Archives: Investax FAQs

A testamentary trust is one of the most effective ways to ensure your assets and property portfolio remain within your family after your passing. Established through your Will, it allows your assets to be managed by trusted individuals (trustees) for the benefit of your chosen beneficiaries — typically your children and family members.

Unlike direct inheritance, which transfers ownership immediately, a testamentary trust gives you greater control and protection. It helps safeguard family wealth from potential risks such as divorce settlements, bankruptcy, or financial mismanagement by beneficiaries. You can also specify how and when your children access their inheritance, ensuring financial discipline and long-term benefit.

From a tax perspective, testamentary trusts offer flexibility. Income distributed to minor children can be taxed at ordinary adult rates, not at the penalty rates usually applied to minors, which can lead to significant family tax savings.

If you want your wealth to support only your intended family members and provide both protection and flexibility, a testamentary trust can be an essential part of your estate planning.

When deciding whether to buy a vehicle with finance or cash, the best option depends on your business structure, cash flow, and long-term tax planning goals.

Paying cash means you own the vehicle outright from day one, avoiding interest and loan commitments. It’s simple, cost-effective, and there’s no ongoing liability. However, it also ties up valuable capital that could otherwise be used for business growth or investment. If the vehicle is used for business purposes, you can generally claim tax deductions for depreciation and running costs—but not for interest, since no finance is involved.

Financing the vehicle—through a chattel mortgage or hire purchase—can provide flexibility and potential tax benefits. The interest and depreciation (or instant asset write-off, if eligible) are generally tax-deductible based on the business-use percentage. It also helps preserve cash flow by spreading the cost over time. However, many finance agreements include a balloon payment at the end of the term. While this reduces monthly repayments, it can create significant cash-flow pressure later if you decide to keep the vehicle instead of trading it in or refinancing.

A novated lease is another popular option—especially for employees who use their car for both business and personal use. Under a novated lease, your employer makes the lease payments from your pre-tax income, reducing your taxable income and simplifying running costs such as fuel, insurance, and maintenance. Similar to hire purchase agreements, novated leases often include a residual or balloon payment at the end of the term. While this lowers initial repayments, it can lead to a substantial cash-flow hit when you choose to retain the vehicle.

Ultimately, there’s no universal answer. If your business values liquidity and you want to maximise deductions through financing, a chattel mortgage or novated lease might be ideal. But if you prefer simplicity and full ownership without long-term obligations, paying cash could be the smarter move.

Tip: Before deciding, consult your Investax tax advisor to assess how each option affects your cash flow, Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exposure, and your broader business tax position.

From 1 July 2025, interest charged by the ATO on outstanding tax debts will no longer be tax deductible. This includes both the General Interest Charge (GIC) and Shortfall Interest Charge (SIC) that the Australian Taxation Office applies when tax is paid late or underpaid.

Until 30 June 2025, you can still claim these ATO interest charges as part of your cost of managing tax affairs. But from the 2025–26 financial year onwards, that deduction will be removed. This means any ATO interest incurred after 1 July 2025 will become a non-deductible expense, increasing the after-tax cost of carrying ATO debt.

For business owners, one potential strategy is to refinance the ATO debt using a business or equity loan. The interest on a genuine business loan remains tax deductible if the borrowed funds are used for an income-producing purpose, such as paying down ATO liabilities. In addition, commercial loan interest rates are usually much lower than ATO interest rates, which makes refinancing both tax-effective and cost-efficient.

If you’re unsure how this change affects your business or whether refinancing makes sense in your case, speak with the tax specialists at Investax Group. Our accountants can help you assess your options and implement the most effective tax strategy for your outstanding ATO tax debts. 

Yes, a foreign resident can contribute to their Australian superannuation fund and, in many cases, claim a tax deduction for it—provided specific conditions are met. Even if you’re living overseas, as long as you have assessable income in Australia and contribute to a complying Australian super fund, the contribution can generally be treated as tax deductible.

Here’s a simple example. Let’s say you’re a foreign resident who owns a rental property in Australia and earns $50,000 in annual rental income. Because you’re a non-resident, you’ll pay Australian tax on that $50,000 at the foreign resident tax rate. However, if you decide to contribute, for example, $10,000 of that income into your Australian super fund, and you submit a Notice of Intent to Claim a Deduction to your fund before lodging your tax return, this contribution can become tax deductible. In that case, your taxable income would reduce from $50,000 to $40,000—helping you save on tax while growing your retirement savings in a tax-effective way.

To be eligible, your super fund must be a complying fund and must accept personal contributions from non-residents. You’ll also need to submit a Notice of Intent to Claim a Deduction and receive acknowledgment from the fund confirming your notice before you lodge your tax return. It’s equally important to remember that deductions can only be claimed against your Australian-sourced income. If you have no income taxable in Australia—for example, if all your earnings are from overseas—then the deduction won’t provide any practical tax benefit, even though the contribution itself may still be allowed.

So, in summary, yes—you can contribute to your Australian super fund as a foreign resident, and if you have Australian income, those contributions can reduce your tax payable while helping you build long-term wealth for retirement. It’s a great way to turn Australian rental or investment income into future savings, provided you follow the correct process and meet the ATO’s requirements.

You can continue making super contributions after retirement, but the rules depend on your age, your total super balance (TSB), and whether concessional or non-concessional contributions are being made.

The work test only applies if you’re aged 67 to 74 and you want to claim a tax deduction for personal super contributions. If you’re under 67, or making non-concessional contributions, no work test is required.

