Financial Planning News
How to avoid Capital Gains Tax while renting out your house.
One downfall to renting out an investment property is that Capital Gains Tax (CGT) will be payable upon the sale of the property. CGT is the tax charged on capital gains that are procured from an asset, you are liable to pay this tax when your capital gains exceed your capital losses in an income year. However, there are legal ways to avoid paying CGT while renting out your house. Capital gains tax exemptions are allowed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) under certain scenarios.
People’s lives are constantly changing, as such there are many reasons why you may decide to lease out your main place of residence. In order to do this without incurring CGT it is important to be aware of the ATO’s guidelines with regards to CGT exemptions.
Consolidate your Super
Consolidating your super is a simple step that could make a difference to your super savings and help make tracking of your money easier.
If you have ever changed jobs, chances are that you have more than one super fund. By putting all your super money in one fund you could:
Tax-effective Super Strategies
Here are some tax-effective strategies that are suitable for most taxpayers.
Superannuation: What percentage of your income should you save for your retirement?
Superannuation is one of the most tax-effective ways of saving for retirement. But it is important to ensure that you save enough money to live comfortably. For most people, after their home, superannuation will be the largest asset they have once they finish work.
I am sure you have read numerous articles about how the compulsory employer superannuation contributions of 9% will not be enough to fund a comfortable retirement, while this is certainly true, the real question is how much do you really need?
Tax Considerations When Transferring PPOR to an Investment
There are many reasons why homeowners may choose to change their current principal place of residence (PPOR) into an investment property. Whether it is because they are looking to upgrade to a larger – or perhaps downsize to a smaller – model, and wish to retain the original property as an investment, or alternatively they may have been geographically relocated due to work obligations, to name but a few. Regardless of the reason/s, there are numerous factors that homeowners, and subsequent investors, should be aware of when making the switch, especially in regards to tax.
Easier Employee Superannuation Contributions for Small Business
In a move to make the payment of Superannuation contributions simpler for small business owners The Australian Government is introducing a free online Clearing House Service. The service will be available to small businesses with less than 20 employees from July 2010. The Small Business Superannuation Clearing House (the Clearing House) will be administered by Medicare Australia and allows small businesses to pay their employees’ superannuation contributions to a single location. The Clearing House will not only save time for businesses but should reduce the red tape and costs often incurred when meeting superannuation guarantee obligations, particularly for businesses that would normally be required to make super contributions into numerous different funds.
Business Expense Insurance, would your business survive?
Consider for a moment what your most important business assets are. Your initial thoughts might include the obvious and tangible items, such as plant and equipment, motor vehicles or property.
In many cases however, the most valuable asset is the intangible value of your contribution through your skill, knowledge and motivation to make your business successful.
Preparing for a secure financial future.
Since the global financial crisis many investors have turned their interests from risky share market investments to instead preserving their capital. This preservation is of particular importance to savers approaching retirement and current retirees, due to the fact that they have less time to make up any losses.
Some of the following options may help you to protect your hard earned money.
The Secret to Successful Investments is Time not Timing
Many investors try to ‘time’ their investment in the market. That is, their objective is to invest in the property market or the share market when they believe that the market has hit its lowest point in the investment cycle.
Having assisted with the preparation of many tax returns, and providing financial planning and taxation advice, one thing is certain, a client never overestimates their income and understates their expenses. Almost all taxpayers do not want to pay a cent more tax than they are legally obliged to pay, and nor should they have to.
Tax Alerts – Be aware of the risks
Recently the Australian Taxation Office issued the following alerts to help you recognise some of the ‘dodgy’ agreements that are out there. It is important that you are aware of these so that you do not get caught in the midst of something potentially illegal or at the very least frowned upon.
