Australian tax thread

hussey

universe777 wrote: »

What's with all the mention of Super? I don't remember filling in anything about my Super.. I do have one of course but I have not made any contributions to my Super, only my employers have...

Then nothing for you .... if you contribute tax, there are breaks if you add $ to your super, if you are in the high income bracket and plan on leaving Oz, this is a good break

byrner51

any have any idea is that amount it calculated im due back correct.I thought i was entitled too 6000 tax free??just want too make sure ive done everything correct before i lodge the return

laoisforliam

Hey anyone having trouble lodging online? I keep getting a message saying my proof of identity does not match the ATOs records?
Same happening for my Girlfriend

s.c

hussey wrote: »

Then nothing for you .... if you contribute tax, there are breaks if you add $ to your super, if you are in the high income bracket and plan on leaving Oz, this is a good break

Thats interesting. I taught you are taxed at a rate of something around 40% if you withdraw your super early, could be wrong though. As far as I know you can contribute to your super tax free but this wouldn't be much good if you end up getting taxed at 40% when you withdraw it or am I missing something.

hussey

http://www.ato.gov.au/superfunds/content.aspx?menuid=0&doc=/content/00276719.htm&page=14&H14
0% for the tax-free component
35% for a taxed element of a taxable component
45% for an untaxed element of a taxable component.

what taxed and untaxed means, I don't know.

Byrner you are entitled to 6000 tax free earnings. I.e. tax free allowance
e.g. if you earn 8k you are entitled to 0-6k @ 0% and 2k @ 15%

mandrake04

laoisforliam wrote: »

Hey anyone having trouble lodging online? I keep getting a message saying my proof of identity does not match the ATOs records?
Same happening for my Girlfriend

Did you do a tax return last year? Proof of identity uses the reference number from the Notice of Assessment from the ATO from last year assessment and cross matches your DOB and TFN.

ellaq

s.c wrote: »

Thats interesting. I taught you are taxed at a rate of something around 40% if you withdraw your super early, could be wrong though. As far as I know you can contribute to your super tax free but this wouldn't be much good if you end up getting taxed at 40% when you withdraw it or am I missing something.

You can also get a co-contribution on your super if you are a low income earner.

http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?doc=/content/42616.htm

laoisforliam

mandrake04 wrote: »

Did you do a tax return last year? Proof of identity uses the reference number from the Notice of Assessment from the ATO from last year assessment and cross matches your DOB and TFN.

no, this is our first time to do a tax return in Australia, is this how it usually happens first time? my DOB and TFN supplied are correct..

hussey

Read this http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?menuid=0&doc=/content/32613.htm&page=2#P7_483

If all fails print it out and post it - doesn't add too much time on

Slunk

I didn't do a tax return last year either did my gf. It verified her identity but not mine. Had to print and post mine.
Bit odd

cmac2009

I had the same problem with verifying my identity. There is another option to lodge over the phone. You have to be eligible to complete the short tax return - see here http://www.ato.gov.au/content/00279387.htm

The advantage with this is that you can get your refund within 14 days as opposed to 42 days if you send it by post.

hussey

cmac2009 wrote: »

I had the same problem with verifying my identity. There is another option to lodge over the phone. You have to be eligible to complete the short tax return - see here http://www.ato.gov.au/content/00279387.htm

The advantage with this is that you can get your refund within 14 days as opposed to 42 days if you send it by post.

where did you get 42? I posted mine 3 times, and each time got it in 14 days

cmac2009

That's what I was told when I spoke to some girl in the ATO, she said it could take up to 42 days. Guess she was just covering for the extreme scenario.

Some figures here - http://www.ato.gov.au/corporate/content.aspx?doc=/content/00254062.htm

byrner51

i must be entering something incorrect into etax then if its saying im entitled to 6107 back out of 27918 earnings??

hussey

byrner51 wrote: »

i must be entering something incorrect into etax then if its saying im entitled to 6107 back out of 27918 earnings??

How much tax did you pay?

$27918 =
0-6k @ 0 = 0
21918 @ 15% = 3287

But there is a low income threshold - so I think uyou get all of it back

Mellor

Why do you think that?
You said you paid nearly 9k tax, that's a huge amount on less than $28k. (well your earnings were more like 32k, but you have 4.4k deductions down - assume thats correct?)
Obviously they had you on emergency tax or non resident tax at 30%, you should prob get them to correct that for this year.

I actually worked out that you were owe over $7k
(did you claim medicare exemption?)

Your taxable income
$27,918

Your residency status: Resident for the full year

Calculated your 2010–11 income tax estimate in the following way

Tax on taxable income: $3,287.70

Less

Low income tax offset: $1,500.00

Tax payable: $1,787.70 (this is all you are suppose to pay for the year)

Less

Payment summaries/tax withheld = $8,883.00

Net refund
$7,095.30 refund due to you

Mellor

hussey wrote: »

How much tax did you pay?

