Just recently, the Australian government has been taking action, in addition to announcing the latest budget,
And a lot of people will be strictly investigated,
Chinese landlords are impressively listed!
If you pay attention to the recent news, you will know that it is about to be the tax season in Australia, and this year the ATO will not only strictly check taxes.
All landlords in Australia will also be strictly investigated!
And in the data released by the Inland Revenue Department, it can be seen that 90% of landlords in Australia may have violations.
You may even be fined heavily!
Strict inspection of landlords
The Chinese bore the brunt
In the past, Australian homeowners had many tax deduction options when filing their taxes every year. One of them is:
Maintenance and repair costs for rental housing!
Previously, many landlords directly reported high property repair and maintenance fees in order to obtain tax deductions.
Quite a few landlords have benefited from this!
But this year, the tax bureau is going to start a strict investigation!
One of the reasons why the Inland Revenue Department is determined to investigate is that the rental income of landlords in Australia is too exaggerated.
CoreLogic's data shows:
The annual growth rate of rents nationwide rose from 8.1% in October last year to 8.5% in April this year.
With the exception of Hobart, all capital cities have seen annual increases in rents.
Perth led the way with a 13.6 per cent increase, followed by Melbourne with a 9.6 per cent increase.
Rents in Adelaide rose 9.1 per cent, while rents in Sydney rose 9 per cent.
Rents continue to rise, landlords earn more and more, and if many people continue to make false claims about their maintenance costs, they can get more bang for their buck.
However, if you do so this year, you will always be discovered. In the past, if you dismantle the old kitchen and replace it with new equipment, you may also declare it as a maintenance cost, but this year it will definitely not be.
In addition to the repair and maintenance costs of rental housing, the landlord has another point to pay attention to.
Never make false declarations
Rent income!
Therefore, the tax bureau said that landlords who own investment properties had better find professional accountants to assist in filing to avoid mistakes and loopholes that lead to heavy fines!
Attention to these two types of people
The easiest to be targeted
In addition to landlords, this year the tax bureau will also strictly investigate two types of people,
People working from home!
Have a part-time crowd!
The Australian Taxation Office said more than 8 million people claimed work-related tax credits on their 2023 tax returns,
More than half of them are related to the cost of working from home!
But let's not forget that also last year, the Australian Taxation Office (OWLA) has revised the flat rate for calculating the work-from-home tax credit, expanded the scope of coverage, and increased the rate.
These changes have officially come into effect this year, and you want to apply for tax deductions by working from home.
You need to provide the most comprehensive record!
Records need to show the number of hours worked from home, such as calendars, schedules, or spreadsheets, as well as any additional running costs, such as electricity or internet bills.
Australian Taxation Office Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson said the tax deduction for work-from-home expenses was calculated using the actual cost or flat-rate method.
If you use the previous declaration, you will basically not be approved, and you may even be fined.
There are three golden rules for declaring work-related expenses:
1. The taxpayer who made the declaration must have spent the money himself and has not been reimbursed
2. Expenses must be directly related to earned income
3. There must be a record of the expense, such as a receipt, to prove the existence of the expense
If these conditions are not met, the tax deduction will not be successful.
As for having a part-time job, this is better explained, because the cost of living is high, and many people choose to find additional part-time jobs in order to meet their living needs.
This also leads to the fact that when you file your tax returns, you may not report all your income.
This is obviously one of the focuses of the tax bureau's strict investigation this year, and if you choose to conceal it in order to save money, you may only be punished more severely.
These contents must be noted
Violations are also subject to heavy fines
First of all, everyone should understand that the tax declaration is the income declared for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, that is, the income between July 1 last year and June this year, and the tax reform will only be implemented in July this year.
So the tax is still calculated according to the previous rules:
- Income below $18,200 is exempt from tax;
- 19% tax on income between $18,201 and $45,000 and over $18,200;
- revenue between $45,001 and $120,000, $5,092 plus 32.5% of the portion over $45,000;
- revenue between $120,001 and $180,000, $29,467 plus 37% of the portion over $120,000;
- Revenues over $180,001, $51,667 plus 45% of the portion over $180,000.
There is one more thing you need to note:
This year's tax season will be
The deadline for submission of applications is October 31st!
This deadline only applies to people who need to file a tax return, and they
Tax preparers who choose to use a tax agent will need to register with a tax agent by October 31, and the agent will have until May 15, 2024, to file their tax return.
Those who have not yet filed their taxes must grasp the time, because they may face huge fines if they pay one day late...
For forgetting to file a tax return, the amount of the Australian Taxation Office fine is also higher year by year, compared to last year's fine of 222 Australian dollars:
This year's fines
It has risen to 313 Australian dollars!
For every 28 consecutive days of non-submission, an additional $313 will be added, up to a maximum of 5 times.
This also means that if a few months are delayed, the fine will increase to a maximum of $1,565!
Approaching the tax season, landlords, people who work from home and people who have part-time jobs will become the focus of the ATO's strict investigation this year, reminding everyone to be cautious in filing taxes, and there are heavy penalties for violations!