Practice Update - July 2020

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Welcome to the New Financial Year

It goes without saying there has been significant and wide-reaching change in 2020. Like so many other businesses, Crawford Accountants has adapted new ways to make sure that our services to you are unaffected.


We have been in regular contact with you regarding State and federal funding including Jobkeeper and Cashflow boost. We are committed to assisting you and your business with reliable advice and compliance services. At Crawford Accountants, its business as usual. So please get in touch for your 2020 taxes or any queries you may have. We strongly recommend frequent communication more than ever to collectively navigate through this time.

Phone appointments, Zoom and electronic signing can also be accommodated to meet your needs.


Victorian Business Support Fund – Expanded

The Victorian Government has announced a $ 5,000 grant to employing businesses that were affected by the 6-week lockdown.

If you are a business that:

  • employs staff
  • currently receives Job keeper
  • affected by the lockdown


Please contact our office urgently as the applications close on the 19 August 2020.
(Guidelines for the grant attached)


ATO Audit Protection

Even if you can substantiate your claim for an allowable deduction, if queried you must still go through the audit process. To alleviate the cost and stress we encourage you to take out our audit protection. It is a cheap and efficient way of dealing with an ATO audit. For more information, please contact our office.


Treasury Laws Amendment (2020 Measures No 3) Bill 2020

Treasury Laws Amendment (2020 Measures No 3) Bill 2020 has passed both Houses of Parliament and is now law.


Extending the Instant Asset Write-Off

This legislation amends the income tax law to allow a business with an aggregated turnover for the income year of less than $500 million to immediately deduct the cost of a depreciating asset (instant asset write-off). The asset must cost less than a threshold of $150,000 and be first used or installed ready for use for a taxable purpose by 31 December 2020. Without these amendments the $150,000 instant asset write-off would have ended on 30 June 2020.


By extending the previous end date of 30 June 2020 to 31 December 2020, the amendments give businesses additional time to access the $150,000 instant asset write-off for their acquisitions of depreciating assets, including those purchases that have been delayed by supply chain disruptions. Further, the amendments extend cash flow support to businesses through the early stages of the recovery from the economic conditions caused by COVID-19.


It will be interesting to see if this timeframe is further extended at some later point. Note that, come 1 January 2021, if there is no further extension, the $150,000 threshold for the instant asset write-off for depreciating assets will collapse to $1,000 and the turnover threshold for eligibility for the outright deduction of less than $500 million will fall to a turnover of less than $10 million.


Editor: Please contact our office if you are considering purchasing a depreciating asset for your business and want to know if you will be eligible for the instant asset write-off.


Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No 3) Bill 2019

Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No 3) Bill 2019 has passed both Houses of Parliament and is now law.


Testamentary trusts and minors

This legislation contains amendments to ensure the tax concessions available to minors in relation to income from a testamentary trust only apply in respect of income generated from assets of the deceased estate that are transferred to the testamentary trust (or the proceeds of the disposal or investment of those assets).


Broadly speaking, when a trustee distributes income to a minor it is taxed at the highest marginal rate (plus Medicare levy). However, there are certain exceptions to this rule. One such exception is where the trust is a testamentary trust – being a trust that was established as a result of the will of a deceased individual. Income from a testamentary trust is a type of ‘excepted trust income’ that is generally taxed at ordinary rates.


Prior to this legislation being passed, the previously existing law did not specify that the assessable income of the testamentary trust be derived from assets of the deceased estate (or assets representing assets of the deceased estate). As a result, assets unrelated to a deceased estate that were injected into a testamentary trust may, subject to anti-avoidance rules, generate excepted trust income that was not subject to the higher tax rates on minors. This was an unintended consequence, which allowed some taxpayers to inappropriately obtain the benefit of concessional tax treatment.


This legislation clarifies that excepted trust income of the testamentary trust must be derived from assets transferred to the testamentary trust from the deceased estate or from the accumulation of such income.

This change will apply in relation to assets acquired by or transferred to the trustee of a testamentary trust on or after 1 July 2019.


