RGM are proud to announce that financial advisory firm Money Talk Planners will be joining forces with RGM come the 1st of July 2025.
Money Talk Planners is a locally, family-owned financial planning business based out of Morwell that has been in operation for over 30 years. It has a reputation of providing high quality advice to its clients in a professional manner; values that underpin the services we provide at RGM. With the move, the entire Money Talk Planners team will reside in our Traralgon office.
There will be no change to the existing service provided to all our financial planning and accounting clients. Joe Auciello, Partner of over ten years in both our accounting and financial planning divisions, explains why RGM sought out this alliance. “In the ever-growing financial advisory sector, it is imperative that as a business, we look at strategic moves to ensure we can bolster our service offering to existing and new clientele. The Money Talk Planners team will bring their own ideas across to RGM that we look forward to incorporating into our business. Over the past two years we have been diligently working in the background to ensure that this move puts RGM at the forefront of financial planning in Gippsland both now and into the future”.
As part of the move, MTP practice principal Tony Salvatore and financial advisor Adrian Salvatore will join the ownership group of RGM. With over 30 years of financial of financial planning experience, Tony is excited about the move. “Both businesses have shared values, and we will be able to offer enhanced resources, greater financial guidance and invest quality time with our clients. It will be business as usual.”
We formally welcome the Money Talk Planning team across to RGM and we’re all excited in what the future holds!
In the shadow of an upcoming election, Jim Chalmers’ fourth Budget delivered small but unexpected tax cuts for all Australian taxpayers.
The modest cuts were delivered against a backdrop of growing economic uncertainty, with the treasurer emphasising the need for national resilience in the face of rapid global change.
Tax cuts for everyone
In a surprise revelation, the treasurer announced two new tax cuts in the 2025 Budget.
The first is a cut in the lowest personal income tax rate, which covers every dollar of a taxpayer’s income between $18,201 and $45,000. The current 16 per cent rate will reduce to 15 per cent in 2026-27 and be lowered again to 14 per cent from 1 July 2027.
According to the government, the reduction will take the first tax rate down to its lowest level in more than half a century. Combined with the 2024 tax cuts, an average earner will be paying $2,190 less in 2027-28 compared with 2023-24.
The second tax cut is an increase of 4.7 per cent to the Medicare low-income threshold for singles and families. This means the Medicare Levy will not kick in until singles earn $27,222, rather than the current $26,000 level. The threshold for families will rise from $43,846 to $45,907, while single seniors and pensioners will have their threshold increase from $41,089 to $43,020.
Energy relief for small business and households
The Budget also provided small businesses and households with a welcome additional energy bill rebate to cope with the burden of high energy costs.
Around one million eligible small businesses will receive an additional $150 directly off their energy bills from 1 July 2025. This will extend the government’s energy bill relief until the end of 2025, as the previous rebate scheme was due to end on 30 June.
Abolition of non-compete clauses and licensing reform
Some businesses may be less pleased with the Budget announcement of a planned ban on non-compete clauses covering low- and middle-income employees leaving for another business or to start their own.
Competition law will be tightened to prevent businesses making arrangements that cap workers’ pay and conditions without their knowledge or agreement, or that block them from being hired by competitors. The government claims this will increase affected employees’ wages by up to 4 per cent as they will be able to move to more productive, higher-paying jobs.
Work will also begin on a national occupational licence for electrical trades, which is intended to provide a template for other industries where employees are currently restricted from working across state and territory borders.
Beer excise freeze
Government support for the hospitality sector and alcohol producers was also announced in the Budget.
Indexation of the draught beer excise and excise equivalent customs duty rates will be paused in a measure costing about $165 million over five years.
Strengthening competition law
Small business will benefit from the government’s decision to work with the states and territories to extending unfair trading practices protections to small businesses.
Over $7 million will be provided over two years to strengthen the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s enforcement of the Franchising Code.
Subject to consultation, protections from unfair contract terms and unfair trading practices will be extended to all businesses regulated by the Franchising Code.
Supporting Australian businesses
Local companies will also benefit from $20 million in additional support for the Buy Australian Campaign, which encourages consumers to buy Australian-made products.
The Budget further supported local businesses with $16 million in funding for a new Australia-India Trade and Investment Accelerator Fund.
Additional ATO tax compliance funding
The ATO will be happy, with the 2025 Budget providing $999 million over the next four years to extend and expand its tax compliance activities.
