April has landed!
With only 6 weeks to go until our final lodgement deadline for all 2022 financial year accounts and tax returns, we are in the process of reaching out to the last of you to get started. If you have received an engagement letter from us, please be sure to complete this as soon as possible so that we can begin preparing your returns. This is especially important for our Self-Managed Superannuation Fund clients, as we need to prepare your returns and have them audited before lodgement, and with this being such a busy time, the audit process may take some weeks to complete.
April is a busy month with public holidays for Easter and Anzac Day and lodgements due for quarterly and monthly BAS as well as your quarterly super guarantee contributions. Please check out our calendar below for specific due dates.
Upcoming Dates for April
7 – Good Friday public holiday (national)
8 – Easter Saturday public holiday (Queensland)
9 – Easter Sunday public holiday (Queensland)
10 – Easter Monday public holiday (national)
21 – Lodge and pay March BAS (if you lodge monthly)
25 – Anzac Day public holiday (national)
28 – Lodge and pay January-March BAS (if you lodge quarterly)
28 – January-March Super guarantee contributions due
We have some exciting things planned for this year too. This includes events, new service offerings, small business courses, free training, and much more!
Keep an eye on our newsletters to make sure you are the first to know.
Upcoming Designated Queensland Public Holidays
Alongside the national public holidays of Good Friday (7th April), Easter Monday (10th April) and Anzac Day (25th April), Queensland has also designated Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday as public holidays. Labour Day also falls on Monday the 1st of May in Queensland. Please keep this in mind when paying your staff members to ensure you are paying the correct rates for these days.
Coming up in May – Due dates for accounts
The final deadline for lodgement for all company, individual and self-managed super fund clients is Monday the 15th of May, 2023. If you have not yet completed your returns, now is the time to get started to ensure we have enough time to gather all of the required information, prepare the returns and lodge them. If we are waiting on information from you, we would appreciate your efforts to pull them all together and send them through to us as soon as possible. The ATO is issuing harsh penalties for missing lodgement deadlines, so please reach out to us if there are any questions on being able to lodge by the due date.
Small Business Expense Write-offs Expiring June 2023, Reverts to $1000
The Instant Asset Write-off scheme is a tax initiative introduced by the Australian government to support small businesses. Under this scheme, businesses can claim an immediate tax deduction for the full value of assets purchased for their business, up to a certain threshold amount. As of 2021, the threshold is $150,000.
The government introduced temporary full expensing during the COVD-19 pandemic as part of its support package for all businesses, regardless of size.
However, the scheme is set to expire on June 30, 2023. This means that from July 1, 2023, the threshold amount will revert to its pre-scheme level of $1,000, or for businesses with a turnover above $10 million, the threshold is $100.
The scheme encourages business owners to invest in their businesses and allowed businesses to avoid the somewhat complex tax depreciation rules for business. But the scheme is now coming to an end, which could have a significant impact on small businesses, particularly those that have relied on the scheme to invest in new assets and improve their operations.
Coming up to the June 30 expiration date, businesses must carefully assess whether the purchase of an asset is going to be beneficial for their business. It’s also important to check the lead times on some items as the asset must be installed and ready for use by June 30, 2023. Some large purchases like cars and machinery may have large lead times which means that businesses would not be able to access the scheme for those items.
If purchases are not able to be written off this financial year, businesses should save the depreciation for when it was essential and most beneficial for their business.
More information is available at from the Australian Tax Office here.
If you need advice on whether to take advantage of the Instant Asset Write-off scheme before June 30, please reach out to us.
Beat Procrastination in 8 Steps
Procrastination is a common struggle that many people face, causing unnecessary stress and hindering productivity. However, it’s important to recognise that overcoming procrastination is a skill that can be learned and improved upon. Today we explore 8 expert tips to help you beat procrastination and increase your productivity. From understanding the root cause of your procrastination to breaking tasks down into smaller steps, these tips will provide you with actionable strategies to overcome your procrastination habits and achieve your goals. So, let’s dive in and learn how to become a more productive and efficient version of ourselves!
Step #1 – Recognise that you procrastinate
As with all strategies, to be able to make improvements you must first acknowledge that you may have a problem.