Please contact our office if you have any concerns about testamentary trusts making distributions to minor beneficiaries.


Regulations confirm no SG obligation on JobKeeper payments where work is not performed

The federal government has registered the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Amendment (Jobkeeper) Payment Regulations 2020.


These regulations ensure that amounts of salary or wages that do not relate to the performance of work and are only paid to an employee to satisfy the wage condition for getting the JobKeeper payment are prescribed by the Regulations as excluded salary or wages.


The effect is that these amounts are excluded from the calculations of an employer’s superannuation guarantee shortfall and the minimum compulsory superannuation contribution an employer is required to make in respect of an employee to avoid a superannuation guarantee charge liability.


Likewise, the Regulations recognise that an employer is only entitled to a JobKeeper payment for its employees if the business has suffered a substantial decline in turnover. In these circumstances, it is appropriate to require employers to only make minimum superannuation contributions in respect of amounts that are required to be paid to an employee for the performance of work. 


Employers would not be required to make contributions in relation to additional amounts paid to satisfy the wage condition (for example, the amount by which $1,500 exceeds an employee’s normal pay). 

Editor: If you are concerned about the calculation of compulsory superannuation for any employees supported by JobKeeper, please contact our office.


COVID-19 and Division 7A relief

The ATO has announced some limited relief for private companies that have loans to their shareholders or related parties that are governed by what are referred to as “complying loan agreements”.

A complying loan agreement is entered into to avoid triggering an assessable deemed dividend that could potentially be equal to the amount of the loan from the private company.


When there is a complying loan agreement between a private company and a borrower, the borrower must make the minimum yearly repayment (MYR) by the end of the private company’s income year. This avoids the borrower being considered to have received an unfranked dividend, generally equal to the amount of any MYR shortfall.


As a result of the COVID-19 situation, the ATO understands that some borrowers are facing circumstances beyond their control. To offer more support, the ATO will allow an extension of the repayment period for those borrowers who are unable to make their MYR by the end of the lender’s 2019–20 income year (generally 30 June).


Requesting the extension

A request for a 12-month extension can be made through the completion of an online application. Borrowers will be asked to confirm the shortfall, that the COVID-19 situation has affected them and that they are unable to pay the MYR as a result.


When the ATO approves an application, it will let the borrower know they will not be considered to have received an unfranked dividend. This is subject to the shortfall being paid by 30 June 2021. It will not be necessary to submit further evidence with the application.


This particular streamlined process established by the ATO only applies to applications for an extension of up to twelve months for COVID-19 affected borrowers.  It is still open to a borrower to apply to obtain a longer extension of time outside the streamlined process.


Editor: If you have been affected by the COVID-19 situation and need more to time to make your minimum yearly repayment (MYR) in relation to complying loans from private companies, contact our office for assistance.


Please Note: The comments in this publication are general in nature and if you are intending to apply the information to your circumstances please get in touch with us to verify their interpretation and the information’s applicability to your particular circumstances.

