by John Liston – Nixer
For some, the tax season is a time people look forward to, having paid their taxes all year and are looking to get a nice refund to compensate for all the tax deductible expenses they have paid throughout the year.
There are a few new changes in legislation that can help the everyday Australian get some well-earned tax relief.
Deductible expenses depend on your industry; however, a general rule is that if your expenses have a direct correlation with earning your income, then you can claim it as a tax deduction. Then there is also your contribution to superannuation marginal rate, however a tax of 15% will be applied in the superannuation fund on these contributions.
Mobile Phone – tax deductions
If you use your mobile phone to make work calls, text messages or use the data for work purposes, then you can make a claim. To substantiate the claim, you will need to have a record that justifies the work-related percentage of your mobile phone expenses that you intend to . Please note that you are not able to claim mobile phone expenses if your employer reimburses you or pays your bill.
Motor Vehicle – tax deductions
You can make a claim for work related travel (and vehicle expenses provided they meet the eligibility criteria, such as keeping a log book or a log of work related kms. An important point to note here is that you can’t claim travel from work to home or vice versa. Click here to refer to our help section for more information on this.
Ensure your health insurance is at the correct level.
If your income is $90,000 as a single adult or $180,000 for a family and you don’t have private health insurance, then you will be required to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge (MLS). The MLS is at least 1% of your adjusted income and basic private health insurance is usually less than 1% of your income.
Based on this information, it could be cheaper for you to take out private health insurance instead of paying the Medicare levy surcharge.
Have a look into what private health insurance is relevant to your circumstances and then work out if it would be cheaper for you to have it than not have it.
Income protection insurance – tax deductions
Income Protection Insurance is an insurance that will replace your income if you are unable to work due to injury or sickness.
One of the benefits of having Income Protection Insurance is that it is Tax Deductible if it covers your regular income!
Claim your donations – tax deductions
The ATO allows people to claim a tax deduction for any donations given to a deductible gift recipient (DGR)!
You are allowed to claim a tax deduction for a gift if it meets the following conditions:
- The gift must be to a DGR
- The gift must be money or property
- The gift must be a gift, which basically means you receive nothing in return
Click here for more information
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About Author:
Want your tax done in less than 10 minutes? Head to nixer.com.au, enter your details and Nixer will do the rest. Nixer is Australia’s most innovative online tax agent, offering a unique online tax experience built for Raiz users. Plus as a Raiz user, you receive a special $10 discount on your tax return and $5 invested back into Raiz account when you lodge. Please check your emails for this offer or find Nixer through Raiz Rewards as you must sign-up through your unique link or code.
Every tax return is carefully reviewed by Nixer’s team of qualified accountants to check for accuracy and to help you find extra deductions.
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