For individuals:

Individuals who are small business entities may be entitled to 5% tax discount;

Car expense claims have been simplified;

Recent tribunal decisions affecting self-education expense claims will increase ATO scrutiny;

New ATO guidelines for claiming mobile phone, home phone and internet costs;

New withholding obligation for property acquisitions from foreign investors meeting certain tests;

New ATO ruling affects certain landlords renting out units and apartments with common property;

We expect greater compliance attention from the ATO in the following areas:

Work related expense claims – unusually high work-related expense claims, claims for travel between work and home, claims for expenses already reimbursed by employers;

Rental properties – claiming repairs to newly acquired properties and interest claims related to rental properties;

The Dependent (Invalid and Carer) Tax Offset ;

Medicare levy and Medicare levy surcharge;

CGT issues with applying main residence exemption – namely where dwellings first used for income earning purposes, and activities involving backyard developments.

For businesses:

New CGT roll-over relief allows for small business restructuring;

$20,000 immediate write-off for small business entity taxpayers;

New government initiatives to boost start-up businesses by allowing immediate write-off for certain start-up costs of a business;

Areas under the ATO’s audit microscope in 2016:

Cross-referencing insurance policies over luxury lifestyle assets (boats, luxury cars) to ensure proper income, CGT and fringe benefits compliance;

Increased scrutiny of overseas dealings following ‘’Panama leaks”

Uber drivers, Air Bnb operators and “Apps” sellers

To ensure your 2016 tax returns are done properly and making sure you take advantage of all concessions provided by the government, contact Pearce Davis today.