Crawford News

March 2026 - Update

March 4, 2026
$20,000 instant asset write-off is extended Small business instant asset write off is extend to 30 June 2026. If a business has an aggregated annual turnover of less than $10 million, they may be able to use the instant asset write-off to immediately deduct the business portion of the cost of eligible assets that are $20,000. Eligible assets must be first used between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. The $20,000 limit is per asset. Cash in hand sales The ATO is cracking down on businesses that use cash to avoid paying tax, employer and business obligations. Some examples of such situations are: Failure to report all sales Failure to pay GST, income tax, PAYG withholding, super guarantee, insurance and work cover Reporting income below $75,000 to avoid GST registration Failure to meet employment awards and work cover Workers who are paid cash-in-hand risk losing their entitlements and if they are injured at work, they may not be protected. Contractors income Data matching records indicate some contractors are incorrectly reporting or omitting income. Contractors need to report all their income in their tax return, including payments made by businesses for their contracting work. Note that, as part of the taxable payments reporting system, businesses in some industries must lodge a Taxable payments annual report to report contractor payments for providing the following services: Building and construction; Courier; Cleaning; Information technology; Road freight; and Security, investigation or surveillance. Contractors who provide the above services must note that the businesses they contract to report their payments to the ATO on their TPAR. Contractors must then report their income in their tax returns to avoid data matching discrepancies. If the ATO suspects a contractor may have omitted TPRS income on their tax return, it may contact them to request they amend their tax return. If the contractor does not take action, the ATO may conduct a review and audit of their business, and penalties and interest may apply. Government payments programs The ATO is reminding taxpayers that receive government payments for delivering services under a Commonwealth program, such as healthcare, disability support or child care, that they have an obligation to: Keep accurate records; and Report any such income they receive in their tax return. The ATO recently advised that it would be contacting taxpayers and tax agents in February by email to ensure that income received from government agencies such as the Aged Care Subsidy or under the National Disability Insurance Scheme is reported correctly in their tax returns. The ATO has updated its Government Payments Program data-matching program protocol to better detect non-compliance, and work more effectively with other government entities. Work-related expense claims rejected by ART  The Administrative Review Tribunal recently disallowed a taxpayer's claims for many different types of work-related expenses. The taxpayer was employed full-time as an engineer, working from home two days a week. For the 2023 income year, he claimed deductions totalling over $61,000, in relation to car expenses, travel expenses, clothing expenses, and home office expenses, all of which he claimed were work-related. The ATO largely disallowed these deductions, and the ART affirmed the ATO's decision, primarily due to problems with substantiating these claims. For example, in relation to the car expenses, the ART noted that none of the log books were contemporaneous, and the log book entries were inconsistent with independent records. In relation to travel expenses, the ART noted that the taxpayer did not provide evidence clearly identifying which travel expenses had been reimbursed by his employer, and the ride share documentation did not include the date, time or destination of travel. In relation to home office utility expenses, the ART noted that the taxpayer only provided calculations estimating the business use proportion of those expenses, without providing any documentary evidence to substantiate the expenses. The information provided in this Newsletter is general in nature and if you have any queries or require further information or assistance with the above, please contact our office.

