Happy new financial year! We are now half way through 2025 – can you believe it?
This newsletter is a long one because there are quite a number of changes, so we’ve put an expanded version on-line so you can read more about the relevant items.
It’s important to stay on top of key business changes that could impact your business. The start of a new year often brings legislative updates, and now is the time to ensure your business is prepared.
Despite all these changes we have to look at what we can control. Are your 2025 plans on track? If not, what can we do to help you hit your targets for the calendar year?
Have you made a new financial year plan, set some goals and have targets to meet?
What are you looking achieve between now and December? Hit reply to this email and let us know.
Small Business Changes
Legislation fatigue is real! It seems that the Government is overwhelming small business with a constant stream of tinkering and changes that create more compliance obligations. Despite their words, I don’t think Government likes small businesses very much.
That said – I couldn’t imagine being anything other than a small business owner!
It’s for that reason we are passionate about helping people who run their own small business to succeed.
To do that means helping you keep up to date with the major changes. Your industry will likely have their own changes as well that you might need to look out for.
Some of the big changes in business this year relate to employment. We’ll cover off on that below. The other sleeper issue is the changes to the Privacy Act.
There’s been a number of tax law changes as well. Some of the bigger ones are:
Instant Asset Write Off Threshold
As it stands there is no legislation to extend the Instant Asset Write Off (IAWO) beyond 30 June 2025. That means that we are back to the $1000 limit. Now this might change but we have to work with what we have and to provide advice based upon the law that exists.
No Deduction for ATO Interest
Taxpayers can no longer claim an income tax deduction for ATO interest charges incurred on or after 1 July 2025. If you owe the ATO money maximizing your interest deductions here is essential. Please get in touch with us to discuss your options.
Just to show you how out of touch Government is, the purpose behind denying deductions for ATO interest charges is this: ‘Removing these deductions will enhance incentives for all entities to correctly self-assess their tax liabilities, pay on time and assist in lowering the amount of collectible debt owed to the ATO’.
I don’t know in what world removing a deduction for interest will ‘enhance incentives’ – it’s a stick! Let’s be honest about what it is. Perhaps if the Government focused more on curbing its spending rather than taxing more – the ATO wouldn’t be owed so much ‘collectible debt’. I believe that this will cause a significant flow on in insolvency events.
If ATO issues are causing you to feel overwhelmed please get in touch as we can help you evaluate your situation and work out your options.
While we don’t work in this space, we have a strong network of contacts covering all aspects of debt negotiation, Small Business Restructuring (SBR) and insolvency.
Practical Things
There are a number of practical things you can do to help prevent/manage tax debt. A big one is to separate out the PAYG Withholding, Superannuation and GST into it’s own account each time you receive a payment or make wages. This is so that you know that you will have the money you need, when you need it.
If it is easier for you to have a % that you can put aside out of every gross revenue dollar that comes in – please get in touch with us.
Lodgement of Returns is as important as Payment
When it comes to separating company debts from personal debts, making sure that lodgements of returns are made on time is extremely important.
This is because the ATO can issue a Directors Penalty Notice (DPN) against an individual director for unpaid GST, SGC and PAYGW. There are two types of DPN’s – lockdown and non-lockdown. How this impacts you as a Director is directly related to whether you lodged the returns on time.
This is only a quick overview, there is obviously a lot more to it. If you receive one of these there are a few options. We don’t work in this space but we can put you in touch with the right people for your situation.
Employment Law Changes
There have been a number of workplace changes that will need to roll through – the tax rate and super changes should be automatic through your software. However, the other Fair Work obligations might be something you need to review. It’s all well worth it to review the Pay and Conditions Tool to make sure that you’re pay rate is up to date.
From the 1 July the following changes come into effect:
- Superannuation Guarantee Charge rate increased to 12%
- Minimum wage increase (please double check the Award for how this might apply to you).
