It is (again) time to pay (or vary) your quarterly PAYG Instalment. A lot of us have received the “pink form” in early July or have received a notification from MyGov that their quarterly PAYG Instalment is available on MyGov.
Some of us would ask:
What is PAYG Instalment, why do I need to pay it?
How did the ATO work out the amount?
Why this quarter’s instalment is much higher than others?
Can I “dial it down” a bit?
Let’s have a look at the What, Hows and Whys.
When you purchase shares in the share market, the companies that you have shares in may declare a dividend. In most cases, the dividend amount comes with a franking credit, which is a rebate that shareholders get for the tax paid by the company. The amount of franking credit that you can claim is shown on the dividend statements that are issued to you.
You will then declare the amounts shown on the dividend statements on your tax return, where the franking credits will be taken into account when calculating your income tax liability.
But do you know that there are instances you may not be eligible to claim all the franking credits you have received?
In recent months Bitcoins and various other cryptocurrencies have attracted a lot of attention after having a roller-coaster ride in its prices over the past few months, and with more and more cryptocurrency trading platforms becoming available in Australia, it has become easier for Australians to dip into the crypto world. As cryptocurrencies are a new concept, what are the views of the ATO in relation to this new type of virtual currency?
The Bill has passed and received Royal Assent on 30 November 2017 for the Commissioner of Taxation to charge a vacancy fee to foreign residents owning an investment property in Australia that is not occupied. This has been popularly called a “ghost tax”.
The fee only applies to non-Australian tax residents who own a residential property that was “vacant” for more than 183 days in a financial year.
A residential property is “occupied” (ie not “vacant”) when:
(a) the owner or his/her relatives genuinely lives in the property,
(b) the property is under a lease or licence for a minimum of 30 days, or
(c) the property is genuinely available for lease or licence for a minimum of 30 days.
If the property is classed as “vacant” (ie not “occupied”), then the owner of the property will need to file a “Vacancy fee return” to the Commissioner of Taxation and pay the vacancy tax.
While other political issues were holding centre stage in late November 2017, the Parliament very quietly passed a Bill to limit plant and equipment depreciation deductions for rental property owners and deny travel deductions on rental properties. It has received the Royal Assent on 30 November 2017. As detailed in the May 2017 Budget, these changes apply from 1 July 2017 onwards.
