Tax Planning

Tax planning gets sold like it's a bag of magic tricks. It is NOT! Know the rules, know your numbers, make your moves before 30 June. That is genuinely it.

Aly G and Leethal Lee start with the bit most biz owners skip: structure. Sole trader, company, trust, it matters. A LOT. It changes your tax rate, your timing, and the decisions you need to lock in before year end, especially if trust distributions are in the mix.

Then they cut through the "just find me a deduction" mindset and bring it back to cash flow, purpose, and risk. Spending money just to chase a deduction is rarely the smartest move. And the taxman-ian devil (aka ATO) can see a lot more than you think. Pre-fill data, Stripe income, crypto matching, third-party reports. Sloppy claims get expensive, fast.

Then the practical stuff. Timing your income. Handling unearned income and grants. Writing off bad debts. Reviewing stock. Prepaid expenses. Getting super contributions in before it is too late. Instant asset write-off rules (and why selling that asset later can come back to bite you). Home office and motor vehicle methods people consistently get wrong.

The goal is not zero tax. It is the right amount of tax. And a much calmer 30 June.

Listen now, then subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a biz owner who could use a better plan before EOFY hits.

Not so keen on listening or need more info, check this out:

📖 Blog: Tax Planning doesn't need to be taxing 

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Transcript

What Tax Planning Really Means

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Tax planning. It's not about loopholes or magic, although we wish it was. It's about knowing the rules well enough to use them in your favour, legally, intentionally, and before 30 June sneaks up on you. Most people think about tax after the fact, and tax planning really does flip that. When you plan ahead, you get to make decisions that actually change the outcome, not just report on it. So that's the difference between paying what you have to and paying more than you need to. Hello, Lee. Hi. Hi. We are into tax planning. And why? Because we're recording this at the end of March, and that is really when we start as accountants heading into tax planning season.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

We're suddenly in two, our minds are split in two ways. We're dealing with the end of 2025 still for some people. Trying to get lots of 2026 tax for others. And so you're really two different, you're split in two different directions as you're trying to work it through.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

Insight on this one, it is our busiest time. March to June is our busiest time because we do tax planning, end-of-year lodgements, and trust distributions, plus FBT, plus we're quoting up for the next year. So it is a very busy time. Please be kind.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Yeah. Just reach out to any accountant friends that we've got.

Why Accountants Get Busy Now

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Tax planning actually starts with structure, to be honest. Um, one of the biggest ways to do effective tax minimization or paying your fair share is the structure that you trade within. And we've already got a blog, a blog, a podcast on that. So it's company, tax at 25% sell trader. Yeah. Everything you earn is just marginal tax rates. And a trust, which we've got to push all the income out to beneficiaries and they pay it at their marginal tax rate.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Yep. Who that goes to, because that has to be decided before 30 June. So that's where tax planning for a trust is very important because you need to know who's going to get that money before 30 June, not after.

Structure Comes Before Deductions

SPEAKER_00 2:03

That's right. And so that was many years ago now where that came into play. We've we've been around for all of it. I know. You used to be able to do it when you were doing the accounts anyway. And look, tax planning when I started 30 years ago was a beautiful space to be. Back in my day. Back in my day. I have to tell you, it is not like that, Dan. It has been locked down so hard. There is very little. No, and look, I tax planning, I do a lot of um meetings with people and they love to find a deduction where there just isn't one. And I'm like, well, you can only get a deduction if you've actually paid for something. Yes. Um, so you either have to be willing to spend the cash. And I always say you shouldn't be doing anything in business unless you've got a purpose and an outcome that you need. You shouldn't be doing it for tax. No, you're buying a deduction.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Yeah. Like you're spending every dollar you're spending, you're saving 30 cents.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Potentially average.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Potentially on average. On average, yeah. Um, so if you need something, like, yes, great, that's a bonus, isn't it? I needed that. I thought about buying it in July, but I probably should buy it in June to bring forward the deduction and get that little sweetener earlier. But it's timing, isn't it? If you didn't need it, you've just wasted 70 cents in the dollar on whatever you just bought.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Yeah, and you know, and I think that's where we kind of have to come from when we're looking from a tax planning lens, is yes, you need to have spent the money and yes, it's timing, but it always comes down to if somebody says to me, should I do it for tax or not? I'm always like, no, that's not the that's not the right question.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Yeah. I always go back to cash. Yeah. Oh, and need, yeah, purpose. But do you need it? Will it benefit you? And do you have the cash to do it? Because if you don't, don't put yourself under that pressure just to get a tax deduction.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

