The new financial year is already in full swing, meaning most of you are still finalising your general ledger accounts in order to get the necessary information to us to prepare your final 2024 accounts and tax returns. Others have already got us your information and are looking ahead.
Either way, it can be a time when we forget our current tax obligations, due in relation to the beginning of the 2025 financial year.
In order for you to be across your tax obligations, below are the key compliance dates that are coming up. Make sure these lodgments are up to date to avoid any interest or penalties.
KEY TAX DATES – SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024
21 September 2024 – GST – Monthly Activity Statement and payment for August 2024
21 September 2024 – PAYG withheld – Monthly activity statement and payment for August 2024
21 September 2024 – PAYG instalment – Activity Statement and payment for monthly reporters for August 2024
30 September 2024 – TFN withholding report – Annual TFN withholding report for closely held trusts where a trustee has been required to withhold amounts from payments to beneficiaries during the 2024 income year
30 September 2024 – PAYG withholding payment summary – 2024 income year annual report due if lodged by us
21 October 2024 – GST – Monthly Activity Statement and payment for September 2024
21 October 2024 – PAYG withheld – Monthly activity statement and payment for September 2024
21 October 2024 – PAYG instalment – Activity Statement and payment for monthly reporters for September 2024
21 October 2024 – Annual PAYG instalment – Payment of annual PAYG instalment for 2023–24. Lodge only if instalment amount varied or the rate method to calculate the instalment is used
28 October 2024 – GST – Quarterly Activity Statement and payment for the July to September 2024 quarter if you do not lodge with us
28 October 2024 – PAYG withheld, FBT instalment and PAYG instalment – Quarterly Activity Statement and payment for the July to September 2024 quarter if you do not lodge with us
28 October 2024 – Superannuation guarantee – Due date for superannuation guarantee contributions for July to September 2024
31 October 2024 – Income tax – Due date for lodgment of 2023–24 income tax return for individuals, trusts and partnerships if you do not lodge with us
31 October 2024 – GST – Lodgment of annual 2023–24 GST return for instalment payers who are required to lodge tax returns by 31 October 2024
31 October 2024 – Companies – To provide distribution statements to shareholders for 2023–24 for most companies
31 October 2024 – Income tax – Due date for lodgment of 2023–24 income tax return for an entity that has one or more prior year tax returns outstanding as at 30 June 2024
31 October 2024 – SMSFs – Annual return for new registrant SMSF if the ATO has provided this due date
We’re here to help if you’re facing operational issues, tackling people challenges, or have health and safety questions, give us a call, email us or text us.
It can feel challenging to chase up payment of invoices when the economy has been down, but it is important to keep cash flowing into your business so you can cover expenses and meet your obligations to others. As with all dealings in more difficult times, some empathy and a lot of open communication can go a long way.
The following tips are useful to keep in mind when asking for payment.
Communication – Connecting with your customers is important. Try to make it personal to their situation rather than a one-size-fits-all email. Connecting on a more personal level shows you value them and are conscious of the impacts that the current situation may be having on them. The empathy you show now will also be remembered when the economy recovers. Be proactive – early communication will help you stay on top of cash flow and will also alert you if you need to account for late payments.
Offer flexible payment options – for customers who can’t pay in full, consider breaking invoices into multiple payments with payment terms moved to a longer timeframe. Set up a credit card facility to give customers other options for payment. After all, the easier you can make it for them to pay you, the quicker you will get paid. If you don’t have payment services set up in your accounting software, we can help you do this. Offering a discount for early payment might provide the incentive, for customers who can settle, to pay your invoice before others.
Total Outstanding – Make sure you keep track of how much customers are in arrears. While you can continue to allow credit, you want to make sure you’re not creating too much risk. Allowing continual extensions to payment while also letting more to be added to their total amount outstanding can create a cashflow crunch. Get in touch if you want help to better track your cash flow.
With the 2023/24 financial year now wound up, it’s time to think about submitting your tax return and making sure you have the cash reserves put aside to pay the company’s tax bill.
This short guide to getting your small business tax in order gives you the lowdown on which end-of-financial-year (EOFY) taxes you’re liable for and what returns must be submitted.
We’ve also got some guidance on making EOFY less of a pain next time around.
What EOFY taxes must my business pay?
The taxes you pay and the returns you must submit will be defined by the type of trading business you are. To give you a broad idea, these are the main categories you’re likely to fall into as a small or medium-sized business:
Sole traders – if you’re set up as sole trader, you’ll need to lodge one individual tax return that covers both your business income and your personal income. Once submitted, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will work out how much tax you’re liable to pay and when it’s due.
Companies – if you’ve been incorporated as a company, you must lodge a company tax return and pay tax on the company’s income. If you’re a director in the company, you’ll still need to lodge your own individual tax return as well.
