You bought an investment property, the rent doesn't cover the costs, and you want to know what that loss is actually worth at tax time. Many owners guess, or wait for their accountant to tell them in July. Working it out yourself beforehand is far better, because it shows whether the property can really carry its weight. Here is the short answer. To calculate negative gearing, add up your rental income, subtract all deductible expenses (including loan interest, rates, insurance, agent fees and depreciation), and if the result is a loss, multiply that loss by your marginal tax rate. That [...] READ MORE

Choosing from the many small business bookkeeping services in Australia is harder than it looks. Every provider promises clean books and on-time lodgements. Few explain what you actually get, who does the work, or what happens when the ATO sends a letter. The short answer: the best bookkeeper is the one that fits your software, your industry and your size. Look for Xero or MYOB expertise, reliable payroll and super handling, and accurate BAS preparation every quarter. Fixed monthly pricing and a named contact matter too, because chasing a different person each month wastes your time. Below, we compare five [...] READ MORE

Every tax season, business owners and everyday taxpayers leave money on the table simply because they don't know what they're entitled to claim. Understanding deductions tax Australia rules properly is the difference between a refund that reflects your real financial position and one that shortchanges you by hundreds or thousands of dollars. So what exactly counts? A tax deduction reduces your taxable income, which lowers the amount of tax you pay for the year. If you've spent money earning your income, whether that's a tool for your trade, a home office setup, or professional fees, there's a good chance it [...] READ MORE

Setting up a trust sounds simple until you actually try to choose one. Ask five different people about the types of trusts in Australia and you will get five different answers, each convinced their structure is the right one. That confusion costs business owners real money, either through the wrong setup from day one or years of paying for a structure that no longer fits their circumstances. This article walks through the eight trust structures we see most often in our Melbourne practice, from discretionary family trusts to unit trusts and testamentary trusts. You will learn what each one actually [...] READ MORE

Setting up a trust sounds complicated until someone walks you through it properly. If you're researching how to set up a trust in Australia, you're probably weighing up asset protection, tax planning, or a cleaner way to pass wealth to your family, and you want to know exactly what's involved before you commit any money to the process. This guide answers that question directly. We'll walk through the step-by-step process, much like our step-by-step guide to setting up a family trust, from choosing the right trust structure and appointing a trustee, through to drafting the trust deed and registering with [...] READ MORE

Sell a parcel of shares at a profit and the tax office wants its share of the gain. That's the reality of capital gains tax on shares Australia investors need to plan for, yet plenty of business owners and investors only think about it after the sale settles, when the options for managing the bill have already narrowed. Getting the timing wrong can mean handing over thousands more than necessary. Capital gains tax isn't a separate tax with its own rate. It's your profit added to your assessable income and taxed at your marginal rate, though holding shares for more [...] READ MORE

Most business owners we meet have a will. Few have an actual estate plan. That gap is where families end up in disputes, assets get stuck in probate for months, and business succession turns into a mess nobody prepared for. If you have built up property, super, or a company, this distinction matters more than you might think. So what is estate planning australia actually involves? It is the process of organising your assets, superannuation, business interests, and personal wishes so they transfer to the right people, with minimal tax and legal friction, when you die or lose capacity. It [...] READ MORE

As a business owner you spend years building your company but only a few weeks thinking about how you will leave it. That gap costs money, and often, it costs the sale altogether. If you're asking what an exit strategy of a business actually involves, you're already ahead of most owners who leave the question until a sale, health scare, or family pressure forces the issue. A business exit strategy is your plan for transferring ownership and stepping away from your business . This maybe through a sale, management buyout, passing the business to family, or winding it down entirely. [...] READ MORE

Most business owners spend years building their company and almost no time planning how they'll leave it. A business exit strategy is simply your plan for stepping away, whether that's selling to a competitor, handing the business to a family member, or listing it on the market entirely. Without one, you're leaving the sale price, the timing, and the outcome to chance. So what is an exit strategy in business, really? It's the roadmap that determines how you convert years of hard work into a payout, retirement fund, or clean break, and it covers everything from succession planning to trade [...] READ MORE

