101 Ways to Save Money on Your Tax - Legally! 2014-2015

As featured on The Project (Channel Ten), A Current Affair (Channel 9), ABC Radio and in Money Magazine. Stop giving your money away! You work hard for your money, and you work even harder to set and keep a budget that makes the most of it. But when tax time arrives, do you feel shorted on your return? Nearly everyone has to pay taxes, but the government is only entitled to so much of your money. You might be letting them keep hundreds or even thousands of dollars that rightfully belong to you. No matter what your accounting habits have been so far, you can still claim what′s yours. 101 Ways to Save Money on Your Tax&mdash,Legally! 2014 &ndash, 2015 is your ultimate guide to maximising your return. Author Adrian Raftery, a.k.a. Mr. Taxman, is Australia′s leading personal taxation expert. In the book, Raftery provides the information you need to get back every single dollar you′re entitled to, plus tips and tricks that help you get the most out of deductions related to: You, your family, and your property Education, employment, and small business Investment property, shares, and superannuation Special circumstances, including medical expenses and levies The book also contains advice on related matters, including tax–effective investments, tax planning, and how to find a great accountant. All information has been updated to reflect tax law changes wrought by the May 2014 budget. If you′re tired of paying too much tax and seeing too little return, 101 Ways to Save Money on Your Tax&mdash,Legally! 2014 &ndash, 2015 is your comprehensive guide to putting things right, starting now.

About the author xi How to use this book xiii Introduction xvii Part I You and your family 1 1 Marriage 2 2 Income splitting 5 3 Dependent spouse tax offset 7 4 Dependant (invalid and carer) tax offset 9 5 Children 10 6 Paid parental leave 13 7 Dad and partner pay 15 8 Child care 16 9 Low–income earners 18 10 Senior Australians 20 11 Other government benef its 23 12 Family breakdown 27 13 Death 29 14 Trusts 32 Part II Your employment 35 15 Car usage 37 16 Methods to claim car travel 40 17 Travel 42 18 Uniform 45 19 Home off ice 47 20 Other work–related deductions 50 21 Keeping those receipts 53 22 ATO hit lists 55 23 Redundancy 58 24 Working a second job 60 25 Salary sacrifice 63 26 Fringe benefits 65 27 Living–away–from–home allowance 69 Part III Your education 75 28 Claiming self–education expenses 76 29 The $250 threshold 79 30 Self–development courses 81 31 Higher Education Loan Program 84 32 Student Financial Supplement Scheme 88 33 Austudy and ABSTUDY 90 34 Other government assistance 93 35 Scholarships 96 36 School building funds 99 37 Education savings plans 102 Part IV Your investment property 105 38 Negative gearing 107 39 Interest 110 40 Depreciation 114 41 Low–value pooling 117 42 Repairs and maintenance 119 43 Travel to see your investment property 122 44 Borrowing expenses 124 45 Legal expenses 127 46 Other rental property deductions 128 47 Foreign investment properties 131 48 Capital gains tax 133 49 PAYG withholding variation 136 50 Property genuinely available for rent 139 Part V Your shares 141 51 Dividends 143 52 Franking credits 146 53 Dividend reinvestment plans 149 54 Lower income earners 150 55 Borrowing to buy shares 153 56 Other allowable deductions 156 57 Shares and capital gains tax 158 58 Realising capital losses 160 59 Inheriting share portfolios 162 60 Share traders versus share investors 164 61 Rights and options 167 62 Employee share schemes 169 63 Share portfolios within self managed superannuation funds 171 Part VI Your superannuation 175 64 Contribution limits 178 65 Compulsory employer contributions 182 66 Salary sacrifice 185 67 Super co–contribution 188 68 Transferring foreign super 190 69 Self managed superannuation funds 192 70 Buying property within SMSFs 196 71 Gearing through a super fund 198 72 Accessing your super 201 73 Transition to retirement 203 74 Allocated pensions 205 75 Death benefits 207 76 Lost or unclaimed super 209 Part VII Your business 213 77 Choosing the right business structure 215 78 Tax obligations 220 79 Record keeping 223 80 Deferring tax 226 81 Trading stock 229 82 Bad debts 231 83 Home–based businesses 233 84 Employing people 236 85 Tax concessions and offsets 239 86 Selling or closing down 242 87 Personal services income 244 88 Non–commercial losses 245 89 Franchising 247 Part VIII Miscellaneous 249 90 Overseas income 250 91 Getting a great accountant 253 92 Lodging your tax return 256 93 Amending returns and objecting to assessments 258 94 ATO data matching 261 95 Problems paying your tax 264 96 Medical expenses tax offset 266 97 Levies 269 98 Zone and overseas forces tax offsets 273 99 Tax–effective investments 276 100 Tax planning as a 365–day process 277 101 Just do it! 279 Glossary 281 Bibliography 299 Index 301