There have been a number of law changes relating to employment over the past 12 months – or that is to be enacted in the next few months. It is too much to include in this email however we have put on our website an expanded version of some of this information. Some of these changes include:
- Criminalisation of Wage Theft
- Right to Disconnect Laws (come into effect 26 August)
- Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave
- Casual Employment definition and pathways for casual employees to request conversion to permanent employment
- New limits to Fixed Term Contracts
- Definition of Employment as it relates to Employee or Independent Contractor
I have no idea what rocket scientist in government decided that some random Tuesday towards the end of a month would be a good idea to change the law – but hey, here we are. These are potentially bigger issues than how it was presented in the news so it might pay to spend a few minutes and see how these might apply to your business.
There’s more information available on this here: Fair Work – Right to Disconnect
Another potentially large issue for small business will be the Labor Budget announcement relating to the Albanese government pledge to prohibit non-compete clauses for employees who earn less than the high-income threshold.
Don’t forget that if you hire someone that you need to provide them with the Fair Work Information Statements. You have to prove that you have provided them with this as well – if you aren’t sure what we mean with this please just let us know.
Due Dates for July 2025
The due dates for the month of July are:
14 – STP Finalisation Declaration
21 – Monthly Activity Statement Lodgements
21 – Payroll Tax Annual Return (Qld)
28 – Superannuation Guarantee contributions for June 2025 Quarter to funds by this date. (Software submissions generally have a cut off around the 21/7/25)
28 – SMSF – TBAR lodgements for June Quarter
31 – Lodge TFN Report for closely held trusts
Upcoming
7 August – Payroll Tax July 2025 Periodic Return (Qld)
28 August – Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR)
28 – Quarterly Activity Statement Lodgements for June 2025 Quarter 31 August – Last date for WorkCover (Qld) wage declarations
Tips for Sole Traders
The ATO has updated it’s annual Tax Time Toolkit specifically for small businesses. It contains tools and calculators, links to the ATO online community where you can get help in a dedicated small business forum, and an overview of key items relating specifically to small business such as:
- How to claim home-based business expenses
- Motor vehicle expenses
- Digital product expenses
- Travel expenses
- Using business money and assets
Check it out here.
2026 FY Super Contribution Caps
These are the superannuation contribution caps for the 2026 financial year.
The concessional contribution cap is $30,000. This is the maximum amount that you can contribute where you claim a tax deduction.
The non-concessional contributions cap is $120,000. This includes personal contributions for which you don’t claim a tax deduction. Where you have a total super balance of under $500,000 at the 30 June 2025 – you may be eligible to use the carry-forward concessions. This can be a great tax planning opportunity!
Thinking about setting up or winding up your SMSF?
If you have a SMSF that has a pension account then it is extremely important that you meet the minimum requirements for payment.
If you don’t make this minimum payment then you can be stripped of the fund’s tax effective status. You’ll receive a personalized reminder about this by the end of the month.
ServiceM8 Tips
We have partnered with Clear Business Solutions to provide you with regular ServiceM8 tips. Clear Business Solutions offer free ServiceM8 account reviews and provide recommendations for improvements and ways to better utilise its functions. They are your local ServiceM8 Certified Partner and would be happy to assist you with any ServiceM8 queries you might have.
WHAT’S GOING ON HERE AT THE BEE GROUP?
We are please to announce the appointment of Sophie Tawhai to Office Manager.
Wanting more?
Many successful business owners face a common frustration—their businesses bring in good money, yet they have little personal wealth to show for it. This gap doesn’t close by working longer hours or pushing harder.
The solution comes from deliberately channeling business profits into personal wealth-building strategies that work even when you don’t.
Did you know that Bee Group Accountants provides online training courses that can help you grow your small business? We have courses that look at your cash, capacity, clients and strategy, so there will be something just right for the stage of business growth you are at. Check out our Courses page on the Bee Group Accountants website here.
We also have lots of free resources! Check them out here.
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.
Alternatively, you can submit a help request online here.
As always, please reach out to us if you have any questions or queries. We look forward to hearing from you.
Have a fabulous July!
Sheree & 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.