This includes additional funding for the shadow economy and personal income tax compliance programs, together with $50 million from 1 July 2026 to ensure the timely payment of tax and unpaid super liabilities by businesses and wealthy groups.
Preparing for the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year-end is never a walk in the park and, with the ATO now using increasingly sophisticated data matching programs, it is more important than ever to get your return right.
As part of the ATO’s post-pandemic campaign to improve taxpayer compliance and payment of tax debts, the ATO is using data matching tools to check whether businesses should be reporting employee fringe benefits and paying tax on them.i
As a small business owner, you shoulder full responsibility for accurately calculating the taxable value of all fringe benefits, lodging the FBT return, paying any required tax, and reporting fringe benefits on an employee’s payment summary if the individual benefits exceed $2,000.ii
Areas to check in your FBT return
Vehicle benefits are a continuing source of mistakes when it comes to FBT returns. The ATO is particularly interested in commercial vehicles (mainly dual cab utes) provided to employees. Many employers wrongly believe these vehicles are fully FBT-exempt. But an exemption only applies where private use of the vehicle is minor and infrequent.
FBT rules about the use of employee car parking have also been tightened. FBT usually applies if you provide your employees with parking in a commercial car park, although many small businesses are eligible for an FBT exemption under specific conditions.iii
Dining and EV benefit rules
Entertainment and in-house dining fringe benefits are another area where it’s easy to be caught out.
Ensure you have detailed records related to these types of benefits (including any contributions made by employees) and check the benefits provided have met the ‘minor and infrequent‘ rule.
Also keep an eye on the implications of new rules covering electric vehicle (EV) benefits.
Getting employees to play their part
To simplify the process of putting your FBT return together, it helps if your employees play their part.
For example, encourage employees who use salary packaging to spend all of their available annual balance before 31 March to avoid the headache of unspent or claimed benefits rolling over into the next FBT year.
If employees do not use their unspent balance, it still needs to be reported and deducted from their cap limit in the new FBT year, which can create additional paperwork.
Employee declarations
If you plan to use the FBT exemptions and concessions on offer, you may also need to obtain detailed records from your employees (such as travel diaries, logbooks, declarations and odometer records).iv
Any change in car usage due to a new work role needs to be noted and the business use percentage adjusted, or a new logbook started.
Start collating this information as early as possible to simplify the calculation and lodgement process.
Meeting the lodgement deadline
Unlike the normal tax year, the FBT year ends on 31 March, with the 21 May lodgement and payment deadline giving you only a short window to get your paperwork in order. If you lodge with an accountant the deadline is 25 June.
You need to determine the taxable value of the different fringe benefits your employees have received during the year, calculate the tax you need to pay and collect any required employee declarations.
All employee declarations must be obtained by the time your FBT return is due to be lodged. Even if you do not have to lodge a return, you must have the declarations by 21 May.
We can help with any questions you may have and assist you with preparing your FBT return.
Stay up to date with what’s happened in the Australian economy and markets over the past month.
The RBA dropped the cash rate to 4.10%, the first reduction since November 2020, however the RBA remains cautious regarding further cash rate cuts.
While tension continues between Russia-Ukraine and the Middle East, and a trade war looms due to Trump’s proposed tariffs, the global economic outlook remains unpredictable and markets are volatile.
Click the video below to view our update.
Please get in touch if you’d like assistance with your personal financial situation.
In today’s fast-paced world, where every minute counts, managing personal finances can feel like another tedious task. However, thanks to the rise of personal finance automation, managing these tasks, can now be handled with minimal effort on your part.
Whether you’re a professional, a business owner or someone who is busy and looking to streamline your personal financial life, it makes sense to automate.
Save time
One of the biggest advantages of automating your finances is the time it saves you. Instead of manually paying bills, tracking spending, or worrying about due dates, automation takes care of these tasks for you.
Prevent late payments and penalties – and mistakes!
One of the most common pitfalls of personal finance management is missing the due date of your bill payments. Whether it’s your rent, mortgage, or utility bills, setting up automatic payments ensures that deadlines are always met, and penalties or late fees are avoided.
Managing your finances manually can often lead to mistakes, whether it’s miscalculating a bill, forgetting to budget for a specific expense, or accidentally double paying an invoice. Automation helps eliminate human errors, ensuring that all your financial tasks are completed accurately.
Keep your finances on track
Automated tools can also track your spending habits, categorise your expenses, and provide insights into your financial behaviour. This can be particularly helpful for budgeting, allowing you to see where your money is going and make informed decisions about your spending habits and saving.
