $20,000 for the 2023–24 income year. A Bill containing amendments to increase the instant asset write-off threshold for 2023–24 is currently before Parliament. The Bill was amended by the Senate to increase the instant asset write-off threshold for 2023–24 to $30,000 and extend access to the instant asset write-off to entities that are not small business entities but would be if the aggregated turnover threshold were $50 million.

Tax administration

Statutory discretion for ATO to deal with tax refunds and debts on hold

The Commissioner of Taxation will be given the discretion to not use a taxpayer’s refund to offset old tax debts where that debt had been put on hold before 1 January 2017. The tax law will be amended to provide for this ATO discretion which will apply to individuals, small businesses and not-for-profits. The discretion will maintain the ATO’s current administrative approach to such debts.

Student loans indexation reform

Indexation of the Higher Education Loan Program (and other student loans) debt will be limited to the lower of either the Consumer Price Index or the Wage Price Index, effective from 1 June 2023, subject to the passage of legislation. The measure will apply retrospectively.

Data matching program for migrant workers’ income and employment

A pilot program matching income and employment data will be conducted between the Department of Home Affairs and the ATO to mitigate the exploitation of migrant workers and abuse of Australia’s labour market and migration system. This measure forms part of broader reforms to the migration system.

Strengthening ATO ability to combat fraud and extension of compliance programs

The ATO will be provided additional funding to continue various compliance programs. The current ATO Personal Income Tax Compliance Program will be extended for another year from 1 July 2027 to enable the ATO to continue its focus on emerging risks to the tax system. The Shadow Economy Compliance Program and the Tax Avoidance Taskforce will be extended for 2 years from 1 July 2026.

Funding will be provided to the ATO to improve its detection of tax and superannuation fraud, including to upgrade its information and communications technologies to be able to identify and block suspicious activity in real time. A new compliance task force will also be established to recover lost revenue and block attempts to obtain refunds fraudulently. Funding will also be provided to improve ATO’s management and governance of its counter-fraud activities.

The ATO will also be given additional time within which to notify a taxpayer if it intends to retain a business activity statement (BAS) refund for further investigation. The current required notification period of 14 days will be extended to 30 days, aligning it with time limits for non-BAS refunds. This measure will take effect from the start of the first financial year after assent of the enabling legislation.

2019-20 Budget measure on black economy will not proceed

The 2019–20 Budget measure “Black Economy — Strengthening the Australian Business Number system” will not proceed as integrity issues are being addressed through enhanced administrative processes implemented by the ATO.

GST

Refunds of indirect tax extended under Indirect Tax Concession Scheme

Refunds of indirect tax (including GST, fuel and alcohol taxes) will be extended under the Indirect Tax Concession Scheme (ITCS).

The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) will have ITCS access upgraded for additional concessions to be claimed for the purchase of vehicles for personal use by SKAO officials or a member of their family. Additional concessions for commercial rent will also be formalised for existing ITCS packages for Bangladesh, Costa Rica, El Salvador and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. Construction and renovation concessions will be formalised for the existing ITCS package for the Netherlands. Concessions for both commercial rent and construction and renovation will be formalised for the existing ITCS package for Pacific Trade Invest.

Superannuation

Super to be paid on government-funded paid parental leave

Superannuation will be paid on government-funded paid parental leave (PPL) for parents of babies born or adopted on or after 1 July 2025. Eligible parents will receive an additional payment based on the superannuation guarantee (12% of their PPL payments), as a contribution to their superannuation fund. Payments will be made annually to individuals’ superannuation funds from 1 July 2026.

Recovery of unpaid super from liquidated or bankrupt employers

The Fair Entitlements Guarantee Recovery Program will be recalibrated to pursue unpaid superannuation entitlements owed by employers in liquidation or bankruptcy from 1 July 2024.

To discuss how these Budget measures impact you or your business, please contact your Allan Hall Advisor.

Full Budget papers are available at budget.gov.au and the Treasury ministers’ media releases are available at ministers.treasury.gov.au.

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audit

Insurance for tax audit costs

Limit your costs in the event of an audit with tailored coverage

The ATO has been funded with an additional $1.5 billion to increase the volume of audits and reviews, making it more likely that businesses and individuals will be audited. 

Considerable costs can be involved in responding to an ATO tax audit, as you may need your accountants to prepare detailed responses and compile supporting documentation.

The costs can quickly add up to significant levels for the work involved. 

AuditCover audit insurance covers professional fees in the event of an audit. Policies are available starting from $99 for individuals and $150 for businesses and groups, and the premium is tax deductible.

AuditCover audit insurance covers audits and reviews for: 

  • Capital Gains Tax 
  • Income Tax 
  • Land Tax 
  • Payroll Tax 
  • Workers Compensation 
  • BAS/GST Compliance 
  • Superannuation Guarantee 
  • Fringe Benefits Tax 
  • Stamp Duty and more…

For any questions please call AuditCover on 1300 895 797 or read more here. Allan Hall clients are invited to obtain a quote from AuditCover.

DISCLAIMER: As with any insurance, it is important that you read the Policy Wording and ensure that the product is right for you. This page is intended to provide general information about tax audits and AuditCover and does not constitute advice.

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EOFY blocks

ATO priorities this tax time

Four priorities for the ATO this tax time

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has announced four key focus areas for Tax Time 2022.

The ATO will be focusing on:

  1. record-keeping
  2. work-related expenses
  3. rental property income and deductions, and
  4. capital gains from crypto assets, property and shares.

These ATO’s priority areas ensure that there is an appropriate level of scrutiny on the correct reporting of deductions and income.

Taxpayers can take steps to lodge right the first time

Assistant Commissioner Tim Loh explained that the ATO is targeting problem areas where they see people making mistakes.