$27918 =
0-6k @ 0 = 0
21918 @ 15% = 3287

But there is a low income threshold - so I think uyou get all of it back

Nah, he paid a ridic amount, like $8,800
The low income threshold is only $1500, so he is still due to pay $1,787.70

So about $7k back as I quoted above

byrner51

yes mellor them details you have are correct

i earned 27918+4451 in allowances

and paid 8883 in tax

and yes i entered im exempt from medicare but still on got that im due 6100 back

so you must be right either they have me paying emergency tax or im down as a non resident

ill go through it again on etax to make sure i got nothing wrong

if that fails then ill ring them up too see whats going on.

thanks a million for taking the time too go through my details appreciate it

byrner51

ok ive noticed on using etax that my tax free threshold is directly effected by when i became a resident for tax purposes

ie.i put in that i became a resident for tax purposes on the 27 of october 2010 and it says im entitled too 4500 tax free allowance

then i went back and put in i became a resident for tax purposes on 27 of november 2010(when i entered australia) and it told me im entitled too 4000 tax free allowance

so how can i get too the 6000 tax free allowance i should be on?

this etax program is very frustrating haha

byrner51

mellor i think i see the diffrence between my estimate and yours.

the result i got on taxable income is 32069 which is my 27918 earnings and 4451 allowances together

so do i need to just enter 27918 as income and forget about the 4451 allowances i earned?

or will i enter all my allowances into deductions?

ellaq

You have to declare the allowance, etax asks you whether you received any allowances in addition to your income. It is also on your group cert.

Maybe you are only entitled to a pro rata of the tax free allowance according to the date that you entered the country.

byrner51

yes ellaq seems like your right.Ive declared my allowances in the deductions section there for i wont have to pay tax on them so this brings me to the same figure that mellor got.

but is this the correct thing too do.do i not have to pay tax on my allowances?

it says in the deductions section that you have to provide reciepts/paperwork for any deductions uniform/tools/travel etc

the allowances i recieved are for all of this however i dont have reciepts for what i spent my allowances on just the amounts I recieved on my payg cert will this be enough?

ellaq

Your allowance is like income therefore you cannot put it in deductions. Your allowance is taxable. You declare your allowance in the section that deals with allowances. It asks you whether you received any allowances in addition to income. This is where you need to declare it. It is on your cert too. In deductions you can only put deductible expenses which you need to have receipts for if you have more than $300 total expenses.

byrner51

ok thanks for the information

Mellor

Byner, still a pre mistakes, this should clear them up

byrner51 wrote: »

ie.i put in that i became a resident for tax purposes on the 27 of october 2010 and it says im entitled too 4500 tax free allowance

then i went back and put in i became a resident for tax purposes on 27 of november 2010(when i entered australia) and it told me im entitled too 4000 tax free allowance

so how can i get too the 6000 tax free allowance i should be on?

Put in 1st july, or full year what ever the wording is.
Even though you weren't here for the full year, you are still a resident for the full year.
Otherwise, it treats you as if you were here but a non-resident for tax, and the rate is higher and/or tax free lower

byrner51 wrote: »

mellor i think i see the diffrence between my estimate and yours.

the result i got on taxable income is 32069 which is my 27918 earnings and 4451 allowances together

so do i need to just enter 27918 as income and forget about the 4451 allowances i earned?

or will i enter all my allowances into deductions?

You only put in 27918 for taxable income, this is your earnings.

Allowances go in their own section, as the are different, but still income.
In my calc above, I didn't include the allowances, as I couldn't see where to put them in the quick calculator. So you actually return might end up being a bit less, I don't get allowances so don't know how the tax works there.

ellaq

The tax free threshold is pro-rata from the date that you became a resident for tax purposes. It is $500 per month for every month that you were a resident for tax purposes in Australia.
That is why etax is not allocating the full tax free threshold because it is calculating the date from when he became a resident for tax purposes.

Mikester21

Quick question guys, I have started a tax return with etax, not the government one but etax.com.au

Im a bit concerned the return estimate is way too low, I payd $11,002 in tax and the estimated return is $3939.77. the details are below, im still on a whv


Estimated Tax Refund $3,939.77
Taxable Income $45,457.00
Tax Free Part $5,500.00
Tax On Taxable Income $7,262.10
Total Offsets $881.72
Basic offsets $0.00
Low Income offset $881.72
Mature Age Worder offset $0.00
Other offset $0.00
Lump sum $0.00
Medicare
Levy $681.86
Surcharge $0.00
Repayments $0.00
HELP $0.00
SFSS $0.00
Tax Credit $11,002.00

hussey

Mikester21 wrote: »

Quick question guys, I have started a tax return with etax, not the government one but etax.com.au

eTax.com.au are a company who are charging you .. don't use them

The documents you fill out are the same as eTax ...

also you are paying medicare levy - if you are from the ROI you do not need to pay this (lots of info about this on this thread)

hussey

http://calculators.ato.gov.au/scripts/axos/axos.asp?CONTEXT=&KBS=ctax2011.xr4&go=ok

I use this as a guide and I got the figure

11,002 - 6,305.38 = $4696.62

Please use etax (program) if first time, just print it off and post it out and you'll get it within 2-3weeks

Mikester21

cheers, thanks for that hussey, I thought it would still be more, aw well cant be too greedy