Getting started
The good news is that personal finance automation doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are a few simple tips to help you get started:
Automate your bill payments
Start by setting up automatic payments for your regular bills; such as utilities, rent or mortgage and credit cards. Most service providers offer online payment portals where you can link your bank account, debit, or credit card and set up recurring payments. You can schedule them to occur on specific dates each month, ensuring that everything is paid on time.
You can also use apps like GetReminded to receive reminders when contracts are set to expire such as utility bills and insurance and some even enable comparisons with providers, making it easier to shop around.
Make it easier to get ahead
Budgeting apps like Mint, YNAB, or PocketGuard can enable you to create a spending plan. These apps automatically sync with your bank and credit card accounts, categorising your spending and tracking your progress against your financial goals. Once your budget is set, automate your savings by scheduling regular transfers to a savings account or investment portfolio.
Apps like Qapital or Digit can help you set up automated savings that round up your purchases or take a small percentage of your income and save it for you. Even saving just $20 a week automatically can add up over time, and you probably won’t even miss the money!
Set up alerts and track your progress
Most of the major banks also have apps that can be used for a variety of financial services. Use your banking app or personal finance tool to set up alerts for when your balance hits a certain threshold or when you exceed your budget for a specific financial category. This will keep you informed and allow you to adjust as needed. Additionally, tracking your progress over time will give you a clear sense of achievement and motivate you to stick to your financial goals.
Prepare for tax time
Of course, we are always about being as organised as possible for tax time and finance automation can be your friend when it comes to having to substantiate any tax claims.
The ATO app myDeductions can help you keep your tax records organised. It allows you capture information on the go, making tax time easier. The myDeductions app can record work-related expenses for your car travel, uniform, self-education, bank interest, and dividends. You can also email your records to us!
Personal finance automation is one of the easiest ways to simplify your financial life and give you more time to focus on what matters most to you. Start small, and before you know it, you’ll have a financial system that works for you, not the other way around.
Stay up to date with what’s happened in the Australian economy and markets over the past month.
While headline inflation eased to 2.8% in the September quarter, the RBA appears cautious on interest rates.
The RBA Governor stated that Australia’s core inflation remains too elevated to justify interest rate cuts in the near term.
The sharemarket reacted to the RBA’s comments in the last days of a month that had seen several all-time highs as markets globally reacted to Donalds Trump’s win.
Click the video below to view our update.
Please get in touch if you’d like assistance with your personal financial situation.
Stay up to date with what’s happened in the Australian economy and markets over the past month.
Welcome news on the inflation front in October pointed to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) holding steady on rates this month.
The latest quarterly inflation figures show inflation has slowed to its lowest level since the height of the pandemic and now sits within the RBA’s target range at 2.8%.
Global share markets softened in the final two weeks of October, reflecting economic and geopolitical uncertainly.
The S&P/ASX 200 closed slightly down over the month of October, after again reaching record highs mid-month.
With the US election on the horizon there is much speculation about what that will mean for markets and the economy, both in the US and Australia.
Click the video below to view our update.
Please get in touch if you’d like assistance with your personal financial situation.
If you are considering disposing of a property, it’s important to understand the implications so that there are no surprises when your tax bill arrives.
As with most investment assets, when you dispose of an investment property generally you are liable for capital gains tax. Capital gains tax (CGT) is levied when you make a profit on selling and is part of your income tax, rather than a separate tax.i
When you dispose of an investment asset, your capital gains and losses must be reported in your tax return. The capital gain or loss is the difference between what it cost you to obtain and improve the property (the cost base) and the amount you receive when you dispose of it.ii
The CGT event is triggered when you enter into the sales contract, not when you settle on the property.
Capital gains must be included in your tax return for the income year the property is sold, while capital losses can be carried forward and used in future years.iii
Under the 6-year rule, you may be entitled to a part or full main residence exemption if you lived in the investment property before renting it out. This rule allows you to continue treating a property as your main residence for up to six years if you use it to produce income.iv
Other taxes to check before selling
In most situations, you are not required to add goods and services tax (GST) to the sale price when selling an investment property.
GST does, however, need to be applied to the sale of newly built and redeveloped properties. This may apply even if you are not a business.v
In some states (such as NSW), land tax is levied on investment properties over a certain value, so it’s important to ensure you pay any land tax bills prior to selling.