And uh well, people might be saying then, well, what's the poor purpose in tax planning? Well, the purpose is to actually know if you're paying the right amount of tax.

Timing Deductions Without Wasting Cash

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Yeah, it's it's cash flow planning. But it's planning, isn't it? Like it's knowing in advance. It might just be knowing that, oh wow, I do have a big tax bill coming. Yeah. But that's nice and knowing it in advance. Because you've got then, you know, potentially six, nine, eleven months together. To put that money aside, yeah, and and find the cash. Rather than being told on May 15 that you owe a hundred thousand dollars on May 15th. Yeah. Oh, isn't that a bit of a shock? Um, so it's just allowing you to plan. It's it's like anything in business, it's allowing you to think forward on what is my tax bill going to be. Do I have the cash to deal with that when it comes up? And if not, how am I going to find the cash? Yeah. And it also means say you have a big bill coming, that means you're gonna go into the PAYG instalment system. So maybe you can register for that early so that you then don't get the double whammy effect. So it is it's not like how do I minimize or avoid all my tax and find as many deductions as I possibly can. It's a much more holistic review of your business and the tax that you're going to have to pay in uh in the business in your own name, and just making a few tweaks and making a few decisions that can can change the outcome a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

And it's one of the best conversations I have with clients throughout the year because you kind of reflect on the prior year, you can start to look at what the new year might look like, where you did what you did well, what you could potentially change.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

Yeah. And for most clients, I think, unless you're really into management reporting, and even then we're really only looking at past figures. It's the first time you forecast the rest of the year. So it's the first time you're really looking forward on hey, this is what the outcome might be by June if you do all the following things. And that's probably the first time they have the opportunity to think about oh, what is my turnover going to be in the next two months? What can I change to either you know make it better? Or it's that first foray into forecasting what the rest of your year looks like. Exactly. And so mindset.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

It is a completely different mindset. Now I'm gonna ask you a question that I get asked a lot. Just claim the maximum. Is there such a thing, Lee?

SPEAKER_01 6:31

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

Depends how much you like jail or something. And this is what I've always loved with you. Like, yeah, you can claim it, but I'm not the one gonna go to jail.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

As I remind a lot of people, it's a self-assessment system. Yep. I'm not gonna be the one that you're the one signing it.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

You're the one that's gonna be in trouble when the ATO comes and knocking. And look, good accountants won't let you do it.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

But if you really, really, really want to, uh, there'll be one that will let you. Yeah, won't be.

Claiming Too Much And ATO Risk

SPEAKER_00 6:59

There will be no, and there are cowboys, but yes. If you're if somebody says, I've got a really great accountant, because they like claim all this stuff, and it's like they're actually not because they're putting you at huge amounts of risk and you don't even know it. Like they're actually they are doing you a disservice, and that's what you need to understand. If you're a dodgy, sure, go ahead, whatever. But if you want to sleep straight at night and be able to get to sleep, and you're not gonna blush if an ATO auditor came and knocked on your door.

