FAQs

We offer following services to our clients –

• Individual Tax returns
• Rental returns
• Sole Trader and Partnership Tax Returns
• Trust and Company tax returns.
• Accounting & Bookkeeping Services
• Payroll
• Cash-flow forecasting.
• Business Start-up advice.
• ABN, TFN and GST registration
• Trust and Company Set up.

Our personal and customised approach sets us apart from other accounting firms. We focus on more than just compliance and tax obligations. We don’t work for you, rather we work with you to assist our clients with business planning, process improvement, investment and wealth creation, and more.

You can contact us via one of the following methods –

• Call us on 130 869 829 (1300 8 MYTAX)
• Call us on 0449 952 855.
• Email us at info@expert-tax.com.au
• Contact us by filling out the contact us form on our website.

Our office hours are –

• Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm with exception of public holidays and weekends.
• Saturday – 10am to 5pm.

Appointment is essential.

Accounting is the process of recording, classifying, summarising, and analysing financial transactions of a business or individual to provide accurate and up-to date financial information. It involves preparation of financial statements, managing budgets, and ensuring compliance with taxation laws and regulations.

Taxation refers to the process of calculating and collecting taxes owed to the taxation office by business, individual and corporate entities. This includes calculating tax liabilities, preparation and lodgement of tax returns, and ensuring compliance with tax laws and regulations.

• Income tax on income of individuals and businesses.
• Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Payroll tax on salaries and wages paid to employees.
• Capital gains tax on the profit from selling properties or investments such as shares or cryptos.
• Excise tax on goods such as fuel, tobacco, and alcohol.
• Corporate tax on profits earned by corporate entities.

Yes, for sure. Doing your taxes is time consuming. If you do not have the time or expertise to do your tax return, then its best to use services of a qualified professional to do your taxes. Working with a registered tax agent gives you the peace of mind that your tax return has been prepared in accordance with relevant tax laws. A professional may be able to identify deductions and tax offsets that you may miss if you choose to do your tax return yourself. Moreover, fee paid to an accountant to do your tax return is fully deductible.

Accounting helps you in running a business as it helps you keep track of your finances, ensures statutory compliance, and provides the management and investors with information to make informed business decisions to fuel sustainable business growth.

We offer an initial 30-minute free consultation to help you determine your needs and provide customised advice.

If your turnover exceeds the $75,000 threshold or is likely to exceed then you must register your business for Goods and Services Tax (GST). Note that turnover is different from business profit. The turnover is the business’ gross sales.

A business activity statement is a report through which your business reports and pay GST, Pay as You Go (PAYG) instalment, Tax withheld from Salaries/Wages to the ATO. The reason most businesses need to lodge a BAS is to report and pay GST. As a business owner whose business is registered for GST must lodge BAS on a regular basis depending on the registration. BAS may be done on monthly, quarterly, or annual basis.

Following information is included in BAS –

• GST – GST collected on sales and GST paid on purchases.
• PAYG withholding – tax withheld from salaries/wages paid to employees.
• PAYG instalment – this is calculated by ATO based on previous year’s tax liability and prefilled in BAS return by ATO.
• Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) – Amount of FBT payable on benefits provided to employees.
• Luxury Car Tax (LCT) – this is payable on sale of luxury cars.
• Fuel tax credits (FTC) – FTC provide businesses a credit for the fuel tax (excise or customs duty) that is included in the price of the fuel used in plant, machinery, equipment, heavy vehicles, and light vehicles travelling off public roads or on private roads.

FTC provide businesses a credit for the fuel tax (excise or customs duty) that is included in the price of the fuel used in plant, machinery, equipment, heavy vehicles, and light vehicles travelling off public roads or on private roads.

The amount depends on when you acquire the fuel, what fuel you use and the activity you use it in. Fuel tax credits rates also change regularly so it is important to check the rates each time you do your business activity statement (BAS).

Some fuels and activities are not eligible including fuel you use in light vehicles of 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass (GVM) or less, travelling on public roads.

Quarter 1 (June to Sept) – 28 October
Quarter 2 (Oct to Dec) – 28 February
Quarter 3 (Jan to Mar) – 28 April
Quarter 4 (Apr to June) – 28 July

Note – if you are using a Tax Agent for lodgement of BAS then you may get additional time for lodgement as Tax agents get concession for lodgement.

Yes, if your business is registered for GST. You must add 10% GST to all invoices and every invoice should have Tax Invoice mentioned on the top part of the invoice. If your business is not registered for GST, then invoices should not include the any GST or the words “Tax Invoice”.

Record keeping is an important part of your business operations.  Keeping good records assist you:

• To keep track of how your business is performing.
• Keep track of business income and expenses
• Show banks or lenders how your business is performing.

