matt-and-jenny

Not seen your name for a while, did you used to work in Leyland or something (trying to dig into the back of my memory here)? I seem to remember something along those lines.
J

themerlin

I don't think it's as simple as that. You can only get back the % you use for work. So if you use your Broad Band 50% work and 50% home use you can claim 50% back.

themerlin

Yes if you get audited

auspal

And if you get audited, then the tax office will go through your last 3 or 5 years claims ( cant remember which) with a fine tooth comb and you will have to justify every dollar that you have claimed.

jon and alex

Its always a bit annoying when people in the private sector gloat about all the cheeky tax savings they make and then whinge like hell about public sector pensions!
Alex is a teacher and I'm a copper and so we are not likely to be able to claim back a lot of anything at all - the pensions tend to balance things out even though they are not quite as good in Oz as they are in UK

samnrob2

I can realistically claim back the entire amount because of my work - even being on BE is classed as work research for me because it's a communication forum. Owning and watching TV is another 100% tax deductable item for me.

And to Matt and Jenny - yep I used to work in Leyland. Haven't been back there in about 5-6 years mind!

Have spent the last two Christmas' in the midlands...this year we'll be staying put in Bris Vegas.

R

auspal

Good luck to you if you get a tax auditor on your back

Vanessa

We are off to the UK in a couple of weeks. I am going to be there two weeks and my OH three as he has arranged the last last week for meetings with a few newspapers and media companies with regard to work he is doing here. Could he claim his airfare back or part of it at least?

BadgeIsBack

Can I ask why? Aren't you taxed at source? Or is it because you forgot to tell someone that you got a payrise - for example where some sort of means tested benefit was paid? Or had to pay a medicare levy?

This would also be possible if you estimated your income too low and you were claiming Family Benefit....

worzel

Bank accounts are not taxed at source. Maybe she is minted?

>Trigger<

Don't forget the streets are paved with gold!!

Jockstar

I'm hoping to get a lot back as i have only worked 8 months. Still have to find myself a decent accountant.

birdynumnum

Graham Greene was good for me a few years back. works from the CBD.....
9290 3910

arkon

That's not quite true worzel. The banks deduct withholding tax if you withhold your TFN. Once you get and give them a TFN then the ATO knows of your existance and your interst income gets taxed at your personal rate.

All I can say to the guy claiming 100% of his broadband and tv at home is good luck and prey you don't get audited. Why not claim your bog rolls back as surely sometimes you go for a number 2 whilst watching TV or surfing the web.

I also can't understand why people on here are trying to make out the tax system here is paved with gold. It's just not true. For the majority of the working population on PAYE you have very little you can deduct and claim, about the same as the UK. Those self employed like myself also pay PAYE but have a broader number of things you can claim for so long as they are a legit business expense, and how is it a saving anyway? You spent the money on that expense.

The first 6 months I was here I too thought the tax system great as I only had half a years income. That meant it was less than 40k a year and therfore nearly every expense I had on the farm could be claimed. The second year I got stung for 12k, and this year 10k on top of about 3k a quarter.

For me the end of the tax year is a shite experience. EVERYONE here has to do a tax return which is a thing reserved for the select few back home. That costs a couple of hundred a year to get your finances done by an accountant. Then there is the week or so wasted gathering up all your recipts and actually doing your BAS (if you have an ABN) and end of year personal tax stuff. And as for everyone jumping up and down saying how great it is to get a tax refund, I've only one thing to say....THATS COS YOU OVERPAID IN THE FIRST PLACE!

BadgeIsBack

I liked this post - it's fair. I'd say the two regimes are similar (although I got hit with annual tax returns for years in the UK- for doing nothing than spend time overseas -even still being paid inthe UK and in sterling).

Some groups of people can offset things against tax. Other rules stop IT contractors from pretending to be companies. It's true that you have to spend to get the savings, but then those things might be things you do actually need. It works for small business. I'm convinced the average tradie or business makes the money they do because their whole operation is an exercise in keeping onto what would otherwise be tax, or getting paid in cash. In that sense, capitalism is rewarded and most of the cash will go back into the economy únless its under the mattress.

But I also think people who don't really understand money think it sounds cool to have stuff they can ''write off''. They're playing big boys rules and they have an ''accountant''.

I find the energy in finding receipts and the claim almost negate a small saving for me. I could well see the benefit if the writeoffs brought you into a lower tax bracket which is why aload of salaried people got into rental property inthe first place before this big boom.

For many, keep organised and an internet return is quite simple or the yearly bill is really quite small.

As for you getting hit with a bill the 2nd and 3rd year, there is a reason - presumably legal. It will be the reverse as for getting money back - you UNDERPAID. or UNDERESTIMATED.

Getting money back is not as absurd a thing to be happy about - I might be inclined to see it as a SAVINGS plan. You got a windfall after a year of saving a few quid here and there which you might not have noticed in the first place.(!) Now where's my interest!