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» 2011 Federal Budget
» Software Options

New Website Launch

Welcome to the new and improved website for Child Care Accounting. We have recently upgraded our website with a new look and many new features. Below is summary of some of the changes we have made.

What’s New?

  1. A brighter and fresher look to all of our pages and secure client area
  2. New Calculators
  3. a. Income Tax Calculator

    Use this calculator to help you estimate how much tax you may need to pay, or alternatively, work out how much tax you should put aside during the year to provide for any potential tax bill.

    b. Home Telephone, Internet and Mobile Phone Percentage Calculators

    Use these Calculators to enter your Diary and/or Bill details to help you determine what percentage of your total expenses you may be able to claim as a deduction for each of these items.

  4. For existing and new clients, we have updated the Secure Client Area
  5. We have made improvements and added a number of the new features which include:

    a. My Taxation Information – You can record important information and make a declaration in relation to your home and other items you use in your day care business to help you to better comply with tax record keeping requirements and ensure you are claiming as many deductions as possible

    b. My Jobs – Keep track of the status of your work as well as alerts that we have sent to you

    c. My Details - View and update your personal details through your secure client area

    d. Annual and Periodic Checklists – We have prepared a number of checklists to help you to more easily provide the details we require to complete your work. Completing these will ensure your work is completed faster, and they are designed to prompt you so that you don’t miss out on some important deductions.

    e. My Documents and Upload Files – Just like the old secure client areas, you will have the ability to upload, review and receive important documentation in relation to your taxation and accounting affairs.

  6. Updated Tax information – We have updated a number of our FAQs and Tax Tips to make them more specific for Family Day Care.
  7. New Product Information – We have a number of new products we are recommending to help you and your business.

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Tax Deductions for Capital Items

Do you know you can claim a full tax deduction for capital items that cost less than $1000 (net of GST) which are used exclusively in your Family Day Care business (eg microwave ovens, television, computer and other small equipment)? Well you can!

Under the simplified taxing arrangements for Small Business Enterprises (SBE) the Taxation Office will allow Family Day Care Educators to claim these deductions.

If the item costs more than $1000 (minus GST) then the items get put in a General Pool and then depreciated at one simple flat rate 30% (in a full year) and 15% in a part year (viz. the year of purchase). It doesn’t matter what sort of capital plant or equipment it is, whether a car, a desk, a shed to store your equipment. It is all depreciated at the same flat depreciation rate and proportionate days in a year are not taken into the calculation.

Example

Equipment Purchased 29 June 2011               $11,000 (inc GST)
GST claimed in next BAS                                     $  1,000
Amount Available to Depreciate                   $10,000

Depreciation Year 1 =                                        $ 1,500 (15% of $10,000)
WDV Year 1                                                           $ 8,500
Depreciation Year 2 =                                        $ 2,550 (30% of $8,500)
WDV Year 2                                                           $ 5,950

Depreciation continues at 30% of the progressive Written Down Value (WDV) each year till equipment is written off completely.

Software Options

There are a number of software packages available on the market. Below options are four of the most popular packages for you to consider. Click on the links below to be taken to the website for the different products listed.

Family Day Care Cashbook www.fdccashbook.com.au
Harmony Light for Carers www.harmonysoftware.com.au
MYOB Basics www.myob.com.au
Quicken Accounting www.quicken.com.au

Microsoft Excel

Another alternative to consider is Microsoft Excel. It usually comes free with Microsoft Office. You will however need some assistance setting it up, but once completed it can be a good tool for recording and totalling your expenses. For more information on Microsoft Excel please go to http://office.microsoft.com/excel

If you need help with deciding upon which product to use or help in setting up your system, we are more than happy to help. Please book an initial consultation.

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2011 Federal Budget

What does the May 2011 federal budget mean for Family Day Care ?

Below are some important measures that were announced in the May 2011 Federal Budget which may affect either you individually or other friends and family:

Tax Rates:

Unlike previous years, there have been no changes made to personal tax thresholds or rates, which was great news.

Personal Tax Changes:

1. Children under the age of 18 will no longer be able to access the low income tax offset (LITO) to reduce tax payable on unearned income such as dividends, interest and rent.

2. This change won’t impact income earned by children from work, unearned income of orphaned or disabled children and compensation payments and inheritances received by children.

3. Lower income tax earners will have larger pay packets during the year rather than waiting for larger tax returns at the end of the Financial Year. This will be achieved by increasing the Low Income Tax Offset (LITO) from 50% to 70%.

4. The maximum LITO will still be $1,500, and the maximum amount of tax-free income lower income earners can receive each year will still be $16,000. The upper limit to which a partial low income tax offset can be claimed is still $67,500.

5. Dependant spouses born after June 30 1971 will no longer be able to claim the Dependant Spouse Tax Offset. This doesn’t apply to stay and home Mums or Dads, and is being used to get non-working spouses back into the workforce.

Superannuation:

1. Peopled aged 50 and over with less than $500,000 in super will be able to contribute an extra $25,000 in pre-tax (concessional) contributions each year. There are eligibility requirements, and these changes will start to apply from 2 July 2012.

2. If you are over 50 you can make pre-tax contributions of up to $50,000 until 1 July 2012 regardless of their super balance.

3. From 1 July 2012 employers will be required to include the amount of super contributions actually paid into employee’s super accounts on their payslips. Super funds will also be required to notify the employee on a quarterly basis if regular payments from their employer cease.

Write Offs for Motor Vehicles:

1. Small businesses will be allowed to claim up to $5,000 as an immediate deduction of any car purchased in the 2012-13 financial year.

2. At the moment, Small Business Entity Rules see small businesses already depreciating vehicles at 15% in the first year,then 30 % on every year after that.

3. Under the new budget there will be an immediate write off of $5,000 plus a further reduction of 15%, then a 30% reduction in following years.

Single Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) Statutory Rate of 20%:

1. The treatment of cars under Fringe Benefit Tax has been streamlined under a single rate of 20%, no matter how far you drive.

2. This means that those people driving longer distances will no longer be (unintentionally) rewarded.

3. This change will only apply to vehicle contracts established after May 10, 2011 and will be phased in over a period of four years.

4. This means that if you travel over 40,000 kms a year the statutory rate will increase from 10 cents this year, to 13 cents in 2012 and 17 cents in 2013, with the standard 20 cents kicking in from 2014.

5. From a Family Day Care perspective this is great news.

6. Most Educators would currently travel less than 25kms per annum, with many travelling less than 15,000kms per annum.

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