ATO Tax time tips for small business

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is lending a helping hand to nearly four million small businesses to get their tax right this tax time.

Assistant Commissioner Peter Holt said the ATO understands that small businesses have a lot on their plate with the day-to-day running of their business. “That’s why we’re focusing on addressing common issues we see when small businesses lodge their returns so that we can support them to get it right,” he said.

It pays to know what you can claim at tax time.

ATO focus areas

The top 3 issues that the ATO see when small businesses lodge their tax returns are:

• Failing to report all of their income
• Not having the necessary records to prove small business expenses claims.
• Claiming private expenses as business expenses

New factsheets to address common claims

This year the ATO has developed fact sheets to help small businesses claiming three of the most common expenses:

• motor vehicle expenses
• business travel expenses
• home-based business expenses

We encourange members to use the fact sheets to find out more about what can be claimed.

Keep accurate records

The top tip for small business operators is to ensure that your records are kept up-to-date. Good record keeping will help you complete and lodge your tax returns, manage cash flow, meet your tax obligations and understand how your business is doing.

The instant asset write-off has been increased and extended

Small businesses are also entitled to a range of tax concessions at tax time. One of these is the instant asset write-off, which allows eligible small businesses to claim an immediate deduction for the business portion of assets that cost under a certain threshold. More information about the instant asset write-off and other small business concessions is available at ato.gov.au/concessionsataglance

The ATO offers a range of learning resources for small business operators to understand their tax and super obligations and get it right please click here,