Practice Update – October 2024

Lowe Lippmann Chartered Accountants

Avoid a tax time shock


Individual taxpayers can take the following steps right now to ensure the correct amount of tax is being put aside throughout the year:

  • let their employer know if they have a study or training support loan, such as a HECS or HELP debt;
  • check they are only claiming the tax-free threshold from one employer;
  • consider whether the Medicare Levy Surcharge may affect them this financial year (ie. whether they have the appropriate private health insurance);
  • check their income tier is correct for their private health insurance rebate; and
  • consider voluntarily entering PAYG instalments and pre-paying tax throughout the year to avoid a large tax bill at tax time for investment or business income.


If you would like to discuss or implement any of these steps and strategies in more detail, please feel free to contact our office.

Reminder of September Quarter Superannuation Guarantee (SG)


Employers are reminded that employee super contributions for the 1 July 2024 to 30 September 2024 quarter must be received by the relevant super funds by 28 October 2024 in order to avoid being liable to pay the SG charge.

myGovId changing its name to myID


The digital identity app 'myGovID' will soon be changing its name to 'myID'. While the name is changing, the login and security will not change.


Taxpayers who have already set up their myGovID and use it to access government online services will not need to do anything when the app changes to myID. They will still have:

  • the same details — there is no need to set up a new myID. Their login details (including email address) and identity strength remain the same;
  • continued use — once available their existing app should automatically update to myID or they can manually update it from the APP Store or Google Play; and
  • access to services — they can still use the app to securely access government online services.


The new name aims to reduce the confusion between myGovID and myGov.

ATO security safeguards for victims of fraud recently enhanced


Where a taxpayer has been the victim of identity, tax or super fraud, the ATO may apply security safeguards to their account to prevent further harm. This may require the impacted taxpayer to contact the ATO each time they need to access their information and cause inconvenience for the taxpayer as well as their tax agents.


The ATO has recently enhanced processes to improve ongoing access to ATO online services. Impacted taxpayers must contact the ATO for initial access and then set a Strong online access strength.


To set a Strong online access strength, taxpayers need to:

  • set up their myGovID to a Strong identity strength using their Australian passport;
  • connect their myGovID to their myGov account;
  • sign in to myGov with their myGovID; and
  • go to ATO online services.


Once set, taxpayers no longer need to contact the ATO every time they access their information.


Impacted taxpayers must continue to use their Strong myGovID whenever they access ATO online services, or account access will be restricted to maintain ongoing protection of client information.


As noted above, myGovID will soon be changing its name to myID.

Valuing fund assets for SMSFs


One of the many responsibilities SMSF trustees have every income year is valuing their fund's assets at market value.


The market value of an asset is the amount that a willing buyer and seller would agree to in an arm's-length transaction. These valuations will be used when preparing the fund's accounts, statements and SMSF annual return (SAR).


Asset valuations will be reviewed by an approved SMSF auditor as part of the annual audit prior to lodgment of the SAR. The auditor will check that assets have been valued correctly and assess and document whether the basis for the valuations is appropriate given the nature of the asset. The auditor is not responsible for valuing fund assets.


Taxpayers should ensure that they have their valuations done before going to the auditor.


It is the responsibility of the SMSF trustee to provide objective and supportable evidence to their auditor for the valuation of the fund's assets, including all relevant documents requested to prevent delays in auditing the fund. Failure to do so could result in a potential late lodgment of their annual return or a contravention if mistakes have been made.


SMSF trustees should start researching now to find what type of evidence they need to support the valuation as this can take time. For some asset types valuations must be undertaken by a qualified independent valuer.

ATO's notices of data-matching programs


The ATO will acquire officeholder data from ASIC and other bodies for the 2024 to 2027 income years, including name, address, date of birth, ABN, contact details, organisation details and officeholder details.


The ATO estimates that records relating to more than 11 million individuals will be obtained.