SPEAKER_01 7:27

And I I think the difference is again, we we were, you know, reminiscing about 30 years ago. Um, the information the ATO have and the ability to know what isn't is so good these days. They tell us you can't get away with what you used to be able to do.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

They have access to everything. Like, think about it, they've got all your pre-fill data, which is your salaries and wages, your interest, your dividends, if you've sold shares, if you've s purchased and sold um property. Like they pretty much have 80% of it. Crypto.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

Your pre-fill, yeah, crypto is definitely one of the things.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Oh, that's one we get all the time. Well, I don't have crypto. Yes, you do. I know you do.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

ATO have just told us. Um, but even stuff like you log into someone's account and I can see their monthly stripe taking. Stripe, yep. On their pre-fill, on their ATO portal. I can see what you took monthly on your Stripe account. Yep. The ATO knows. Yeah, they do. T-bar, like, you know, when there are when others are reporting on you. Contractors are being you're being reported on by the people you work with. Yeah, they know. Um, so it's you can't hide. No. It's not like it's not like it used to be.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Now we've got a blog, so I'm gonna basically run through this. It's the top ten tax planning tips and tricks. Should we do it after the break? Yes. Let's see if you want a cliffhanger.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

What a cliffhanger.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

Running a business without understanding numbers is a bit like colouring your own hair. It works out sometimes, but mostly you need someone who actually knows what they're doing. At all in, we're the proactive, award-winning team getting all up in your business, from bookkeeping to accounting, tax, and big picture advisory. We don't just keep you out of trouble with the taxmanian devil, we help you grow. Real advice, real people, zero boring accounting vibes. Visit allinadvisory.com.au. Calculator. Geez, everyone's just hanging, chomping at the beat.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Like, I just wanted to like, you know, season finales. I just really wanted to be part of that.

Tip List Starts With Income Timing

SPEAKER_00 9:29

I know, for sure. On the tax party episode is where we put it in. Alright. Okay, number one, defer income. Delay invoicing where possible. Now look, in in a world of today, down the road, this is really if you invoice on completion, potentially, you like it's a time, the one-off timing benefit.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

If the decision is shall I do it on the 30th of June or the 1st of July, maybe you would just do it on the 1st of July just because you'd pay the GST a little bit later and you'd kick that tax can a year down the road.

SPEAKER_00 10:03

But it's a one-off benefit.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

It also depends because maybe you want to bring income forward because you got a loan, you next year you know something big's gonna come through that might be a capital gain coming through in the next year. So maybe you would actually prefer it this year. Um maybe yeah, you're sitting under a marginal like you're just sitting under a bracket and you want to just utilize that because you know next year it's gonna be different or better or bigger. Yeah. So it doesn't always work in let's push it further out. Sometimes you want to bring it forward for whatever reason. That's so true.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

Once again, timing adding back unearned income. So income that's invoiced in advance, but you haven't performed the services yet. This is really service-based business.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Well, and I guess for those in um and building and construction as well, where you're billing in advance effectively. Yeah. If someone's paid a deposit um and you've not done the work yet, to pay tax on that.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

We need to divorce the GST timing and the tax timing here. So sometimes if you're GST, if you're on cash, you need to pay it straight away. But if you're on accruals, that's the invoicing. So for this one, we're just really talking about an accruals-based system and tax. So if you haven't delivered the services yet, you can track that to your balance sheet and not pay tax until you've earned it.

Grants Unearned Income And Contracts

SPEAKER_01 11:15

If you're earning a like if you've received a grant, yeah, um, and that has conditions in it where if you don't fulfil the grant, you have to pay it back, then that can be pushed too. Because and I've seen one with a um like a lease fit out in a shopping centre where they received like a lump sum to do a fit out. But if you read the terms and conditions that over five years or whatever, yeah, uh there's there's trigger points. And yeah, if you cancel your lease after year one, you'd repay this amount. If you cancel your lease after year two, you'd repay this amount. So in that case, you can push the income over the five years rather than being taxed up front because there's trigger points. Contract that you have to pay it back. If there's no payback clauses, well then you kind of have to suck it up. But yeah, it's important to know the terms, and it's important for your accountant to know those terms too. Don't just assume that we know these things. No, we don't. Just you know, pop it in the other account. The ATO has more info than we do. Yeah, like just pop it in the other income account and my accountant will deal with it. Well, no, if you don't give them the contract and don't give them the heads up, they might not.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Yeah, totally agree. Okay, reviewing your debtors. So this is people that owe you money and writing off any that aren't recoverable and they've gone bad. That's a good practice. Just generically, yeah, but it's a good time at the end of the year because you don't want to be paying tax on income that you're just never gonna get. Reviewing stock and writing off obsolete items very similar to your debtors, you want to do a stock take at 30 June because you know you just want to make sure that the stock that you're putting in at year end is the right amount. So you're paying tax on the right amount of profits.

