If you have a spouse at 30th June, or had a spouse during the financial year, you need to report their income on your Income Tax Return.

The ATO advise that your spouse includes another person (of any gender) who you were in a relationship with that was registered under a prescribed state or territory law or, although not legally married to you, lived with you on a genuine domestic basis in a relationship as a couple.

And If you had more than one spouse during the financial year, you should complete the relevant question with the details for your spouse on 30th June, or for your last spouse during the year.

Importantly, if you cannot determine your spouse income, for whatever reason, you must still answer the question by making a reasonable estimate.  The ATO will correct the amount upon lodgement of the Income Tax Return of your spouse.

Regards

Personal Services Income is known by its acronym “PSI” and refers to income produced mainly from your personal skills or efforts as an individual.

PSI can be generated in almost any industry, but it is common among financial professionals, information technology consultants, engineers, construction workers and medical practitioners.

Income is classified as PSI when more than 50% of the amount you received for a contract was for your labour, skills or expertise.

You first need to work out if your income is considered PSI, and then you need to work out of the special PSI rules apply to you.

Don’t be afraid, if you have PSI and the rules apply, it just means that there are fewer deductions you can claim against this income, and you will need to report this income as your own individual income.

There’s a flowchart created by the ATO to help you work through this process, as always I’m on hand to assist you need – just Contact me!

Regards

During a recent webinar I participated in, I was reminded of how many users are unaware that the Xero Inbox exists, so I thought I send you out a reminder.

The Xero Inbox is a tool not utilised by many…but it has huge potential!

Each Xero subscription is provided with a unique Xero e-mail address (it’s quite long so it’s not the type of e-mail address you would remember but as long as you save it in your contacts it will always be close to hand).

This Xero e-mail address sends any e-mails, and attached files to your Xero inbox which can be found inside your Xero file when open (take a look in the top right hand corner…).

The attachments can then be allocated to individual income or expense items that appear in your Xero file – eliminating the need to keep paper copy receipts and invoices (this is particularly handy for those small thermal receipts so many of us accumulate!)

In addition to receipts and invoices, you can use the Xero inbox to gather customer and employee contracts as well as other documentation such as insurance policies.

Go on…take a look!

Regards

To mark Hearing Awareness Week 2016, here’s a story I wrote about my hearing:

The five traditional methods of perception, or senses, are sound, sight, touch, taste and smell…have you ever considered what your life would be like without one of these?

At 21 years of age, while I was living in Alice Springs, I noticed I wasn’t hearing as well as I should.  For example I didn’t hear my mobile phone ringing, despite it being right beside me.

Knowing I had a problem, it still took me almost three years to make an appointment to see an audiologist.  By this time I was living in Melbourne and I remember that day like it was yesterday.

It was Monday 30th November, 1998 when my life changed forever.

On that day, I visited a suburban audiologist where I was bluntly given the diagnosis that I needed hearing aids.  A young professional woman, who took pride in her appearance, and couldn’t face a “disability”…it just couldn’t be happening!

Lucky for me I found a more caring audiologist who understood my concerns and has looked after me since that time, and still does to this day…(to me that’s testament to the notion of finding the right healthcare professionals for you).

In early 1999, I was fitted with my first set of hearing aids – at first I wore my hair long so my ears were always covered because I didn’t want anyone to know, I didn’t even tell my employer.

Now many years later, I’ve come to accept that this is the way my life is, and I’m more open about my hearing impairment – but I can tell you it is not easy!

I am truly blessed to have supportive family and friends – they know to look at me when they are speaking, they know I have terrible trouble in noisy situations…and they put up with having subtitles on the TV screen whenever I am around.

I will never forget Monday 30th November, 1998…but in the words of Friedrich Nietzsche…what does not kill me, makes me stronger!

…the five traditional methods of perception, or senses, are sound, sight, touch, taste and smell…have you ever considered what your life would be like without one of these?

Regards