Investment Tax Tips

As we all know that the end of the financial year is almost here to assist you to manage your tax time, below are 5 tips for your tax return so that tax time is easy for you.

Dividend Income:  

Some businesses send interim and last returns so provide these statements to us.
Both the dividend transaction and the amount of the franking credit (if relevant) are a part of your assessable earnings.

Constraints and the terms on the dates might be complicated for many, but we are able to easily clear this up for you. Use the transaction date instead of record date to find out when you obtained the results. But make sure you tell your accountants clearly about these dates as sometimes these could straddle between two financial years.

Depreciating assets:

You can also claim an immediate deduction on your assets that cost less than$300 else we can claim depreciation for you on the asset by using rates as prescribed by the ATO. We might ask you about the extent of any private use.

Hobby or business losses:

If you have invested in a quasi-business activity (such as a hobby farm or venture), and you have generated losses this year, you cannot just deduct the loss against your other income (such as salary and wages).  Unlike negative gearing on property and shares, you are required to quarantine these losses for later use unless you satisfy specific criteria.
We can apply any such losses you have to offset against your other income if you satisfy at least one of following four tests:
– Assessable income test
– Profits test
– Real property test
– Other assets test.

Distribution Statement:

In the case of investing in managed funds or securities, we need to review each distribution statement for you as there may be dividends and franking credits, capital and losses shown.
You should be aware of foreign taxes paid on offshore income as we might be able to claim foreign tax offsets for you.

Membership subscriptions.

Don’t forget to let us know if you want to claim a deduction for membership associated with your investments. Where you gain investment income, the entire amount of the subscription can be claimed as deduction as long as the membership is relevant.

For more information, call BookSmart Accountants Cranbourne at 1300 300 106 and talk to the experts!!