“It’s important you rethink your claims and ensure you can satisfy the 3 golden rules,” Mr Loh said.

  1. You must have spent the money yourself and weren’t reimbursed
  2. If the expense is for a mix of income-producing and private use, you can only claim the portion that relates to producing income
  3. You must have a record to prove it.

Record-keeping

With some weeks left until 30 June, start organising the income and deductions records you’ve kept throughout the year. This will guarantee a smoother tax time and ensure you claim the deductions you are entitled to.

For anyone who deliberately tries to increase their refund, falsify records or cannot substantiate their claims, the ATO will be taking firm action to deal with these taxpayers who are gaining an unfair advantage over the rest of the Australian community who are doing the right thing.

Lodge right, no worries

We often see lots of mistakes in July as people rush to lodge their tax returns and forget to include interest from banks, dividend income, payments from other government agencies and private health insurers. For most people, this information will be automatically pre-filled in their tax return by the end of July. This will make the tax return process smoother, save you time, and get your tax return right. If you want to lodge earlier, you must take extra time to manually add all your income.

Available pre-fill information and readiness to lodge can be easily checked in the ATO app this tax time.

NB: While the ATO receives and matches a lot of information on rental income, foreign-sourced income and capital gains events involving shares, crypto assets or property, they don’t pre-fill all of that information for you.

Work-related expenses

Some people have changed to a hybrid working environment since the start of the pandemic, which saw one in three Aussies claiming working from home expenses in their tax return last year.

“If you have continued to work from home, we would expect to see a corresponding reduction in car, clothing and other work-related expenses such as parking and tolls,” said Mr Loh.

To claim a deduction for your working from home expenses, there are three methods available depending on your circumstances. You can choose from the shortcut (all-inclusive), fixed rate and actual cost methods, so long as you meet the eligibility and record-keeping requirements.

Each individual’s work-related expenses are unique to their circumstances. If your working arrangements have changed, don’t just copy and paste your prior year’s claims. If your expense was used for both work-related and private use, you can only claim the work-related portion of the expense. For example, you can’t claim 100% of mobile phone expenses if you use your mobile phone to ring mum and dad.

You can easily keep track of your expenses with myDeductions tool in the ATO app. Just take a photo of the receipt in the app, record the details of the expense and at tax time, simply upload the information directly to your return in myTax or email it to your registered tax agent.

Rental income and deductions

If you are a rental property owner, make sure you include all the income you’ve received from your rental in your tax return, including short-term rental arrangements, insurance payouts and rental bond money you retain.

“We know a lot of rental property owners use a registered tax agent to help with their tax affairs. I encourage you to keep good records, as all rental income and deductions need to be entered manually, you can ask your registered tax agent for assistance. If we do notice a discrepancy it may delay the processing of your refund as we may contact you or your registered tax agent to correct your return. We can also ask for supporting documentation for any claim that you make after your notice of assessment issues,” Mr Loh said.

Capital gains from crypto assets, property and shares

If you dispose of an asset such as property, shares, or a crypto asset, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) this financial year, you will need to calculate a capital gain or capital loss and record it in your tax return.

Generally, a capital gain or capital loss is the difference between what an asset cost you and what you receive when you dispose of it.

“Crypto is a popular type of asset and we expect to see more capital gains or capital losses reported in tax returns this year. Remember you can’t offset your crypto losses against your salary and wages,” Mr Loh said.

Read more: Tax treatment of cryptocurrency »

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Tax treatment of cryptocurrency

The creation, trade and use of cryptocurrency is rapidly evolving.

If you invest in cryptocurrency, you may need to include a capital gain or loss in your tax return.

The term cryptocurrency is generally used to describe a digital asset in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of additional units and verify transactions on a blockchain.

Cryptocurrency generally operates independently of a central bank, central authority or government. Any reference to ‘cryptocurrency’ in ATO guidance refers to Bitcoin, or other crypto or digital currencies that have similar characteristics as Bitcoin.

Everybody involved in acquiring or disposing of cryptocurrency needs to keep records in relation to their cryptocurrency transactions.

If you have dealt with a foreign exchange or cryptocurrency there may also be taxation consequences for your transactions in the foreign country.

Transacting with cryptocurrency

A capital gains tax (CGT) event occurs when you dispose of cryptocurrency. If you are involved in acquiring or disposing of cryptocurrency, there are tax consequences.

A disposal can occur when cryptocurrency is:

  • sold or gifted
  • traded or exchanged (including the disposal of one cryptocurrency for another)
  • converted to fiat currency (a currency established by government regulation or law such as Australian dollars), or
  • used to obtain goods or services.

If a capital gain is made on the disposal of cryptocurrency, some or all of the gain may be taxed. Certain capital gains or losses from disposing of a cryptocurrency that is a personal use asset are disregarded.

If the disposal is part of a business you carry on, the profits made on the disposal will be assessable as ordinary income and not as a capital gain.

While a digital wallet can contain different types of cryptocurrencies (bitcoin, etc) each cryptocurrency is a separate CGT asset.

Record keeping for cryptocurrency

It is vital to maintain accurate records for all cryptocurrency transactions, including if the cryptocurrency is being used as an investment, for personal use or in business:

  • transactions dates
  • cryptocurrency value in Australian dollars at the time of the transaction (which can be taken from a reputable online exchange)
  • transaction details i.e. what it was for and who the other party was

To accurately calculate your tax and meet your obligations, the typical records that should be kept include:

  • receipts of purchase or transfer of cryptocurrency
  • exchange records
  • records of agent, accountant and legal costs
  • digital wallet records and keys
  • software costs related to managing your tax affairs

More information

You can ask your accountant or use third-party software to help meet your record-keeping obligations and work out your tax. Get in touch with our Tax & Accounting team in Brookvale on 02 9981 2300 for advice and assistance.

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