February 2026 - Update

February 3, 2026
Cash acceptance is mandated for essential purchases From 1 January 2026, food and grocery retailers must accept cash for in-person transactions of $500 or less between 7am and 9pm. Small businesses with aggregate annual turnover under $10 million are generally exempted from the mandate. However, this mandate still applies to small businesses that share a trademark with a large retailer. The Government noted that, in addition to the cash mandate for fuel and groceries, consumers also already have the option to pay their bills, including utilities, phone bills and council rates, in cash at their local Australia Post outlet through Post Billpay. The Government will review this mandate after three years, to ensure it is functioning as intended. ATO child support data-matching program ATO will acquire child support data from Services Australia for the 2025 to 2027 income years, including the following: The ATO estimates that records relating to up to 300,000 individuals will be obtained each financial year, which will be matched against ATO records. The objectives of this program are to: allow Services Australia to more accurately assess child support obligations, and maximise opportunities to collect child support debts; and identify and educate individuals who may be failing to meet their lodgment obligations and help them to finalise their lodgment obligations, or notify the ATO that an income tax return is not required. Paying super guarantee Employers need to pay a minimum of 12% of each employee's ordinary time earnings into a complying super fund on a quarterly basis (the due date for the March 2026 quarter is 28 April 2026). In most cases, employees can choose the super fund. Employers who do not pay in full, on time or to the correct super fund will have to pay the SG charge, which is made up of the super they owe, nominal interest on those amounts (currently 10%), and an administration fee of $20 per employee, per quarter. These payments must be made through SuperStream. Small Business Superannuation Clearing House service will be permanently closed from 1 July 2026. Existing users should switch to an alternative method to pay their employees' super guarantee. When new employees start, employers must comply with the 'choice of fund rules' if the new employee does not choose a super fund. Employers may now need to request the new employee's 'stapled super fund' details from the ATO. Time limits on GST and fuel tax credit claims GST credits and fuel tax credits will expire if not claimed within the 4-year credit time limit (generally four years from the due date of the original BAS in which the taxpayer could have claimed them). Once credits expire, the ATO has no discretion or ability to amend the assessment to include those credits. There may be situations where the ATO is able to amend for overpaid or underpaid GST or overclaimed credits, but additional credits cannot be included in an amendment assessment. If credits are near expiry, taxpayers should consider: claiming the credits in their next BAS that is still within the 4-year credit time limit; requesting the amendment by lodging a revised BAS for the tax period to which the credits are attributable; or lodging a valid objection against their assessment for the period to which the GST credits are attributable before the end of the 4-year credit time limit. Departure Prohibition Orders for overdue tax debts The ATO is actively using departure prohibition orders as part of a broader shift towards debt collection. A DPO is an enforcement action available to the ATO to prevent certain persons with tax liabilities from leaving Australia without paying their outstanding tax. Since July 2025, the ATO has issued 21 DPOs, more than the total number issued in the entire financial year ended 30 June 2025. The ATO notes that a taxpayer was recently prevented from boarding a flight in the early hours of the morning due to a DPO imposed because of deliberate non-payment of a significant debt. The dog breeding activities treated as an enterprise The ART recently held that a taxpayer had carried on an enterprise of dog breeding for GST purposes. He had lodged activity statements for the quarters ended 30 September 2018 to 31 December 2021 inclusive, claiming input tax credits for the dog breeding activities he carried on from his home. The ATO disallowed the taxpayer's claims for the above periods, arguing that enterprises were not carried on, and that there was a lack of appropriate substantiation. The ART however held that the taxpayer's dog breeding operation was an enterprise for GST purposes, noting that his activities had "the necessary commercial character." Therefore, the taxpayer was entitled to ITCs for that enterprise. However, the ART affirmed the ATO's decision to reduce the taxpayer's other ITC claims, such as in relation to stamp duty on the acquisition of a property and for café and grocery expenses. The ART also admonished the taxpayer for apparently using artificial intelligence in the presentation of his case, as he appeared to rely on cases and principles that did not exist. The information provided in this Newsletter is general in nature and if you have any queries or require further information or assistance with the above, please contact our office.

December 2025 - Update

December 15, 2025
December 2025 Superannuation Guarantee is due on 28 January 2026 Employee super contributions for the quarter ending 31 December 2025 must be received by the relevant super funds by 28 January 2026. If the correct amount of SG is not paid by an employer on time, the employer must lodge a superannuation guarantee statement and pay the superannuation guarantee charge which includes admin fees and interest. ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House is closing ATO Small Business Superannuation Clearing House will close on 1 July 2026. Employers must make arrangements to move to an alternative clearing house now to avoid any unexpected delays with superannuation payments. Following are few key dates in relation to the clearing house. 10 December 2025 — Super payments, along with instructions, must be received by 5.30 pm AEDT on this date. Payments received after this time will be processed from 2 January 2026. 28 January 2026 — December SG due February to March 2026 — Employers should move to an alternative clearing house 28 April 2026 — March SG due 30 June 2026 — Final day of the service. Make final payments. Employers may already have other options readily available so they can exit from using the SBSCH ahead of time and your existing software and payroll packages may already include super functions they can use to pay SG. Popular software packagaes such as Xero contain their own clearing house.  ATO's approach to holiday home expenses ATO now takes the view that, if a taxpayer's rental property is also being used as a private holiday home, certain deductions relating to holding it will not be deductible in total as opposed to being apportioned. Expenses relating to ownership and use of the holiday home such as interest, rates and maintenance will not be deductible, unless the holiday home is 'mainly' used to produce assessable income. Whether a holiday home is used 'mainly' to produce assessable income will be determined based on a consideration of a number of factors. However, this will generally not apply to expenses incurred in relation to holiday homes that are rental properties before 1 July 2026, if those expenses are incurred under an arrangement entered into prior to 12 November 2025. ATO warns about barter credit tax scheme The ATO is warning the community to steer clear of an emerging tax scheme involving barter credits — a type of alternative currency used in some business networks. A tax scheme that involves artificially inflating deductions for donations of barter credits to deductible gift recipients is on the rise. While it may seem enticing, promoters and taxpayers could face potentially significant consequences if they are involved. The ATO is concerned that such schemes are being enabled by several barter exchanges that are allowing participants to access barter credits with a nominal face value that is much more than any payments actually made to the exchange. Participants then donate these barter credits to a DGR and claim a larger tax deduction than they are entitled to. Dental expenses are not deductible ATO has noted a number of claims for dental expenses this tax time. Dental expenses, including preventative and necessary dental treatment, medical expenses and other costs relating to personal appearance are not deductible. These expenses are generally private expenses, even if an employer expects an employee to maintain a certain appearance, or pays them an allowance to cover grooming expenses. A deduction can only be claimed for an expense that directly relates to earning their income. Private expenses cannot be claimed as a deduction. Taxpayers should have written evidence of all their expenses, and be able to show a direct connection with those expenses to their employment income. The information provided in this Newsletter is general in nature and if you have any queries or require further information or assistance with the above, please contact our office.

