Month: May 2025

ATO gets tough on BAS Non-compliance – Is your business at risk?

In 2025 the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is taking a tougher stance on non-compliant businesses that find it hard to stay on track with their Business Activity Statement (BAS) reporting. Since 1 April 2025 the ATO has mandated that thousands of slack businesses be transitioned to monthly, instead of quarterly, BAS lodgments.

Referring to the ATO’s ‘Getting it Right’ campaign, ATO Deputy Commissioner Will Day has said: ‘If you’re a small business who continues to deliberately disregard your obligations, you can expect the ATO to move you to more frequent GST reporting’.

If you find your business is repeatedly late lodging its quarterly BAS, you are at risk of being moved by the ATO to monthly BAS reporting. Moving from quarterly lodgment means more frequent – reporting and payment – of GST, PAYG withholding and other taxes, making it a bigger compliance burden for your business.

YML’s own virtual accounting service, a team of dedicated, Australian-trained professionals who partner with you, offers help that’s essential to ensuring you meet your ATO obligations. YML’s virtual accounting service can make a transition to monthly reporting smooth and stress-free OR help you to stay on track with quarterly reporting and avoid costly mistakes.

ATO’s ‘Getting it Right’ Campaign

Small businesses that consistently pay GST late or not in full, that fail to lodge their BAS timely and error-free will be notified by the ATO about changing from quarterly to monthly BAS reporting. The ATO aims to support small businesses by providing a more structured approach to addressing unmet taxation obligations through smaller, more manageable payments which might be easter to manage than larger, quarterly amounts.

However, this transition will lead to an increased administrative workload, which requires:

making choosing YML’s bookkeeping service an essential tool in your business’s financial armoury. To avoid your business slipping out of line, contact YML Business Services NOW.

How can YML help?

Talk to our YML Business Services Team today to see how YML Group can assist you with your BAS reporting. For more information, view our website and contact us on (02) 8383 4455 or by using our Contact Us page on our website.

YML Finance can help you borrow to pay your ATO Debt

If you have an ATO debt, YML Finance can help you with a loan to pay off this debt.

You are most likely paying around 11% per annum on your ATO debt. Let us help you with a much cheaper loan with lower monthly repayments as it will be over a longer term.

Learn more about how we can help you by calling us on (02) 8383 4466 and requesting a callback or making an appointment with the YML Finance Team.

How can YML help?

Talk to our YML Finance Team today to see how YML Group can assist you with a loan. For more for more information, view our website and contact us on (02) 8383 4466 or by using our Contact Us page on our website.

Why use your Family Trust to invest in Property?

A family trust is a financial structure and for taxation purposes is its own entity. A family trust is specifically suited to tax flexibility – distribution of profits to lower-income earning beneficiaries (adult children and or spouse); long-term investment with capital gains taxation (CGT) advantages; and asset protection, making it a favourable vehicle to consider for property investment.

Family trusts are usually discretionary, meaning the trustee (typically, a parent) may choose how a trust’s income and assets are distributed among beneficiaries (typically, children of the trustee). A family trust may borrow money to purchase property to be held in the ‘name of the trust’ on behalf of the family group.

Advantages of an Australian Resident Family Trust for Property Investment

Asset Protection

Assets are legally owned by the trustee of a family trust, rather than by individual beneficiaries, and are therefore not considered part of personal estates.

If a beneficiary is sued, is liable to creditors or becomes bankrupt, assets held in a family trust are generally protected from litigation, creditors and or bankruptcy.

Taxation Optimisation (CGT)

A family trust’s distribution or ‘streaming’ of capital gains (profit) can reduce a family’s overall taxation obligations. To properly ‘stream’ income, a trust deed containing a trustee resolution – a record of a trustee’s distribution directives – is required.

If a property is held in a family trust for more than 12 months before being sold, the family trust may qualify for a 50% CGT discount. Capital gains (profit) from a property sale must be ‘streamed’ to individual beneficiaries for the 50% CGT discount to be applied.

A 50% CGT discount is not applicable after the sale of a property held by a company, hence the advantage of purchasing a property in a family trust.

Disadvantages of an Australian Resident Family Trust for Property Investment

No CGT Discount on Main Residence

A main residence property held in a family trust will be fully taxable, even if the trustee and or beneficiaries live in the property. There is no 50% CGT discount applicable when a main residence held in a family trust is sold. Thus, a family trust best serves its family group by being used for purchasing investment property.

No Land Tax Threshold

In NSW, family (discretionary) trusts are taxed at the highest land tax rate – they do not attract the tax-free threshold, unlike individual owners of property.

Foreign Beneficiaries attract NSW Land Tax Surcharge

If foreign beneficiaries are included in a NSW family trust, a 2% land tax surcharge on top of normal land tax rates might be applied to any property held in a family trust.

To avoid the 2% land tax surcharge, it is necessary to exclude foreign persons explicitly and irrevocably from the trust deed. It might be necessary to amend a trust deed before a property is acquired.

Revenue NSW requires specific wording about family trust beneficiaries in a trust deed. It is essential that the wording is clear about beneficiaries being either Australian citizens or foreign persons to avoid any misunderstanding by Revenue NSW, and to ensure that a family trust’s property does not attract the 2% land tax surcharge.

Setting up your Family Trust with YML Chartered Accountants

It is imperative that a family trust is set up correctly in NSW to satisfy Revenue NSW. YML Chartered Accountants, in collaboration with YML Legal, can advise you on the appropriate and relevant wording for the trust deed and ensure that it contains Revenue NSW-compliant wording.

A common Revenue NSW-specific mistake that you want to avoid is putting the wrong name on a property sale contract. The correct format for the name written on a property sale contact is “Trustee Name ATF Family Trust”, NOT your personal name.

YML Chartered Accountants, in collaboration with YML Legal, can advise you on amending your family trust deed and can review it to make certain of its compliance with Revenue NSW and the Australian Taxation Office.

BEFORE purchasing a property, it is most important that you contact YML so that we can advise you accordingly.

How can YML help?

Talk to our YML Chartered Accountants today to see how YML Group can assist you with your family trust. For more information, view our website and contact us on (02) 8383 4400 or by using our Contact Us page on our website.