ABN Holders

ABN Work: Friend or Foe?

When working on an Australian Business Number (ABN) as an independent contractor, you are effectively running your own business. Whilst at first glance receiving your wage in full seems like a great proposition, it’s easy to have your expenses build up at an alarming rate and seemingly, all come at once. If you damage property in the course of your work, the expense lies with you. If you cause an accident on someone else's property, you may incur those costs. Add to this the fact that you’re not entitled to paid leave if you yourself get sick or injured. A lot of ABN-holders are also concerned about superannuation as being wholly responsible for it, it’s easy to fall behind on making the necessary payments. If you don’t put away enough you’ll soon find yourself facing concerns about retirement. And to top it all off, it’s very likely July 1st (e.g. tax time) is one of your least favourite times of the year!

Ensuring Your Income Is Maximised

Despite all this, knowing your obligations and knowing how to maximise your position can make ABN work extremely rewarding and profitable. At Pro Tax, we can help you maximise your tax return if you feel you’re paying too much tax.

Deductions

We can assess your business as a contractor / sole trader and provide detailed and specific advice tailored to you, about what deductions you can claim in your tax application to reduce the amount of tax you need to pay.

What Work-Related Receipts Should I Keep?

As a guide, here is a list of common work related expenses, applicable to ABN-holders, which you should record details of (and keep receipts for as evidence, wherever possible):

1. Tools and equipment (construction tools if you’re a labourer, knives if you’re a chef etc.)
2. Work-related uniforms / occupation specific protective clothing
3. Protective items such as sunscreen and sunglasses if you work outside
4. Computers and software
5. Phone and internet bills
6. Work related travel
7. Uniforms like chefs whites, hard hats and steel capped boots for construction, or gloves for cleaning
8. Car parking receipts, road tolls and some petrol
9. A record of how many kilometres you drive for work
10. Laundry and dry-cleaning expenses
11. Self-education expenses
12. Private Health Insurance Policy Details
13. Fees for your last financial year’s tax return

Concessions, Offsets and Rebates

Concessions, offsets and rebates can also be used to reduce the amount of tax you pay. We can take into consideration a range of concessions such as payment and reporting options and rebates to directly reduce the tax payable. Clients from abroad may also be able to take advantage of the foreign income tax offset for any taxes paid on income earned overseas.

Apply Now

APPLY HERE and we will be in touch to discuss your application with you after we assess your form, or CONTACT US if you have any questions or need more information.

Contact Us

Pro Tax can not only assist you with your ABN income tax return, we can assess the structure of your sole trader / partnership to ensure it is structured in the best possible way to allow you to earn as much as possible and be as tax efficient as possible.

If you are located in Sydney, contact us to arrange a consultation – Your first meeting is free!