101 Ways to Save Money on Your Tax -- Legally!

About the author ix

How to use this book xi

Introduction xiii

Part I You and your family 1

Tip 1 Marriage 2

Tip 2 Income splitting 5

Tip 3 Dependants 7

Tip 4 Children 9

Tip 5 Paid parental leave and the baby bonus 12

Tip 6 Childcare 14

Tip 7 Low-income earners 16

Tip 8 Senior Australians 18

Tip 9 Other government benefi ts 20

Tip 10 Family breakdown 23

Tip 11 Death 25

Tip 12 Trusts 28

Part II Your employment 31

Tip 13 Car usage 33

Tip 14 Methods to claim car travel 35

Tip 15 Travel 38

Tip 16 Uniform 40

Tip 17 Home offi ce 42

Tip 18 Other work-related deductions 45

Tip 19 The $500 standard deduction 47

Tip 20 Keep those receipts 49

Tip 21 ATO hit lists 52

Tip 22 Redundancy 54

Tip 23 Working a second job 57

Tip 24 Salary sacrifi ce 59

Tip 25 Fringe benefi ts 62

Tip 26 Living-away-from-home allowance 65

Part III Your education 69

Tip 27 Claiming self-education expenses 70

Tip 28 The $250 threshold 73

Tip 29 Self-development courses 75

Tip 30 Higher Education Loan Program 78

Tip 31 Student Financial Supplement Scheme 81

Tip 32 Youth Allowance 83

Tip 33 Austudy and ABSTUDY 85

Tip 34 Other government assistance 88

Tip 35 Scholarships 90

Tip 36 Education Tax Refund 93

Tip 37 School building funds 96

Tip 38 Education savings plans 98

Part IV Your investment property 101

Tip 39 Negative gearing 103

Tip 40 Interest 106

Tip 41 Depreciation 108

Tip 42 Low-value pooling 111

Tip 43 Repairs and maintenance 114

Tip 44 Travel to see your investment property 117

Tip 45 Borrowing expenses 119

Tip 46 Legal expenses 122

Tip 47 Other rental property deductions 123

Tip 48 Foreign investment properties 126

Tip 49 Capital gains tax 128

Tip 50 PAYG withholding variation 131

Tip 51 Genuinely available for rent 133

Part V Your shares 135

Tip 52 Dividends 137

Tip 53 Franking credits 140

Tip 54 Dividend reinvestment plans 143

Tip 55 Lower income earners 144

Tip 56 Borrowing to buy shares 147

Tip 57 Other allowable deductions 149

Tip 58 Shares and capital gains tax 151

Tip 59 Realise capital losses 154

Tip 60 Inheriting share portfolios 156

Tip 61 Share trader versus share investor 158

Tip 62 Rights and options 161

Tip 63 Employee share schemes 162

Tip 64 Share portfolios within self managed

superannuation funds 165

Part VI Your superannuation 169

Tip 65 Contribution limits 171

Tip 66 Compulsory employer contributions 174

Tip 67 Salary sacrifi ce 176

Tip 68 Super co-contribution 179

Tip 69 Transferring foreign super 182

Tip 70 Self managed superannuation funds 184

Tip 71 Buying property within SMSFs 187

Tip 72 Gearing through a super fund 189

Tip 73 Accessing your super 192

Tip 74 Transition to retirement 194

Tip 75 Allocated pensions 196

Tip 76 Death benefi ts 198

Tip 77 Lost or unclaimed super 200

Part VII Your business 203

Tip 78 Choosing the right business structure 205

Tip 79 Tax obligations 208

Tip 80 Record keeping 211

Tip 81 Deferring tax 214

Tip 82 Trading stock 216

Tip 83 Bad debts 218

Tip 84 Home-based businesses 220

Tip 85 Employing people 223

Tip 86 Tax concessions and offsets 226

Tip 87 Selling or closing down 228

Tip 88 Personal services income 231

Tip 89 Non-commercial losses 232

Tip 90 Franchising 234

Part VIII Miscellaneous 237

Tip 91 Overseas income 238

Tip 92 Get a great accountant 240

Tip 93 Lodging your tax return 243

Tip 94 ATO data matching 244

Tip 95 Problems paying your tax 247

Tip 96 Medical expenses tax offset 249

Tip 97 Levies 252

Tip 98 Zone and overseas forces tax offsets 256

Tip 99 Tax-effective investments 258

Tip 100 Tax planning is a 365-day process 260

Tip 101 Just do it! 262

Glossary 265

Bibliography 283

Index 285