I am working on an ABN. Can I earn a certain amount tax free? Can I get my tax back?

Pisco Sour

I am on a WHV in Melbourne and I am working at the moment as sub contracter (though I am basically an employee in all but name) so am using an ABN. I was informed before I started work that a certain portion of my yearly earnings would be tax free which suited mefine as I was only planning on using this job for a short period of time until I find something better.

Well today I have been told that this tax free amount only applies to Australians and that non-national people have to pay tax on every single bit of their earnings. In addition I have been told that we cant even claim it back, like the WHV people working under a TFN can.

Is all of this true? If so I feel so screwed. 650 dollars that I thought was mine is basically flushed down the toilet and now I barely am earning enough to get by! :-(

All information on tax would be much appreciated. I'm finding it hard to get the information I am looking for by google searching.

Pisco Sour

mandrake04 wrote: »

I know load of guys working ABN and they pay tax

Will I be entitled to claim back tax at the end of the tax year June 30th if working on an ABN? I will be in Australia a little over 6 months by that time, though probably not with the one employer the entire time.

Are tax refunds only for people on TFN's? or are people on ABN's entitled to them aswell?

Pisco Sour

This is so dumb that I am on ABN in the first place. I am treated like an employee in every way: Was given training, am provided with my roster each week of when I will be working, am ordered around and treated with no respect by the asshole manager, they provide all the materials needed for me to do my job (a computer!!) How on earth does this classify as me being a contractor. I really hope I can get a tax refund just like all the people on TFN's can, otherwise I am getting f*cked over!

markymark21

Whats the story with the tax file number and ABN? whats the differences and why would you be given a ABN over a TFN?

Doc

If you are on an ABN I was under the impression that you don’t pay tax until the end of the tax year? If they are taking tax from your wages then they should not be as it is your responsibility to do this. You should be being paid more then someone on the same basic wage with a TFN because they will have the tax deducted. Obviously at the end of the year you should have to pay tax.

Are they deducting tax from your pay?

hussey

Father Damo wrote: »

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mandrake04 wrote: »

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Mod ENOUGH BOTH of you . I am sick to the teeth of you two going at it and dragging threads down

Damo Encouraging tax evasion - I'm giving you an infraction
Mandrake This has got to stop, you are reacting to the troll every post and then making it personal - warning to you too

I'm going to clean this thread up i.e. cull - please only accurate information and no illegal suggestions

Mellor

OP, you have a lot of misinformation in your post. i'll try clear it up for you.

04072511 wrote: »

I was informed before I started work that a certain portion of my yearly earnings would be tax free which suited mefine as I was only planning on using this job for a short period of time until I find something better

this is wrong, see below comments.

Well today I have been told that this tax free amount only applies to Australians and that non-national people have to pay tax on every single bit of their earnings. In addition I have been told that we cant even claim it back, like the WHV people working under a TFN can.

First of all, on a WHV, you are an australian resident for tax purposes.
how have you even paid any tax? On a ABN contract, the employer doesn't deduct tax from your paycheck. it's up to you to sort this out yourself.

As for "claiming it back' on a WHV. Despite what everyone thinks, this isn't what happens. Each week/month your employer deducts tax from your wages based of a fixed method. for almost everyone, this results in you paying too much tax relative to your income. So at the end of every tax year, you get to adjust the actual tax paid, the amount of this "adjustment" varies depending on expenses you can claim back. In theory, you could end up owing them money if you paid too little. But this is unlikely unless you have multiple incomes.

On an ABN, at the end of the year (or whenever), you'd only pay the adjusted amount.

Is all of this true? If so I feel so screwed. 650 dollars that I thought was mine is basically flushed down the toilet and now I barely am earning enough to get by! :-(

how was this $650 taken from wages.

04072511 wrote: »

This is so dumb that I am on ABN in the first place. I am treated like an employee in every way: Was given training, am provided with my roster each week of when I will be working, am ordered around and treated with no respect by the asshole manager, they provide all the materials needed for me to do my job (a computer!!) How on earth does this classify as me being a contractor. I really hope I can get a tax refund just like all the people on TFN's can, otherwise I am getting f*cked over!

You are a contractor as you are casual, on a contract.
Being an employee is much more that that and comes down to permanance and the fact that they pay you holiday pay and such.

Basically, they are doing it to suit themselves.
But as for getting f*cked over. You aren't paying anymore tax than a person on a TFN, and if you over pay, you can claim back.
I still have no idea how you are even paying any. Talk to payroll pronto. sounds like they messsed up.