As tax time approaches, the ATO has shared some important tips for small businesses to get ready for the end of this financial year and the start of the next. The ATO also offers free courses on its small business online learning platform to help owners understand their tax and superannuation responsibilities.

Tips for Tax Time 2024

The ATO suggests small business owners should focus on these key areas:

1. Purchase Tax-Deductible Items: The deadline to buy any tax-deductible items is 30 June, the end of the financial year. Make sure you have records of both the cost and use of these items, including how much they are used for work versus personal purposes.
2. Check Small Business Concessions: See if your business qualifies for any small business concessions. Depending on your business’s total turnover, you might be eligible for benefits like CGT concessions, the small business income tax offset, or the small business restructure rollover. This applies to sole traders, partnerships, companies, and trusts.
3. Finalise Employees’ Single Touch Payroll (STP): If you have employees, you must finalise the STP information for 2023-24 by 14 July. This ensures your employees have the right information to file their tax returns. Make sure to include all employees, even those who left during the year.
4. Check Your PAYG Withholding and Instalments: With the new Stage 3 tax cuts starting from 1 July, individual tax rates and thresholds will change, affecting PAYG withholding for the 2025 financial year. Ensure you are using the correct PAYG withholding tax tables and that your software is updated. If you think your PAYG instalments might be too high or too low, you can adjust them when filing your activity statement through Online Services for Business or with the help of a registered tax agent. This adjustment should be made before the instalment is due and before filing your tax return for the next financial year.
5. Review Record-Keeping: As you look ahead to the next financial year, review your record-keeping from the past year and see if any improvements are needed.

ATO’s Online Learning Platform

To help with tax time preparation, the ATO offers self-paced courses on their online learning platform. Launched in February, these free courses help small business owners understand their tax and superannuation obligations. The platform, developed with input from small businesses and educational experts, offers over 20 courses featuring videos, case studies, audio content, written information, quizzes, and customizable learning pathways.

Courses cover topics such as:

• Different stages of a business life cycle (idea, start-up, day-to-day, change, and exit)
• Reporting obligations (e.g., GST, FBT, employees)
• Claiming small business tax deductions
• Small business concessions

These courses are a great resource for both business owners and tax practitioners to use and share.