Personal Tax
WELL HEELED
How to value your share options if you're offered a job at a start-up
Melissa Browne If you're tossing up whether to work for a start-up you need to understand how share options work.
ASSET CHECK
Time to reduce your tax bill
Daryl Dixon With the end of the tax year looming, now's the time to implement strategies to reduce this year's taxation bills.
BUDGET 2016
Budget 2016: how to maximise your tax deductions
Melissa Browne An accountant shares tax strategies arising from the 2016 federal budget for individuals, businesses, and employees.
NEGATIVE GEARING
How investors outgun first home buyers
Caitlin Fitzsimmons It's not just that one in three buyers are investors, it's also that they're disproportionately competing with first-home buyers.
TAX
Top tax deductions you've probably forgotten about
Kate Cowling Beyond the handbag or man bag, there are easy deductions taxpayers miss every year.
WELL HEELED
How to claim a handbag as a tax deduction
Melissa Browne Handbags can be tax deductible if you use them for work, but the Tax Office is fussy about documentation.
ASSET CHECK
Daryl Dixon: Labor's capital gains tax plan encourages higher gearing
Daryl Dixon If the tax-exempt proportion of capital gains is cut to 25 per cent, it will change the original objective of taxing only real capital gains.
ASSET CHECK
There are property traps ahead for negative gearing strategies
Daryl Dixon The ongoing tax reform debate has created new difficulties for making medium and long term investment decisions.
CAR FINANCE
Car packaging still worthwhile
John Collett Leasing a car through work is still worthwhile. The tax advantage is not as great as it used to be, but there are still savings for most people.
YOUR QUESTIONS
Capital gains tax rules when separating a double flat conversion
George Cochrane We live in combined flats as our permanent place of residence and neither one has ever been rented. We wondered if upon sale of either flat we will have to pay any capital gains tax? A.D.
ASSET CHECK
How to profit from gearing
Daryl Dixon Given the ongoing uncertainty about the future tax treatment of superannuation, investing in the family home and gearing investments now offer more certain benefits.
ASSET CHECK
Tinkering with super would make tax system less fair
Daryl Dixon If superannuation is made less attractive, it would encourage the well off to over-invest in the family home and do even more negative gearing of investment properties.
ASSET CHECK
Savers under attack
Daryl Dixon People relying on their past savings for their retirement income face being big losers in any increase in the GST tax burden.
BOURIS ON MONEY
How to pay for your kids' education
Mark Bouris Between private or public school fees and extras such as sport, music and camps, the cost of your children's education can be significant.
BOURIS ON MONEY
Structuring your superannuation for success
Mark Bouris When the superannuation annual statements start landing in our mailboxes, inevitably there's discussion about how well super is performing.
ASSET CHECK
Borrowing for self-managed super funds is a non-issue
Daryl Dixon Banning a self-managed super fund from taking a loan to fund investment would be solving a problem that doesn't exist.
BASIC TRAINING
How to make the most of tax deductions
Larissa Ham With the deadline to file your own tax return looming, it's time to get your deductions in order.
ASSET CHECK
The magic of the mortgage offset account
Daryl Dixon It's an excellent development for consumers that mortgage offset accounts are becoming more commonplace.
BASIC TRAINING
Here’s how to hit your first tax return deadline
Larissa Ham Never lodged a tax return? If you're preparing to do it online, you have to get it done by the end of the month.