1. Personal Contributions (Tax Deduction): Yes, you can claim a tax deduction on a personal contribution as long as it doesn’t push you into a tax loss position. Generally tax accountants do not recommend claiming deductions when your taxable income is below the tax-free threshold of $22,575 for FY26, as there is usually no benefit in doing so.
2. Catch-Up Contributions: Yes, catch-up concessional contributions are available if your total super balance (TSB) is under $500,000 on 30 June 2025, and you have unused concessional cap amounts from the past five years.
3. Non-Concessional and Bring-Forward Contributions: Yes, you can make non-concessional contributions and use the bring-forward rule if your super balance is below the ATO thresholds. For FY26, the rules are:

• • TSB less than $1.76 million → up to $360,000 (3-year bring-forward)
  • TSB $1.76m – under $1.88m → up to $240,000 (2-year bring-forward)
  • TSB $1.88m – under $2m → up to $120,000 (standard annual cap)
  • TSB $2m or more → no non-concessional contributions allowed

 

Recently, many NSW property owners have received letters warning that from 1 January 2026, those with less than 25% ownership could lose their Principal Place of Residence (PPR) exemption for Land Tax. This has caused confusion, as plenty of our clients hold property as tenants in common with shares below 25%.

The NSW Government’s letters did not clearly explain the details of this change — who it applies to, why it exists, or how it will be implemented. To clarify, we contacted Revenue NSW directly. Their advice was as follows (though we recommend you confirm this with Revenue NSW, as there is no publicly available detailed guidance yet):

• If you live in the property as your home: In typical cases where spouses, siblings, or other family members jointly own and reside in the property, the PPOR exemption for Land Tax will continue to apply — even if one owner holds less than 25%.

 

• If you are not living in the property as your home: Currently, an owner with less than 25% has been able to claim the PPOR exemption if another co-owner occupies the property as their home. From 1 January 2026, this will no longer be the case. Any unrelated owner with less than 25% ownership will lose access to the exemption.

In short, the new rule mainly affects minority owners who don’t live in the property themselves but have been benefiting from another owner’s occupation.

If you need to travel far or to another city for work and stay overnight before starting your duties, you might wonder whether these costs are deductible. The general tax rule in Australia is that travel from home to your regular place of work is considered private and not deductible, even if it involves flying long distances or staying overnight.

For example, if your employer requires you to travel at your own expense to the same city every week and then provides transport to various worksites the following day, the initial flight and overnight accommodation are still regarded as private travel. These expenses are essentially about putting you in the position to start work, not costs incurred while doing your actual job.

The ATO explains this in TR 2021/1 Income tax: when are deductions allowed for employees’ transport expenses, which gives the example of an employee who regularly flies interstate for work. Even though she stays overnight, the costs are not deductible because they are related to her personal choice of where to live compared to where she works.

That said, there are limited circumstances where travel expenses may be deductible, such as:

• Co-existing workplaces – where you genuinely have two regular places of work (for example, one near home and another interstate).
• Special demands travel – where the employer directs you to travel, pays you for the travel time, and the travel is part of the job itself (not just getting to work).

In most cases, though, if the travel is simply to get closer to your normal workplace, the costs will not be deductible.

Key takeaway: If you are flying to the same city each time and staying overnight before going to work, these travel and accommodation expenses will usually be considered private and not deductible. To be deductible, the travel must be clearly linked to carrying out your work duties—not just getting to your workplace.

 

We get this question a lot, and there are plenty of myths about how many months you must live in a property for it to qualify as your Principal Place of Residence (PPOR). The ATO does not actually set a minimum occupancy period on its website; instead, it considers whether the property is genuinely your home. When you occupy a property, the ATO looks for indicators such as where your family lives, the address on your electoral roll and driver’s licence, where your mail is delivered, and whether utilities are connected in your name. Based on your circumstances, even a stay of three to six months may be enough to show genuine occupancy.

Although the ATO doesn’t set a strict minimum occupancy period for your Principal Place of Residence, it does outline specific rules for cases like newly built or renovated homes, moving between residences, and applying the main residence exemption after you move out.

Newly Built or Renovated Homes

If you build or substantially renovate a home, you can treat the land as your main residence for up to 4 years before you move in, but only if you:

• Move in as soon as practicable, and
• Live there for at least 3 months.

Moving Between Homes

When you buy a new home before selling or leaving your old one, both properties can qualify as your main residence for up to 6 months, provided:

• You lived in the old home for at least 3 continuous months in the last 12 months, and
• It wasn’t used to produce income during that period.

After You Move Out

• If not rented or used for income: You can continue treating the property as your main residence indefinitely.
• If rented out: You may apply the “6-year rule” and still treat it as your main residence for up to 6 years.

Scammers are getting smarter every day when it comes to targeting Australians. They’ll try all sorts of tricks to get your personal or business details—like phone calls about fake tax debts or emails promising a surprise tax refund. To keep both you and your business safe this tax season, especially with email and SMS scams on the rise, the Australian Taxation Office suggests three simple but important precautions:

1. Avoid clicking on unsolicited links or scanning QR codes in emails or texts claiming to be from the ATO. These messages may be phishing attempts designed to steal your sensitive corporate credentials.  
2. Always access ATO services by manually typing the URL into your browser, rather than clicking through links. This ensures you’re visiting the legitimate ATO site and not a spoofed imitation.  
3. Never share your Tax File Number (TFN), Australian Business Number (ABN), or login details (like myID or RAM) unless you’re absolutely sure the request is genuine and the recipient is verified. Keeping these details confidential helps protect against identity fraud.  

Extra Safety Tip: If you get a suspicious call, SMS, voicemail, email, or even a social media message claiming to be from the ATO, don’t respond or engage. Remember, if you have a registered tax agent or accountant, the ATO will usually contact them first—not you directly. If someone calls saying they’re from the ATO, don’t get drawn into the conversation. Instead, hang up and call the ATO yourself on their official number to check if the contact was genuine.

 

Top 3 Scam Awareness Tips – ATO