Pre June 30 Tax Minimisation Strategies

To minimise your tax liability there are several general strategies to consider:

  1. Delay deriving assessable income
  2. Bring forward deductible expenses or losses
  3. Pre-pay up to 13 months of next year’s expenses
  4. Shift income to a taxpayer with a lower marginal tax rate
  5. Negative Gearing on property or shares
  6. Make payments that receive special tax treatment e.g. certain superannuation contributions.

WARNING : The circumstances under which the above principles can be applied are limited by certain legislative conditions. For example, not all pre-payments are allowable tax deductions and some types of income can’t be shifted.

The Benefits

The impact of the above strategies is to either reduce or eliminate the amount of tax payable or delay the need to the pay the tax for at least another 12 months.

In particular, these tax minimisation strategies may be beneficial if your taxable income for the year ended 30 June 2015 will be significantly higher than the year ended 30 June 2016. This could happen if:

  • you have a ‘one-off’ capital gain or other irregular income amount in the 2014/15 year
  • you will not be working or earning as much in the year ended 30the June 2016.

A reduced taxable income can also impact on eligibility for Government benefits including pensions that are means tested e.g. family allowance, child day care fee relief etc.

Other 2015 Year End Tax Planning Opportunities

Disclaimer: This newsletter contains general information only. Regrettably, no responsibility can be accepted for errors, omissions or possible misleading statements or for any action taken as a result of any material in this guide. It is not designed to be a substitute for professional advice, as such a brief guide cannot hope to cover all circumstances and conditions applying to the law as it relates to these items.