Bad Debts Stocktakes Prepayments

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Yeah. Because uh in all things, especially retail, yeah, things are no longer fashionable, things have just been around for five years and you're like, I'm never gonna sell that. The decision needs to be made. Well, do you donate it to Vinnie's or or you know, something like that, and then write off the stock.

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Yep. Prepaying expenses. Now, 30 years ago, this one didn't exist, I have to tell you. We used to do a lot of this, now we don't. So if you're a small business, anything less than a thousand dollars, or if you're an individual taxpayer, um, and so a small business is is turnover less than 50 mil, you can claim a tax deduction for 12 months of prepaid expenses. So that's like potentially subscriptions, motor vehicle rego, potential insurance.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

Yeah, it's anything you're paying in advance. Is generally one that insurance is the real one we see the most of. Yeah. Um but again that comes to cash flow because you have to pay for it. Yes. So you're just bringing it forward. All timing benefits here, people. You might notice. And you know, if you're paying for 12 months in advance, instead of doing the monthly subscription, you might get an annual discount. Well, yeah, you might, but it also means that you're paying for it.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Yeah, and you're locking yourself in for 12 months too.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Yeah, that's true. So you have to weigh up the pros and cons. If it's a normal part of your business and you just roll it over, that's great. Like you've factored that into how you do business. But if your cash is tight, well then potentially it's not the right time to prepay things.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Yeah. Super. Now, this is really the big one, the big ticket item. And look, we have to put a caveat, we are not financial planners, so we can't actually tell you how much to put in. We can tell you the tax thresholds.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

Yeah. And what that tax outcome will be. Again, it's cash flow though, because we don't know your personal cash situation either.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

And it does need to be physically paid before 30 June in order to get the deduction.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

Um and it and it leads into a broader strategy, but this is where we'll work with your financial advisors and and do the best that we can across the team of advisors that you have to work out this is how much you've already put in this year, these are your caps, which will vary depending on. So for 26, it's 30,000. Yeah, but um that might be more if you've only got under$500,000 in your super balance.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Like bring forwards.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Yeah, yeah. There's different things you can do, but that requires someone to go and have a little dig around and look at some reports and the ATO have some of that information available for us. But yeah, you you can do that and we can say, well, you know, if you put in an extra ten thousand, it'll save you this much. But then you'll pay a little bit of tax in your super fund, so you've got to factor that in as well. Um but it's the be the biggest trigger. Trigger.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

That's the biggest tax saver you'll get, really, is it a super deduction. But just remember once flow. That it's a cash flow, but and once it's in your superfund, you can't get until you reach pension age, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:11

So But that's great in terms of saving for your retirement. Yeah. If you're a small business owner and you're not putting super in.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

Because you're not paying yourself salaries and wages.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

It's a really good idea to put super in. So it's probably the one we focus on a bit more.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

And just getting gendered here, the super gap is real for women. We have a blog on that. We do have a blog on that. The super gap is real for women, and so it is a focus and something that I talk to my clients about constantly. Yeah, you do need to prioritize it because you do need an SDEG. And the thing about Sumo is it's cumulative. So the more you put in at the younger age, the more it works for you and grows. So, and it's a fantastic tax environment. So, definitely one if you've got the cash to definitely have a look at. But your accountant or tax agent specifically, unless they're a financial planner also, will won't be able to tell you the exact amount.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

No, we how much should I do?

SPEAKER_00 17:03

They'll go, you can do up to that's right.