Most business owners know they should have an exit plan, yet they keep putting it off until a health scare, a family dispute, or a buyer's offer forces the issue. Succession planning for business owners is not something you scramble together in the final year before you sell or step back. It takes years to build real value into your business and to prepare the people who might run it after you, whether that's family, a management team, or a new owner altogether. If you're searching for how to actually get this done, you're in the right place. This guide [...] READ MORE

Most Australians put off will and estate planning until something forces the issue: a health scare, a new grandchild, or a friend's messy probate battle. By then, you're making decisions under pressure instead of with a clear head, and that's when mistakes creep into a document meant to protect the people you care about. A will and an estate plan aren't the same thing, and mixing them up leaves gaps that cost your family time and money later. A will simply says who gets what. Estate and will planning goes further, covering your super, trusts, business assets, tax position, and [...] READ MORE

With lots of Tax law changes we are being asked what is family trust vs discretionary trust . B Here's the short answer: what a family trust actually is in Australia is a type of discretionary trust with an added tax election attached to it. Every family trust is discretionary, but not every discretionary trust qualifies as a family trust. The distinction comes down to the family trust election, a specific document lodged with the ATO, and what that election unlocks or restricts for tax purposes. Lets walk through what actually separates the two, when a family trust election makes [...] READ MORE

Every June, business owners across Melbourne ask the same question: is there anything else I can legally do before EOFY to bring my tax bill down? If you're wondering how to reduce tax in Australia, the good news is there are genuine, ATO-approved ways to do it, and most business owners are only using a fraction of them. The short answer is that legal tax reduction comes down to timing, structure, and knowing which deductions and concessions actually apply to your situation. Strategies like salary sacrificing into superannuation, claiming the right business deductions, and using the right entity structure can [...] READ MORE

Every financial year, we watch business owners hand over more tax than they should, simply because nobody told them what they could claim. Understanding small business and tax deductions is not about clever loopholes. It is about knowing which everyday costs of running your business are legitimately deductible under Australian tax law, and keeping the records to prove it. This article gives you a straight answer to that question. We have pulled together the fifteen most relevant tax deductions for small business owners across Australia, from vehicle and home office costs to super contributions and professional fees, so you can [...] READ MORE

If you're working out how to set up a testamentary trust, you're probably thinking about what happens to your estate once you're gone, not just who gets what, but how it gets protected. A testamentary trust isn't a document you buy off the shelf. It's a structure written into your will that only springs into life after your death, and getting it wrong can undo years of careful planning. That's why so many business owners and families across Melbourne come to us before they finalise their will, not after. The short answer is that a testamentary trust is set up [...] READ MORE

Most people put off estate planning and will preparation until something forces the issue: a health scare, a new grandchild, or watching a friend's family fall apart over an estate with no clear plan. By then, decisions get rushed and mistakes creep in. If you are searching for clarity on where to start, you are not alone, and you are asking the right question at the right time. So what is estate planning in Australia, exactly? It is more than a will sitting in a drawer. It covers how your assets, superannuation, and business interests transfer when you die or [...] READ MORE

Every year, we see landlords hand back money to the ATO simply because they didn't know an expense qualified, or they claimed something incorrectly and triggered a review. Rental property and tax deductions trip up even experienced investors, because the rules sit in an odd space between what feels reasonable and what the ATO actually allows. This checklist answers the question directly: what expenses are tax deductible on an Australian rental property, and which ones catch people out. We cover the obvious claims like interest and agent fees, alongside the ones landlords consistently miss, such as depreciation schedules and travel [...] READ MORE

If you've ever heard a property investor say their rental is losing money and somehow that's a good thing, you've bumped into negative gearing australia in the wild. It's one of the most talked about, and least understood, features of the Australian tax system, and it shapes decisions for everyone from first-time landlords to seasoned property portfolios. In plain terms, negative gearing happens when the costs of owning an investment property, think loan interest, repairs, and depreciation, exceed the rental income it generates. That shortfall becomes a tax deduction you can offset against your other income, such as your salary, [...] READ MORE