The Income of Minors and Taxation - Part 3

What rate of tax applies to the income of minors?

The tax rates given below apply in 2006–07 for minors who:

• are residents of Australia
• are not excepted persons, and
• have no excepted income.

Rates

$0 - $416 other income = Nil tax

$417 - $1307 other income = Nil + 66% of the excess over $416

Over $1307 other income = 45% of the total amount of income that is not excepted income.

If the minor’s taxable income is less than $40,000, they will get the low income tax offset. The maximum tax offset of $600 applies if their taxable income is $25,000 or less. This amount is reduced by four cents for each dollar over $25,000.

Example:

Kris is 15 years old. She has no excepted income and $900 in other income. The tax payable on her income is:

Excess over $416 = $900 – 416 = $484
66% of the excess = $484 x 66% = $319.44

As Kris’s taxable income is less than $25,000, she gets the maximum tax offset of $600. The net amount payable by Kris is $0 ($319.44 - $600).

What if the application of the special rules results in serious financial hardship?

If a minor faces serious financial hardship as a result of the application of the special rules, they may get a tax offset of some or all of the extra tax payable if we consider there is serious hardship due to higher tax rates applying rather than ordinary tax rates.

If you are in this situation, you will need to provide information stating the reasons for your hardship when you lodge your income tax return.

Source: Australian Taxation Office

The Income of Minors and Taxation - Part 1

Income of minors
A minor is a person who is under 18 years of age. Special rules apply to the income of minors.

Under these rules, certain types of income received by minors may be taxed at higher rates.

However, minors who are residents of Australia do not have to lodge a tax return if they earn less than $1,334 in 2006-07. This is because the low income tax offset of $600 offsets the tax payable on income less than $1,334.

Why do special rules apply to income of minors?

The special rules were introduced to discourage adults from splitting their income and diverting it to their children.


Are all minors covered by the special rules?

No. Several categories of minors are excluded from the special rules. These minors are called excepted persons.

A minor is an excepted person if on 30 June 2007:

• they were working full-time, or had worked full-time for three months or more in 2006-07 (ignoring full-time work that was followed by full-time study)
• intending to work full-time for most or all of 2007-08, and
  not intending to study full-time in 2007-08.
• they were entitled to a disability support pension or rehabilitation allowance, or someone was entitled to a carer allowance to care for them
• they were permanently blind
• they were disabled and were likely to suffer from that disability permanently or for an extended period
• they were entitled to a double orphan pension and received little or no financial support from relatives, or
• they were unable to work full-time because of a permanent mental or physical disability and received little or no financial support from relatives.

Ordinary rates of tax apply to all the income of an excepted person.



Continued in Part 2

Source: Australian Tax Office

Do I need to Lodge a Tax Return?

Typically you will need to lodge a tax return if:

• you have paid income tax during the financial year
• your taxable income is above the tax-free threshold of $6,000 and you did not receive Centrelink payment,
• you received a Centrelink payment, had other income, and your taxable income was above the threshold amount listed in TaxPack.

Other reasons you need to lodge a tax return include such things as:

• you are the liable prent under a child support assesment,
• You have a reportable fringe benefits amount,
• you are entitled to the private health insurance offset,
• you carried on a business,
• you made aloss or claim claim a loss you made in a previous year

... along with a host of other reasons.

If you are unsure, it is worth getting in touch with your accountant or tax agent to clarify your obligation. Did you know the ATO now have an online tax tool to help you determine if you need to lodge?

If you are not required to lodge a return this year, you should submit a non-lodgement advice to the ATO (this is included in TaxPack 2007). If you are registered under a tax agent, they will inform the Tax Office for you.

Lodge on Time and Don't Risk a Fine

A few people have asked when their returns must be done by so I thought it worth mentioning here.

You have until the 31 October 2007 to lodge your 2006-07 tax return.

Late fines range from $110 to $550 if you lodge within four months after the due date, and up to $2,750 after that period. Interest is also incurred on outstanding tax.

Individuals lodging their own return must do so by October 31, whereas those registered under a tax agent have longer.

One reason many people avoid lodging on time is the fear they will have to pay a tax debt. If this applies to you, be aware that:

• you have plenty of time before now and the first payment,


• the ATO can work with you to come up with a manageable payment plan, and


• the longer you leave it, the more fines and interest charges you will eventually have to pay.

The lesson here is lodge on time and don't risk the fines.