Partnerships – if you’re a partner in a partnership, the business will have its own tax file number (TFN) but won’t pay income tax on the profit it earns. Each partner must report their share of the partnership income in their own tax return. Your partnership must also lodge a separate partnership return under its own TFN.Trusts – a trust has its own TFN and must lodge a trust income tax return.
Gathering all the necessary information and documents for your tax return can be a pain. But with a little pre-planning and investment in the latest accounting and bookkeeping technology, you can make the whole process much less of a headache.
Here are five sensible ways to make your EOFY tax easier:
Keep good records and invest in an automated bookkeeping platform, like Dext.
Use a document management system to easily locate every invoice and receipt.
Use cloud accounting and the built-in tax templates in platforms like Xero and MYOB.
Plan for your annual tax costs and put cash away so you can cover your tax expenses.Work closely with your accountant to create the most efficient accounting procedures.
Talk to us about improving your tax processes
If your EOFY tax was a mess this time around, it’s never too early to start planning for next year and getting your records, documents and accounts in order.
We can work with you to set up the most effective accounting systems, with clear processes, great record-keeping and easy access to all your documents.
For centuries, accounting was all about reviewing historic information – but that only told you about the past, not what was going to happen in the future.
If you’re only looking back at past periods and historic numbers, this limits the insights you can achieve for your business. With a backward-looking ideology, it becomes difficult to plan, run through different scenarios or understand the path of the business going forwards.
Forecasting changes this. With the right data analysis and forecasting tools, you can project sales, cash, revenue and profits into the future – and get in control of your business.
A forward-looking view of your business journey
Forecasting switches the focus of your financial management. By moving to a forward-looking view of your business journey, you can see further down the road – and that helps to spot any opportunities and avoid common business pitfalls.
Forecasting adds value by:
Highlighting the data patterns – a forecasting tool takes your historic data and projects it forward in time. This helps you and your advisers spot patterns, trends, gaps and opportunities, revealing the true ‘story’ behind your business accounts. For example, forecasting may reveal a predicted seasonal slump in the next quarter, allowing you to plan ahead and proactively take action to minimise negative impacts.
Giving you a future view of your business – instinctively, business owners will look back at prior periods to assess performance. There’s value to reviewing your historic actuals, of course, but using forecasting helps you to look forward, rather than just backwards. Forecasting is the satnav, showing you the road ahead, rather than the rear-view mirror showing you the road you’ve already travelled.
Helping you scenario-plan – with a financial model of your key drivers, combined with accurate forecasting, you can quick answer your burning ‘What if…?’ questions. Forecasting lets you run different scenarios, with different drivers, to see how business decisions may pan out over time. If option B performs better than option A, that’s invaluable information when defining your next strategic move.
Making informed, evidence-based decisions – having ‘the full picture’ of combined historic numbers, forecasts and longer-term projections aides your business decision-making. Forecasting gives you solid evidence on which to base your strategy, and helps to red flag any threats that are looming on the horizon – giving you the best possible information to keep your executive team informed and on the ball.
A deeper relationship with your accountant – forecasting also helps us to get a far more granular view of your business. This helps to spot potential areas of performance improvement, and to give you the best possible strategic advice, all backed up by solid, empirical data and management information.
Talk to us about the benefits of forecasting
If you want to get in control of the destiny and results of your company, come and talk to us. Forecasting helps you highlight your future threats and opportunities – and create a proactive strategy to improve the performance of your business.
We provide you a summary of all the enacted legislation that comes into effect from 1 July 2024, these changes vary to apply to individuals, businesses, welfare recipients among others.
Stage 3 tax cuts
After being enacted with amendments by the Labor government, the stage 3 tax cuts came into effect from 1 July 2024 giving each Australian individual a tax relief.
The tax cuts mean you get to take home more of your salary every payday as less of it will be given to the ATO, effectively giving you a pay rise.
Increased paid parental leave
Under the Federal government’s changes to paid parental leave program to boost gender equality, eligible parents of babies born after 1 July 2024 will get access to an extra two weeks of publicly funded leave, going up to a total of 22 from 20 weeks.
Another two weeks will be added annually at the start of the 2025–26 and 202627 income years.
Increased superannuation guarantee
The superannuation guarantee will increase on 1 July 2024 from 11 to 11.5%, putting more money into the super accounts of full-time, part-time and casual workers.
Like paid parental leave, it will also increase again on 1 July 2025 to 12%.
Energy bill relief
A key measure announced in the 2024 Federal budget was $300 in energy bill relief for every household in the 2024–25 financial year.
This will be in the form of quarterly $75 rebates that will automatically be applied to your energy bills.
Welfare payments
Welfare payments recipients using the following 5 schemes are set to go up from 1 July 2024:
Family Tax Benefit (Parts A and B)
The Multiple Birth Allowance
Newborn Supplement
Stillborn Baby Payment and
Essential Medical Equipment Payment
Contact us
Please feel free to contact our office, should you need more information on these changes or discuss how these changes may apply to you or your business.