Records you need to keep include:

• Receipts of all Sales and purchases made during the course of running your business.
• Tax invoices, wage and salary records showing payment of expenses and salaries.
• Documents relating to GST.
• Receipts of the purchase, sale, and other costs of any business assets, such as office equipment, motor vehicle, plant & machinery etc.
• Records relating to tax returns, Employee superannuation contributions, fringe benefits tax (FBT) returns and business activity statements.

You must keep your records for at least five years.

​An Australian Company Number (ACN) is a unique 9-digit number given to every company registered under the Commonwealth Corporations Act 2001. The Australian Company Number (CAN) is issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

An Australian Business Number (ABN) is a unique 11-digit number issued to businesses. The ABN is issued by the Australian Business Register.  It is a publicly accessible record (via ABN lookup) and identifies your business to the Australian Government and wider community. Click here to access ABN Lookup. An ABN issued to a company will have last 9 digits same as the company’s ACN.

There is no fixed rule when it comes to choosing a business structure for your business venture. If you are starting a new business or considering restructuring, then you must consider the advantages and disadvantages of each business structure to decide which structure best suits your needs.

​There are different legal obligations, taxation implications, and potential personal liability for each structure.

​The most common business structures include:

Sole trader: This is the simplest and most cost-effective structure to run a business. But an individual operating as sole trader is legally responsible for all aspects of the business is personally liable for business debts and compliance.

Partnership: An association of 2 or more people, or entities, running a business together, but not under a company structure.

Company: A company can sue or can be sued as it is considered to be a separate legal entity from its owners i.e., shareholders.

Trust: A separate entity that holds property or income for the benefit of its beneficiaries. A trust may have an individual or corporate trustee.

​It is important that you seek professional advice before deciding on a particular business structure to run your business.

As easy as it sounds, it is not that easy. An accountant or tax agent has in-depth knowledge of taxation laws and hence can assist you in manoeuvring taxations laws to your advantage in a legitimate manner. Meeting your accountant or tax agent on a regular basis can assist you in reducing your taxes. You must discuss any change in your personal or business circumstances with your accountant to devise a strategy for tax planning moving forward.

YES, you can. Though you can try to negotiate a payment plan directly with Australian Taxation Office, but a registered tax agent has more bargaining power and knowledge of how payment plans work. We can assist you in getting a payment plan to pay off your tax or GST debt. Moreover, you do not have to be on hold for hours to speak to someone for a payment plan. We have a dedicated tax agent hotline to get this done on your behalf.

Cash flow is lifeline of a business. Having cash flow issues can cause major stress for business owners and cause disruptions to your business activities. Expert Tax can help in setting up a cash flow plan and help you meet your debt obligations in effective manner.

Yes, we can. We have clients across Australia and with availability of cloud-based platforms such as Xero accounting software, we can assist you regardless of your location. We are just a phone call or email away whenever you require assistance.

For whatever reason if you want to change accountants, you must contact your existing accountant to inform them about changing accountants. Ensure there is no outstanding tax compliance to avoid surprise billing.

We will then schedule an appointment to discuss your circumstances and decide best course of action moving forward. Good relationship with our clients is critical in assisting you to appoint us as your accountants moving forward. We do this by listening to your needs and future plans and then suggest a course of action accordingly.

We communicate with all our clients in a clear, timely and effective manner that allows you to receive a better service to run your business successfully in association with us.

Single Touch Payroll (STP) is an Australian Government initiative to streamline employers’ reporting to government agencies.

With STP you report employees’ payroll information to us each time you pay them through STP-enabled software. Payroll information includes:

• salaries and wages
• pay as you go (PAYG) withholding.
• superannuation liability information.

STP started on 1 July 2018 for employers with 20 or more employees and 1 July 2019 for employers with 19 or fewer employees and is a mandatory obligation.

STP works by sending tax and super information from your STP-enabled payroll or accounting software to the ATO when you run your payroll.

You will:

• run your payroll.
• pay your employees as normal.
• give them a payslip.

Your pay cycle does not need to change. You can continue to pay your employees weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.

Your STP-enabled payroll software will send ATO a report that includes the information ATO needs from you:

• salaries and wages
• PAYG withholding.

super liability information.

If car is registered under business name and used in the course of business, you may be able to claim car as an expense. Australian Taxation Office (ATO’s) car limit changes every year that allows you to claim GST credit up to the car limit. If eligible to claim car expenses, your business can claim fuel, car service, car wash, depreciation, interest on car loan, tyres, car rego, car repairs etc. on your business tax return. Same thing applies to your personal circumstances, but you must pass the eligibility criteria in order to claim car expenses on your personal tax return.