SPEAKER_01 17:06

But we're never actually we're not allowed to say you should put$5,673 in and yeah, we can't do that.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Um, all right, next one, plant equipment. This is another trigger. And gosh, we love this during COVID. I love to attack plenty during COVID because there was no limit. Now, at 30 June 2026, the depreciation assets less than$20,000 are immediately deductible. Once again, a timing benefit, right? You also need to have the cash. You also need to need that piece of plant equipment. It needs to be in your hot little hand by 30 June, and you only can claim the business use percentage.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

Yes. And a fun fact about the COVID fun COVID years, is the people now selling those cars that they do. Paying full tax. Are paying tax on it.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

So just remember that when you sell an asset, you have to pay tax on it. And this is why you you wouldn't put a luxury car in a company because you get a capped, yeah. Do not put boats in. You ask them for an audit. Do not, but um, with luxury cars, you're capped to a certain um value in depreciation, but when you sell it, you pay full toad odds. Yeah, so just be mindful of that.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

And especially with the used car market in the like being what it was over the last few years, sometimes you're actually making money on your car.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

Yeah, and so you're actually like might get an immediate tax benefit, but yeah, it hurts on the way out. Yeah, it does.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

It it the COVID one is starting to come back because people were getting the immediate deduction and now they're selling and trading in their cars for a new one, and they're having to pay tax on the full tote um amount they receive, and then they're not getting the deduction for the new car.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

Yeah, because it's over the 20k. And so you and you only get it for the number of days that you've owned it in that year.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

So, you know, in all things, the ATO giveth, but they take it.

unknown 18:55

Take it away.

SPEAKER_00 18:58

I'm gonna like stitch that on a cushion.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

Yeah, like it's so true. What what was good back then is not good for you now. No. Nothing's no no nothing in this life is great.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

No, no, I completely agree. And so this is also per asset as well. So it's 20,000 per asset.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

But this, um it's great. Like if you're if you're needing something, and again, we referred to this earlier. If you were thinking about buying it anyway, and you were like before 30 June, yeah, get the benefit. Uh you know, I've talked to a lot of clients. Oh, you know, I was thinking about buying a new um pump, whatever.

SPEAKER_00 19:34

New laptop, new this, new that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

Like I needed one anyway.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

Yeah, do it. Do it, do it before 30 June. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:39

Self-organise and go do it. Yeah, but if it was just like, oh, I don't want to pay tax, I'm gonna go buy something for 20 grand. Well, you've just done yourself out of you've done yourself a disservice. Yeah, of$19,000.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

And also I mention it has to be the business use percentage of it too. Like I the amount of people like, oh I'll just buy this and it's for the house. It's like, no, no, you can't, it doesn't work like that. And just also be mindful that the this limit does change every year, yeah. And they are pull they're trying to pull it back down from COVID times.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

So which is a really annoying thing for tax planning. Yeah. Because it could possibly change in the budget each year, which is done on I think the 12th of May this year. Which we've already done tax planning for some people by then. So it's a real tricky.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

Last year that was so hard because they didn't legislate until after the fact, and you were like, oh my gosh, I hope I hope I've given the right advice.

Budget Changes And Rule Uncertainty

SPEAKER_01 20:32

It is. This is the hard thing about tax planning with our tax system, is it changes a lot. And they will make announcements, and so this is where changes to CGT and CGT discount are potentially coming.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Oh, I know. I can feel it. I can feel Emma Waters Lee. I can feel Emma Waters.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

Um negatively geared property as well. That's on the radar.

SPEAKER_00 20:54

They're looking, they're they're basically going for investors in property, yeah, taking all the tax benefits away.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

12th of May, it'll be potentially everything might change. So you might be like, oh my accountant said this on the 1st of May. And then it changes. So this is the system we're dealing with. Things change. They might up the mediate write-off limit, they might down it. I think they might down it. Um, we don't know. We live in a maybe world with some of these rules that aren't set in stone and I just legislate it as they go year to year. Yeah. And we wait with bated breath every year to see if they're gonna extend it or not.

