June 30 is fast approaching and now is the time to start planning to help minimise your tax liability at year end.

Tax planning strategies are particularly useful if your 2017 income is expected to be significantly higher than your 2018 assessable income. This could be due to a one off capital gain event, or reduction in workflow expected in the following year.

Some simple tips to help minimise your business or personal Income Tax includes:
• Delay deriving assessable income until the 2018 Financial Year;
• Bring forward or pre pay deductible expenses where possible;
• Claim before you spend – staff bonuses and director fees declared, and other expenses invoiced by June 30 but not yet paid are deductible in the 2017 Financial Year;
• Pay June Quarter Superannuation before June 30 to bring forward the tax deduction by a whole year;
• Negative Gearing on rental properties;
• Make personal deductible superannuation contributions where possible, but seek advice before doing this;
• Utilising the Small Business Entity concessions where available, including the $20,000 instant asset write off;
• Write off any bad debts before June 30;
• Undertake a stocktake and write off any obsolete stock;
• Advise us prior to June 30 if you have realised a large capital gain, you may be able to access concessions or implement other strategies to minimise the tax payable.

Other end of financial year reminders:
• Ensure motor vehicle log books are current and up to date;
• Trustee Resolutions are due by 30 June 2017;
• PAYG Payment Summaries are to be issued to employees by 14 July 2017;
• If you are in the building and construction industry, reporting taxable payments is due by 28 July 2017.

Keep in mind, the strategies mentioned above will not suit everyone and it is best to consider your individual circumstances before implementing any tax planning strategy. You also need to consider tax planning in conjunction with you cashflow. Don't get caught out spending money purely to obtain a tax deduction.

If you think you would benefit from tax planning to help minimise your tax, we encourage you to schedule a meeting as soon as possible so we can identify any opportunities available. A small investment in tax planning has the potential to save your business $$$.