What are some good allowable tax deductions under $1000 in Australia?
June 26, 2011 8:49 PM Subscribe
I have a small home based computer business in Australia and need some allowable tax deductions. I understand that assets such as office furniture, plant & equipment are immediately tax deductible (don't need to be depreciated) if they're under $1,000. What are some things I could buy for my home office to reduce my tax? Thanks in advance
I think the amount might have gone up to more than $1000. Check with your tax advisor, you might be pleasantly surprised.
I'd be looking at a really good chair if you spend a lot of time at a desk. Make everything wireless, and if it already is, make it wireless N.
Get a bar fridge.
Buy a few android or iphone handsets (outright, not on a plan) for use as VOIP phones.
A netbook plus an LCD monitor would be under the limit and could be used like bigger firms do to do anything from displaying your business info to actually advertising something.
On which note, your business could buy an HD video camera to record promotional videos to display on the monitors.
Remember though that these things are only tax free, not free. So if you are at the top rate you still have to pay for half of the cost.
Why not try the traditional method of looking at the things you really want in your house and then try to figure out how to get a deduction on them?
posted by GeckoDundee at 1:51 AM on June 27, 2011
I'd be looking at a really good chair if you spend a lot of time at a desk. Make everything wireless, and if it already is, make it wireless N.
Get a bar fridge.
Buy a few android or iphone handsets (outright, not on a plan) for use as VOIP phones.
A netbook plus an LCD monitor would be under the limit and could be used like bigger firms do to do anything from displaying your business info to actually advertising something.
On which note, your business could buy an HD video camera to record promotional videos to display on the monitors.
Remember though that these things are only tax free, not free. So if you are at the top rate you still have to pay for half of the cost.
Why not try the traditional method of looking at the things you really want in your house and then try to figure out how to get a deduction on them?
posted by GeckoDundee at 1:51 AM on June 27, 2011
Can you buy a pass to a brilliant industry conference and book your airfare and hotels now? That's what I would do!
posted by DarlingBri at 2:11 AM on June 27, 2011
posted by DarlingBri at 2:11 AM on June 27, 2011
Whilst these things might be tax deductible, you still have to pay for them, thus incur an expense. If you are looking to reduce your tax bill, this is not the way to go about it.
posted by dougrayrankin at 4:28 AM on June 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by dougrayrankin at 4:28 AM on June 27, 2011 [1 favorite]
Useful biz expenses you might not have got around to, assuming you want to work you cashflow to get maximum deductions this year:
3g dongle and buy a 12 month pre-pay data plan.
Some toner/ink, other consumables (disks, USB flash drives, paper)
Some pretty stationery from Typo or Kikki.k (hey, if it ends up in a Xmas stocking I'm not going to tell).
A new UPS.
A big external drive so you can do better stored off-site back ups (get 2 so you can rotate them)
Business cards/letterhead
Prepay web hosting
Signage (car door magnets etc.)
Prepay interest for next 12 months on any business loans
A tradeshow/conference ticket/airfare/accommodation (pick somewhere nice).
magazines/newsletter subscriptions
professional group/guild/union memberships
posted by bystander at 5:25 AM on June 27, 2011
3g dongle and buy a 12 month pre-pay data plan.
Some toner/ink, other consumables (disks, USB flash drives, paper)
Some pretty stationery from Typo or Kikki.k (hey, if it ends up in a Xmas stocking I'm not going to tell).
A new UPS.
A big external drive so you can do better stored off-site back ups (get 2 so you can rotate them)
Business cards/letterhead
Prepay web hosting
Signage (car door magnets etc.)
Prepay interest for next 12 months on any business loans
A tradeshow/conference ticket/airfare/accommodation (pick somewhere nice).
magazines/newsletter subscriptions
professional group/guild/union memberships
posted by bystander at 5:25 AM on June 27, 2011
Seconding dougrayrankin. Buying toys purely to reduce tax is a bad idea, and doing it with money you don't have is a terrible idea. Paying tax is better than paying interest, and either is better than wasting money entirely. Bystander's list is very good. Anything you can pre-pay, that you actually will have to pay for later, is worth it.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 5:36 AM on June 27, 2011
posted by aeschenkarnos at 5:36 AM on June 27, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by vidur at 9:08 PM on June 26, 2011