Step #2 – Look at why you are procrastinating
What is the real issue that you are just not getting the work done? Do you prefer other tasks to the one that needs completing, or maybe you don’t feel you have the skills or confidence to carry out the work. Once you know the reasons why, you can begin to devise a strategy to remedy those causes.
Step #3 – Make a plan!
Break down the project into small, manageable steps and create a timetable of when to achieve each task. This makes the project more manageable and takes the pressure off.
Step #4 – Remove distractions
Take note of the things that are distracting you and make steps to remove these when you are trying to be productive. If your phone is a distraction, leave it in another room. If emails are popping up and taking your attention, close the program or mute the alerts. These things will always be there once you have finished the task at hand.
Step #5 – Trial time-management strategies
The Pomodoro Technique involves setting a timer for 25 minutes where you focus on a single task. Then, have a 5-minute break. Repeat this 3 or 4 times before having an extended break. Or, create blocks of time in your day that are dedicated to specific tasks. Make sure you block out times for breaks as well.
Step #6 – Reward yourself
Setting an incentive upfront can help you power through the work to get to the reward. This reward can be anything – time on social media, a snack or coffee break, or a walk outside. Knowing the reward is waiting can motivate you to focus on your project.
Step #7 – Prioritise!
Don’t do all the easy tasks first, leaving all the hard tasks to the last minute – you may never get to them! Prioritising the work in the order of importance can help with blending the easier and harder tasks throughout your day, and means that the critical tasks are attended to sooner.
Step #8 – Make yourself accountable
Sometimes it helps to let others know that you are trying to overcome your tendencies to procrastinate. Let them know you are aiming to have certain projects completed and by when and have them check back with you. This can help to keep you on track and focused.
Small Business in the ATO FBT Crosshairs
The ATO has put out a publication stating that there is a near billion-dollar tax gap for FBT and most of it is coming from small business owners not doing the right thing.
Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) is a tax paid by employers relating to benefits that it provides its employees. For most small business, employees can also include the working directors.
Each year, the FBT year rolls around and ends on the 31st of March. Where an employer does provide benefits, it needs to calculate whether there is any liability that it needs to pay on these benefits.
In the past, we usually have applied employee contributions to negate the need to prepare and lodge a full FBT return.
So, what are these benefits that FBT actually applies to? Essentially, if an employee has received something that isn’t cash for doing their job, FBT can apply. But the complexity of the FBT system has many small businesses putting it in the too-hard basket.
Here’s a few very common benefits that may attract FBT:
- Cars – motor vehicles, car leasing, car parking and road tolls
- Entertainment – food, drink, recreational activities (think Friday drinks, the work Christmas party, or client entertainment), and any associated travel or accommodation
- Expenses – business or private expenses reimbursed to the employee such as IT expenses, telephone or internet expenses or health insurance premiums
- Accommodation – housing, board or living away from home allowances
The ATO has openly publicised their current focus on FBT, citing a FBT net “gap” of 22%. This represents the difference between what the ATO collected and what it believed it should be collecting. They believe that it is predominantly with small business employers who are not part of the FBT system.
Using existing data matching systems, the ATO will be targeting small businesses who may be providing their employees with benefits and not declaring these in the FBT system.
For example, cars may be registered to the business, so the ATO will be checking to see if those cars are being reported in the FBT lodgements. Through an FBT audit, businesses will then need to provide documentary evidence that supports all claims. If any FBT liabilities are identified, those will need to be paid along with a 25% penalty and all applicable interest charges.
Once the ATO has you on their radar, they may also look to audit other areas of your business such as GST and income tax.
Because of the risk level associated with the broad-brush approach using data matching that will be used by the ATO we will be offering this year a specific FBT review.
One big area that we are already aware is causing issues is with Log Books. It is so important to keep a solid log book that we will be doing a special video on this in the coming weeks.
If you haven’t already, now might be the time to consider audit insurance. Bee Group Accountants currently offers Audit Shield (tax audit insurance) through Accountancy Insurance. Reach out to us for more information if you need it.
Lodging your FBT
You must lodge your return and pay the FBT you owe by the 21st May, unless we lodge your return electronically, which means that the due date is generally the 25th June. Note: you must be an FBT client of the tax agent by the 21st May.