November 2025 - Update

November 6, 2025
ATO Focus on Small Business The ATO is actively identifying and addressing errors among businesses with turnovers between $1 million and $10 million. Key industries under scrutiny include property and construction, as well as professional, scientific, and technical services such as engineering, IT, design, and consulting. Common issues observed include: Omitted income or sales in Business Activity Statements and tax returns, including income from related entities. Overstated expenses or GST credits. Private expenses incorrectly reported as business-related or not properly apportioned. Failure to register for GST when required. Incorrect R&D tax incentive claims for ineligible activities. Lack of independent advice from registered tax agents, particularly in contractor arrangements. By highlighting these issues, the ATO aims to help small business operators improve compliance and avoid common mistakes. Dual Cab Utes and FBT Dual cab utes are not automatically exempt from fringe benefits tax. If an employer provides a dual cab ute for work purposes and it is available for personal use, it may be subject to FBT. To qualify for an exemption, the vehicle must: Be an eligible vehicle , meaning it is designed to carry at least one tonne, more than eight passengers, or it is not primarily designed for passenger use. Be used only for limited private purposes , such as minor, infrequent, or irregular trips. If these conditions are not met, the employer may be liable for FBT. Employers should monitor employee vehicle use and maintain proper documentation to determine eligibility. Claiming Business Expenses Taxpayers can claim deductions for most business expenses if they comply with the ATO’s three key rules which are: The expense must relate directly to business use. If the expense has both business and private use, only the business portion can be claimed. Taxpayers must keep records to substantiate their claims. New ATO Data-Matching Programs The ATO continues to enhance its data-matching programs to improve compliance, detect errors, and prevent fraud. Data is used to pre-fill returns, verify accuracy, and identify taxpayers who may need assistance. When discrepancies arise, the ATO may contact tax agents or their clients to clarify the differences. Rental Properties ATO will issue letters to taxpayers where its data suggests that rent income was omitted or incorrect in previously lodged returns. If you receive such a letter, please contact our office for assistance. Offshore Merchant Data-Matching The ATO will collect merchant transaction data from Australia’s major banks for the 2025–2027 financial years. Around 9,000 offshore merchant records will be acquired annually. SMSF Compliance and Release Authorities The ATO has noted an increase in self-managed super funds failing to comply with release authorities such as excess contributions or Division 293 tax. Common issues include: Failure to respond within the required 10 business days. Incorrect responses, such as not releasing the full amount or not submitting a release authority statement. Non-compliance can attract significant penalties. Trustees should ensure robust systems are in place to respond promptly and correctly to ATO release authorities. The information in this publication is general in nature and should not be relied upon as professional advice. Individuals should seek specific guidance to ensure applicability to their personal circumstances.

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