Work Related Expenses Under the Microscope

Last year over 7 million people claimed deductions for work related expenses totalling a whopping $12 billion.

The Tax Office has said it will be looking at claims for work-related expenses very closely.

For the 2007 tax return, the A.T.O. will be paying particular attention to claims for motor vehicles, self-education, home-office and travel.

The following guidelines should help when working out your claim:

• you must have incurred the expense in the year you are claiming,


• the expense must be work-related and not private,


• if your employer has reimbursed you the expense cannot be claimed again,


• if deducting more than $300 in total, you'll need written evidence to support your claim.

Data Matching and Capital Gains

The Tax Office will continue to focus on capital gains tax (CGT) this year and people who do not report capital gains for the sale or disposal of shares, property and other assets.

A recent A.T.O media release states the Tax Office will be matching data yet again to identify sales that involve capital gains.

Information will be gathered from state and territory revenue offices, managed funds, the stock exchange (ASX) and share registries to match against tax return information.

If you have disposed of assets during the year, be sure to let your accountant know.

Not Long Now - Time to Get Organised

Do not be one of the thousands of taxpayers who is missing out on deductions they are entitled to this year. It's time to do some tax housekeeping and dig out those receipts.

I read a frightening statistic earlier today. Apparently new research shows that 80% of Australians are paying too much tax because they are simply unorganised or unaware of their entitlements.

"Many people could be missing out," says Tony Greco, CEO of Taxpayers Australia. "Understanding tax can be pretty daunting. Not everyone would be motivated to do all the research and they could be missing out on eligible deductions."

This is where a tax agent can be of enormous benefit. Their job is to know and apply the tax rulings to get you the maximum possible return. The thing is, they can only work with the information and records you provide them. A little organising now can make a big difference when it's time to lodge that return.

Know Your Tax Offsets: Mature Age Worker

A relatively recent rebate is the Mature Age Worker Tax Offset.

What is it?
The mature age worker tax offset was introduced in the 2004-05 financial year to "reward and encourage" mature age workers who decide to stay in the workforce.

Am I eligible?
If you are an Australian resident, have received net income from working and are aged over 55 years, you may be eligible for the Mature Age Worker Tax Offset (MAWTO).

What is net income from working?
Your net income from working is used to calculate the amount of MAWTO you are entitled to. Basically, this is your income from working less any allowable deductions.

What income counts?
Income from working includes such items as salary and wages, income from a business you carry on, personal services income and reportable fringe benefits.

Which income doesn't count?
"Net income from working" does not include any social security payments, interest and dividends, super, capital gains, rental income or eligible termination payments. The amount of income you have received from the items not included as "income from working" does not affect your eligibility for this offset.

How much is it?
The maximum MAWTO entitlement is $500. This offset can only reduce your tax liability to nil; meaning any unused portion cannot be transferred or refunded.

How much will I get?
This depends upon your net income from working. The following rates apply depending on which bracket you fall into:

Under $10,000 = calculated at 5 cents per dollar from 0 - $9,999.
$10,000 - $53,000 = $500
$53,000 - $63,000 = reduced by 5 cents per dollar over $53,000.
Over $63,000 = nil

How do I get it?
If you qualify, the Tax Office will use the informaiton provided in your tax return to assess and apply your offset.

Neglected Tax Deduction #1

Okay, so most of us know what we can claim on our tax returns (or at least what we usually claim) but there are still a lot of deductions that go neglected by people year after year.

Did you know?

Most taxpayers are aware they can claim a deduction of their accountant's fee for preparing their return. We call that a "cost of managing tax affairs."

What a lot of people fail to factor in is the cost of travel to and from the accountant. Yep, you can claim that too.

More Personal Tax Cuts

According to Budget 2007-08, all taxpayers will benefit from from a further $31.5 billion in tax cuts over the next four years.

Highlights include:

1. From 1 July 2007, the low income tax offset will increase to $750 per year and the 30 per cent threshold will rise from $25,000 to $30,000.




2. From 1 July 2008, the 40 per cent threshold will increase to $80,000 and the 45 per cent threshold will increase to $180,000.

That's great news for next year but what about this tax season? Well, thanks to the May 2006 budget, it's still good news for low income earners.

More taxpayers are likely to qualify for the Low Income Tax Offset (LITO) this year as a result of the offset increasing from $235 to $600 and not starting to phase out until $25,000. So what does that mean for you? It means a reduced offset may be possible up to a taxable income of $40,000.