The ATO will acquire property management data from property management software companies for the 2019 to 2026 income years, including property owner identification details, property details, and property transaction details.


The ATO estimates that records relating to approximately 2.3 million individuals will be obtained each financial year.


The ATO will acquire lifestyle assets data from insurance providers for the 2024 to 2026 income years.


Insurance policy data will be collected for the following classes of assets, where the asset value is equal to or exceeds the nominated thresholds.

Asset class Minimum asset value threshold
Caravans, motorhomes $65,000
Motor vehicles $65,000
Thoroughbred horses $65,000
Fine art $100,000 per item
Marine vessels $100,000
Aircraft $150,000

The data items include client identification details (names, addresses, contact details, dates of birth and ABN) and policy details (including total value insured, description and purchase price of the property insured).


The ATO estimates that the total number of policy records obtained will be approximately 650,000 to 800,000 each financial year, and that approximately 250,000 to 350,000 matched records will relate to individuals.


Please do not hesitate to contact your Lowe Lippmann Relationship Partner if you wish to discuss any of these matters further.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation


Tax Alert - New Tax Agent Obligations from 1 July 2025

July 21, 2025
New Tax Agent Obligations from 1 July 2025 From 1 July 2025, “small” firms of tax practitioners (with 100 or less employees) must ensure they are complying with the eight new Code of Professional Conduct obligations from the Tax Practitioners Board ( TPB ). These new Code obligations were introduced by the Government under the Tax Agent Services (Code of Professional Conduct) Determination 2024. The new Code obligations have already commenced for large tax practitioners (with over 100 employees) from 1 January 2025. As tax agents, Lowe Lippmann Chartered Accountants are committed to upholding our professional and regulatory obligations, including with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 which includes the Code of Professional Conduct as regulated by the TPB.

Audit Lowe Down – Related parties – what should I consider in identifying them?

July 16, 2025
Related parties – what should I consider in identifying them? Related party disclosures is an area that is receiving more scrutiny from stakeholders in both the for-profit and the not-for-profit space. Disclosure of transactions that have occurred with related parties are important since the terms and conditions are often different from those with unrelated parties, in some instances the transactions may have occurred for much lower or even nil consideration. Often one of the biggest challenges for compiling the disclosures is working out who is a related party of an entity. The definition of related parties in AASB 124 Related Party Disclosures is detailed, however we have summarised the definition into various elements below. a. Think about entities who might be related to the reporting entity i.e.: i. through control or significant influence, ii. by the existence of material transactions or iii. dependence on technical information or personnel provided by them. b. Think about people who might be related to the reporting entity, i.e.: i. Key management personnel, including all directors. ii. Close family members of key management personnel (e.g. spouse, child). c. Think about entities that the people identified in b. might control or significant influence, i.e.: i. Family businesses ii. Businesses which a close family member controls (i.e. senior partner in a legal or accounting firm). Once you have identified a complete list of who is potentially a related party, analysis can then be performed to confirm they meet the criteria in AASB 124 and then identify any transactions with these parties. Remember that transactions should be included whether or not a price was charged or whether the transaction was formally documented or not.

Practice Update – July 2025

July 4, 2025
Changes to car thresholds from 1 July The car limit for the 2026 income year is $69,674. This is the highest value that a taxpayer can use to calculate depreciation on a car where they use the car for work or business purposes and they first use or lease the car in the 2026 income year. If a taxpayer is buying a car and the price is more than the car limit, the highest input tax ( GST ) credit they can claim (except in certain circumstances) is one-eleventh of the car limit. For the 2026 income year, the highest input tax credit they can claim is $6,334 (i.e. one-eleventh of $69,674). The luxury car tax ( LCT ) threshold for the 2026 income year is $91,387 for fuel-efficient vehicles, and $80,567 for all other luxury vehicles. Input tax credits need to be claimed within the four-year time limit. A taxpayer cannot claim an input tax credit for luxury car tax when they buy a luxury car, even if they use it for business purposes.
More Posts