How CGT works
When it comes to CGT, you pay tax on your net capital gains, which is your total capital gains less any capital losses less any discount you are entitled to on your gains.vi
An important factor in the CGT calculation is when you purchased the investment property and how long you have held it.
If you sell within the first year of ownership, 100 per cent of your capital gain will be subject to CGT. If you sell after 12 months only 50 per cent is subject to CGT. For example, if you sell your property two months after purchase and make a capital gain of $10,000, the entire $10,000 is subject to CGT, but if it’s sold after the first year, only $5,000 is subject to CGT.
Property acquired before 20 September 1985 is exempt from CGT as this was the introduction date for CGT.
Calculating your capital gain or loss
Correctly calculating your capital gain or loss requires you to identify all the legitimate expenses contributing to your property’s cost base.
This usually includes items such as the price paid for the property, costs of transfer, stamp duty and selling costs (such as advertising, accounting and agent’s fees).
You can also include the cost of owning the CGT asset (such as rates, land taxes and insurance premiums), but you are not permitted to include amounts already claimed as a deduction (such as depreciation and capital works).
If you acquired your property before 21 September 1999, you can index its cost base for inflation to reduce your capital gain.vii
For more information about the tax implications of selling your investment property, call our office today.
Employers need to check that payroll systems reflect recent legislative changes, and the ATO is highlighting deduction opportunities available to some small businesses. Here’s your roundup of the latest tax news.
Updated employer obligations
The ATO is reminding employers to stay on top of legislative changes affecting payroll systems.
The Super Guarantee rate increased on 1 July 2024 to 11.5 per cent of ordinary times earnings, so all payments (starting with those for the July to September quarter) to super accounts for eligible workers must reflect the new rate.i
Individual income tax rate thresholds and tax tables changed also changed on 1 July 2024 so you may need to check calculations for your Pay As You Go Withholding obligations.
Claims for energy expenses
Many small business are eligible for a bonus 20 per cent tax deduction for new assets (or improvements to existing assets), that support more efficient energy usage.
The Small Business Energy Incentive applies to eligible assets first used or installed ready for use between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024.ii
Eligible expenditure for external training courses for employees incurred between 29 March 2022 and 30 June 2024 could also qualify for a 20 per cent bonus tax deduction from the Small Business Skills and Training Boost.iii
Pay less capital gains tax (CGT)
While a business can reduce capital gains made during a tax year by offsetting them with capital losses from the same or previous income years, not all capital losses are eligible.iv
Capital losses carried forward from previous years need to be used first, with losses from collectables (such as artwork and antiques) only permitted to be offset against capital gains from collectables.
Losses from personal use assets (such as boats or furniture), CGT exempt assets (such as cars and motorcycles), paying personal services income to yourself through an entity you set up, and leases producing income (such as commercial rental property), are ineligible as offsets.
Fuel tax credit rates change
Before claiming fuel tax credits in your next Business Activity Statement (BAS), check you are using the latest rates as they have changed twice in the new financial year.v
On 1 July 2024, the rate for heavy vehicles travelling on public roads changed due to an increase in the road user charge, with the rate altering again on 5 August 2024 due to a change in fuel excise indexation.
Different rates apply based on when you acquired fuel for your business’ use, so ensure you use the correct rate. If you are unsure, try the ATO’s online Fuel Tax Credit Calculator to work out the amount to report in your BAS.
Records essential for rental expense claims
Rental property investors without correct documentation to substantiate their expense deductions may find their claims declared invalid.vi
The ATO is warning investors they need all receipts, invoices and bank statements plus details of how deductions were calculated and apportioned for a valid claim.
Lodging a ‘nil’ BAS
While taxpayers registered for GST automatically receive a Business Activity Statement and are required to lodge and pay in full by the due date, businesses with nothing to report are still required to lodge.
If you have paused your business, you are required to lodge a ‘nil’ BAS by the due date either online or via the ATO’s automated phone service.vii
Stay up to date with what’s happened in markets and the Australian economy over the past month.
While the anxiously awaited release of the latest inflation data at the end of July, showed an increase, it was in line with economists’ predictions.
Given the RBA wants inflation back within a 2-3% target range by the end of 2025, there were concerns about the inflation figures and the implications for the cash rate.
The ASX finished the month strongly with an increase of around 4%, riding out a mid-month plunge and surging to a record high for the ninth time this year.
Click the video below to view our update.
Please get in touch if you’d like assistance with your personal financial situation.