More information on FBT from the ATO can be found here: https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Fringe-benefits-tax/
Bonus: Excel Tips
This month we are looking at the VLOOKUP formula. This can be useful for bringing together 2 sets of information, for example, matching client information in separate databases.
In this example, we have produced a report from Xero and a report from our CRM system called EngageBay. We want to check the email addresses in one system are the same in the other. We have placed the data from both systems into the one workbook.
In its simplest form, the VLOOKUP function says:
=VLOOKUP(What you want to look up, where you want to look for it, the column number in the range containing the value to return, return an Approximate (TRUE) or Exact match (FALSE)).
Here, our formula looks like this:
=VLOOKUP(A2, Sheet2!A:B, 2, FALSE)
We are looking up the value Sam Smith (A2), within the data on the second sheet in the workbook in columns A and B (Sheet2!A;B), returning the data in the second column (2), and we have specified that the value we are looking up must not be an approximate match (FALSE). This formula shows that EngageBay holds a different email address for Sam, and we can go ahead and update this for the correct one.
Here at the Bee Group, we love this formula so we hope you can get some use from it too!
Funds Withdrawn during COVID-19 Pandemic
Did you withdraw money from your self-managed superannuation fund during the pandemic under the Covid early release scheme? You have until the 30th June, 2030 to replace those funds in your SMSF without the contribution counting towards your cap limits.
However, you must follow the correct process for the contributions not to count, including completing the required ATO notification form. If you fail to complete the form giving notice to the ATO, it will be treated as a non-concessional contribution.
The approved COVID-19 re-contribution form can be found here, along with where to send it: https://www.ato.gov.au/super/apra-regulated-funds/in-detail/apra-resources/re-contribution-of-covid-19-early-release-super-amounts/
Please also make sure that you return only the amount you have withdrawn during COVID-19 or you may face penalties.
Division 293 Assessments
Additional tax on super contributions, known as Division 293 tax, will be issued to individuals if their combined income and contributions are greater than the current $250,000 threshold during the financial year. These are issued once the SMSF has lodged its annual return and the member has lodged their tax return.
If a liability is identified, the member will receive a Division 293 notice of assessment. Payment must be made by the due date. If the member elects for funds to be released from their super, they have 60 days to do this from the date of the notice of assessment, however this does not change the due date for payment.
Your SMSF cannot release funds until:
- The member has completed and submitted the applicable release authority form, and
- Your SMSF has received a release authority from the ATO.
Releasing money prior to receiving the relevant release authority from the ATO can result in penalties. For more information or assistance, please feel free to reach out to us.
Ignition Engagement Letters
We are going to be issuing engagement letters before proceeding with any work going forward. This ensures that we have your authority to complete the work on your behalf, and you will know the costs upfront for us to do the work.
The platform that we use to issue these letters is called Ignition (formerly Practice Ignition).Data security is their top priority. All interactions with Ignition servers are encrypted through the use of SSL.
Their SSL certificates use 256-bit encryption to protect your data. Please also note that credit card and direct debit details are never stored by Ignition. All sensitive payment details are transmitted directly to their payment providers over SSL connections and are not logged or stored in Ignition systems.
If you have received an engagement letter from us, please read and sign to provide your authority to us. If you have any questions at all, please get in touch.
Need to update your contact details?
Visit our knowledge base for help on how to do this: https://help.thebeegroup.com.au/articles/updating-my-contact-details
Need Help?
The Bee Group Knowledge Base is filled with articles to help you with everyday frequently asked questions:
https://help.thebeegroup.com.au/
Alternatively, you can submit a help request online via our site at:
https://www.thebeegroup.com.au/support/
As always, please reach out to us if you have any questions or queries. We look forward to hearing from you.
Have a great April!
Sheree and the team at Bee Group Accountants
We have been working hard at improving our systems and building up our team. This means that we are now able to start accepting new clients. If you have someone that you know who is looking for an accountant – please ask them to get in contact with our office via phone, email or through our website.
If there is anything that you think we can improve on too please be sure to let us know. We are working hard to improve your experience in working with us as well!
We truly appreciate the opportunity to help and welcome any recommendations.
