It must be the accountant in me that loves the start to the new financial year. Being winter and not being able to spend your weekends at the beach it is the perfect time to get your paperwork in order for your tax return and set some goals for the coming year. It is amazing how quickly a year can fly by.
So what changes do you need to be aware of in this new financial year?
* The carbon tax has come into effect. This has plenty of compliance implications on businesses and consumers need to think about the effect on their household budget. The governments claims that it will change weekly household spending by $9.90.
* New tax rates for those people earning under $80,000. Earning an income of less than $20,000 will result in a $600 a year tax reduction – great for part time workers.
* The count down is really on for the changes to the First Home Buyers grant. The major impact is for our special first home buyers. I thoroughly enjoy helping first home buyers reach the goal of home ownership. By the 30th September 2012 eligible First Home Buyers who are purchasing an established property will need to have “exchanged” on a contract of sale to be eligible for the $7,000 grant. This grant will no longer be available from 1st October 2012.
* Changes to the private health insurance rebate and the medicare levy means testing apply. It is important to review the income thresholds on the ATO website and seek professional advice. Go to
http://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/content.aspx?menuid=0&doc=/content/00233246.htm&page=1&H1
* The “education tax offset” has been replaced by the “schoolkids bonus”. This means there is no need to claim any deductions for school books and stationery in your 2012 tax return. This payment is automatically made to families who receive family tax benefit A will eligible school age children.
The RBA today left interest rates on hold, after three months of cuts most economists argued this was a good decision for the confidence in the economy.
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