A few years ago I didn’t even know what a blog was…and look at me now!  Myself, along with many others have found ourselves in the blogosphere!

While I understand my own situation 100% and know my obligations in regards to declaring my income, others may not.

If you are earning income from your blog, you need to determine if your blog (AKA income earning activity) is considered a business or a hobby by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and unfortunately there’s no easy answer to this!

Each case must be determined based on the individual facts, but some of the things you need to consider are:

• does the income earning activity have a commercial purpose or character?
• are you aiming for a profit and working for one?
• is there repetition and regularity?
• is the activity carried on in the same manner as other businesses in the industry?
• are your activities planned, organised and carried on in a business like manner?
• what is the size scale and permanency?
• does it feel like a hobby?

Please make sure you make an assessment on the classification of your blog, you can read more here or get in Contact to discuss!

Regards

I read an article from author Andrew Griffiths on the weekend, in discussing the crazy ways that small businesses throw away a fortune each year, he said “I am continually surprised by the number of small businesses that I encounter that have little to no idea about their financial position at any given time.  They don’t know if they are making money or losing money, they don’t know how much they owe or how much they are owed – the absolute basics of any business.  From my experience, ignorance about your financial position almost always works against the business and that is when the money slips through the cracks”

I wanted to raise this quote with you all and ask, if you are one of these businesses that has little to no idea about your financial position – will you please reach out to me?

With the right tools and a bit of training, The Tax Chic can have you set up and operating your own accounting system in no time – yes it will take a commitment on your part, and yes there will be cost to implement…but the benefits into the future will allow you to take greater control over your business – and that is priceless!

Contact me to find out more!

Regards

We always need to be on the lookout for scams…but this time of the year, also known as “tax time”, usually sees an increase in the number of scams around – so it’s extremely important that everyone takes care!

The reputation of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is not so great in the eyes of many…but I’ve always found them to be generally reasonable to deal with, and I know there are some things they would never do…such as:

• The ATO will never cold call you about a tax debt. If you have a tax debt you will receive a letter or SMS to remind you that a payment is due, so that if/when they do phone you, you’ll be prepared.
• The ATO will never threaten jail or arrest – they simply can’t!

If you do receive a call from the ATO, and you’re unsure of its legitimacy, you are well within your rights to ask for the caller’s name so you can call them back through the ATO switchboard on 13 28 69.

For more information on scams, please visit Scamwatch.

Regards

Can we take a moment to think back to the 2015 federal budget released in May…do you recall there was a lot of media regarding the “sharing economy”?

The “sharing economy” relates to activities which are quite commonly managed by a website or mobile app and include renting out a room, property or a car park; providing odd jobs, errands, deliveries or more skilled services on an ad hoc basis or using a car to transport passengers for a fare (known as ride-sourcing) – two common providers are Airbnb and Uber.

It is important for you to know that if you engage in these operations, even if you think it’s “on the side”…the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) are catching on!  They warn that “the same tax laws that apply to activities conducted in a conventional manner apply to activities in the sharing economy.”

Essentially this means you need to report any income received (of course you can also claim your relevant deductions)…but there may be other implications such as capital gains tax and reporting requirements.

Each circumstance is different, and may depend on the type of business you are operating – so if you think you might be affected, please get in contact so we can make sure you are meeting your obligations!

Regards