SPEAKER_00 21:31

Yeah. The budget is usually the big one. Yeah, don't talk to an accountant on budget night. No. That'll be very stressful. And but then stuff comes out in budget and people are like, oh yeah, I can do this and do that. It's like it's not legislated yet.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

It's actually for three. Like there was one they announced and it was for three years' time. Yeah, I know. And it was like you d it doesn't apply. We'll see if that ever gets in, because the government might change three times by then.

Home Office And Motor Vehicle Claims

SPEAKER_00 21:54

Yeah. Um, the other one I kind of want to highlight is home office and motor vehicles. So home office. If you are working from home, the rules have changed a little bit. We've got a blog on this, but you can do a cents per hour. Just keep a little log of that.

SPEAKER_01 22:12

And it's like 70 cents an hour.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

Like people, calm down.

SPEAKER_01 22:15

You're not getting a massive deduction. People don't really believe that you're doing that many more.

SPEAKER_00 22:20

Like, think about it. 70 cents an hour, but then you only potentially get an average 30 cents back on the like it's not worth it. It's not worth it, people.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

It's a little kick, it's just a little fun.

SPEAKER_00 22:30

And no, there is no maximum amount.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

You're working 24 hours a day.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

Oh look 52 weeks of the year. If you're an individual, you can get a$300 max deduction, but that's it. Across like you don't then add on top, right? So it's like that's it. Um and look, I highly suspect at some point in time um individual tax returns will be dumped and that you'll just they'll let legislate an average deduction. And if you want to and then if you well, UK already does it. If you then want or have more deductions, you'll will lodge a tax return.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Yeah. It just means that the majority of people don't even have to worry about it.

SPEAKER_00 23:06

The other thing with Home Office is people love to claim, oh, but I've got a home office, I want to claim a percentage of the home office to the to the house. And look, you can claim light and power, that's pretty much it. But if you start to go into occupancy, you are up for major damage in the sense of you are putting your main residence exemption up for grabs. It is murky waters. Do not do it, it is not worth it. I've never seen anybody get enough deductions through Home Office to bother losing a main residence exemption. Think about that for a minute, people. Don't do it. No, don't do it. Um, the other one is um Motor Vehicles um and how do they claim? Because there's a couple of ways that you can claim.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Depending on where it's owned, I suppose. Yeah. If you've got it in your own name or if you've got it in your business um it in your own name, the most common one is just cents per kilometre.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Because it's unsubstantiated. You just gotta keep a bit of an idea.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

Up to 5,000 kilometres at a rate of 70 something cents, eight. Changes every year.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

Imagine what it would be like now with the fuel rates a bit.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

Yeah, but they don't adjust it. Um so you just yeah, you pay, you just work out how many kilometres you did, and it's the very most common one for an individual. You can track your actual expenses through a logo. Then you need to do a logbook and work out what your business person does. Over 12 weeks.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

So it's a bit more, you know, cumbersome. Yeah. And then you've got to keep all your receipts for everything, which but that would incorporate fuel, regroe insurance, repairs and maintenance, interest if you've got a high purchase loan depreciation, the whole kitten caboodle.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

Yeah. Um, but yeah, more time consuming to put all that together. But you probably would end up with a bigger deduction. So that's if you've got a lot of travel and a high private uh higher business use. So if you're going really far over five thousand kilometres a year, you you do it that way. Um business is a bit more like that anyway. You're really you're tracking every expense. Um, and you still need to do a logbook to work out how much is private and how much is business. Um, and there might be FBT considerations in there somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

But we mostly have to do the FBT one at some point, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 25:10

Um every account loves FBT.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

Well, and it will most probably fit in the should I buy the vehicle, should I lease it? Should I do a high purchase? And we'll most probably have to do an episode on that because everybody asks that way.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

Can I buy the car in my company?

SPEAKER_00 25:23

What are the consequences? The car dealership told me to. Oh Lord, please don't take tax advice from the car salespeople.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

All right, late time of year, office works and the car dealerships giving out their tax planning advice.

SPEAKER_00 25:33

Is there any other top tax tips that you want to give the listeners?

SPEAKER_01 25:39

No, my tax tip is to get tax planning. Yes. And the only way you can get tax planning is to keep your records up to date. Yes. It's got to be good, useful data that we're dealing with.

SPEAKER_00 25:50

We usually do it in March once we've done nine months of data, we've reconciled it.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

Once you lodge your March Bass, you're gonna have a bit of a crack.

SPEAKER_01 25:58

If you wonder how we do it, this is this is a bit of a so what we will do is we'll take your nine months of data and extrapolate it out. So, you know, add three more months based on your average, really. Unless we know it's seasonal. Yeah, unless we know specific things, then we'll add and take and do a little magic, a bit a little bit of accounting magic. Um and work out your you know, where we think your taxable position will be without any other extra bits added in before any little bits and bobs. But and then we'll do your personal returns as well so that we see the whole your whole structure, whole group. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 26:39

And then we work out what we think the tax is going to be.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

Yep. Then we'll meet with you. Yep. And make some suggestions. Yep. And and just like we said at the start, it's really just a great opportunity to have that conversation and to know what's going to happen next. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 26:55

Because there's nothing worse in life than a tax surprise. Oh, tack it's tax shock, it's real. And we get a lot of raw reactions. We're not gonna lie. I I feel them too when I when we do our own tax, trust me.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

No one likes it, but the more the more you educate yourself, the more you don't bury your head in the sand. Don't be like, oh, there's a taxing coming, I don't want to know. Um this is where we have those conversations about right, this is what's coming. How are we going to deal with that? What what are some things that we can do to help? Um, can we, you know, communicate with the ATO? Right. It might be even as simple as we know it's coming, you're not gonna be able to pay it. We're gonna have to get a payment plan with the ATO. But at least you know. At least you know, like hold lodgement, right? We're not gonna bother lodging till right up till May of the next year, this year, or oh look, you're gonna get a refund, let's do it early.

SPEAKER_00 27:49

Exactly. And it's those conversations that I think have the most gravitas at this point. Yeah. Um, and you know, I have some people like, oh, why would I do it? You say the same thing every year, and yes, yes, I do, because it's the same until the yeah, every year that it's not.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

Like until the year that it's not, and you've missed your opportunity. So true. Like, I love it. Um, because there is it kills me inside when I do a tax return that didn't get tax planning. And you miss your marginal tax something, and it's really caused uh a big kerfuffle.

SPEAKER_00 28:22

We get angst, we we we shed tears. Um we don't like it. Losses in trust is one that kills me. Oh, every time.

SPEAKER_01 28:29

Or if somebody has no income and you're like, oh no, we want to put a picture of it. With STP and all that, like we just did an episode earlier around remunerating yourself, and we said it's not that easy to pay yourself a wage after the fact anymore. You really have to be on top of it. So you've lost your opportunity.

SPEAKER_00 28:48

And nor director fees. If accounts are still doing director fees after the end of the year, it's it's false. It's it's you're opening yourself to an order because it's just and they'll add it back to be paid up. Yeah, like it's not you can't do it anymore.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

That's gonna work.

SPEAKER_00 29:02

Yeah, no, we definitely can't do that. All right, well, we got to the Hentai Fives to us. Oh my gosh. Hopefully, everyone's got something from that. Well, the ones that want to pay for it anyway. Okay. No, so good. All right, well, enjoy the rest of your days, everyone. See ya.

SPEAKER_01 29:20

Bye.

SPEAKER_00 29:23

And that's a wrap on today's episode, everyone. Thanks for hanging out with us. We're very aware you could have been scrolling, snacking, or ignoring emails instead. So we appreciate you choosing us. If this episode gave you a light bulb moment, a laugh, or a quiet, oh wow, same, do us a favour and hit follow, leave a review and rate the podcast. It helps other brilliant people find us and makes the algorithm gods very happy. So share it with a mate, a bizbesti, or that friend who's building something big and pretending they're not stressed. Until next time, use bold moves, chase the big wins and lead the way.