Frequently asked questions.

Yes. FinCore Advisory is a registered tax agent under the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB), led by Saurabh Dass, a full member of the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA). All services are delivered in compliance with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA).

Yes — the first consultation is free and obligation-free. We use it to understand your situation, answer your questions, and confirm whether we're the right fit before any engagement begins.

Switching is straightforward. Once you engage FinCore Advisory, we manage the transition — contacting your previous agent, obtaining your prior year files and lodgement history, and making sure there's no disruption to your compliance obligations along the way.

All engagements are fixed-fee, quoted and agreed upfront before work begins. The fee depends on the complexity of your situation, entity structure, and scope of work — contact us for a tailored quote, typically provided within 48 hours of your initial consultation.

No. Hourly billing creates the wrong incentive — it discourages clients from picking up the phone with a quick question. With fixed fees, you know your cost in advance and are never penalised for staying in contact.

We work across companies, trusts, partnerships, sole traders, and individuals. Services span tax returns and compliance, tax planning, BAS and activity statements, financial statements, and business structuring. SMSF-specific work is covered on our SMSF Administration page.

No — bookkeeping isn't something we offer. FinCore Advisory focuses exclusively on high-value tax advisory and compliance work. If you need a bookkeeper, we're happy to refer you to a trusted provider so your records are in good shape before we prepare your returns.

Yes — ride-sharing (and delivery driving on some platforms) is treated as running your own enterprise, so you need an ABN before you can start earning, and you report that income through your individual tax return as a sole trader, not as employee wages.

Ride-sharing is treated by the ATO as "taxi travel," so the usual $75,000 turnover threshold doesn't apply to you — you must register for GST from the very first dollar you earn driving, even if it's just side income. Once registered, you charge and remit GST on the full fare (not just your net earnings after the platform's commission), and you'll need to lodge a BAS. You can claim GST credits on eligible expenses like fuel, servicing, and the business-use portion of your vehicle and phone costs. The 1/11th rule is a common way to work out the GST component of each fare, but keeping the platform's own earnings statements alongside your records makes reconciliation far more accurate come BAS time.

There's no separate "business tax return" for a sole trader — your business income and expenses are reported within your individual tax return, and the net profit is taxed at your individual marginal rates, not a flat company rate. You're also responsible for your own PAYG instalments and superannuation, since neither is withheld or paid on your behalf the way an employer would.

Generally, any expense genuinely incurred in earning your business income — vehicle and running costs apportioned for business use, phone and internet, equipment and tools, insurance, professional memberships, and accounting fees among them. The same substantiation rules that apply to employees apply here too — you need to be able to show the expense was incurred and was business-related.

Generally yes. Physical gold and silver bullion or coins held as an investment are CGT assets, so if you sell for more than your cost base, the gain is normally assessable — unless a specific exemption applies to your situation.

No. Buying gold doesn't shelter other assets from CGT, and any eventual gain on the gold itself is still taxable when you sell. There's no legitimate strategy that turns a gold purchase into a way of avoiding tax.

Yes — investment-grade gold and silver are treated like most other CGT assets. Any gain on disposal is included in your assessable income, and the standard 12-month CGT discount can apply if eligible.

There's no way to make a genuine capital gain on gold entirely tax-free, but there are legitimate ways to reduce the impact — timing the sale for a lower-income year, holding for over 12 months to access the CGT discount, or offsetting the gain against capital losses elsewhere in your portfolio. We can help with the cost-base calculation and timing.

Generally no — investment-grade precious metals meeting the required purity (99.5% for gold, 99.9% for silver) are GST-free. Metals below that purity, or non-investment items like jewellery, may attract GST.

If you lodge yourself, the standard deadline is 31 October. Once you're registered as a FinCore Advisory client before 31 October, you move onto our registered tax agent lodgement program, which generally extends your individual return deadline through to 15 May the following year — subject to your compliance history and any outstanding prior-year returns.

Quarterly BAS is standardly due 28 October, 28 February, 28 April, and 28 July. As your registered BAS agent, FinCore Advisory can access extended due dates for the October, April, and July quarters — the February quarter has no agent extension and applies to everyone equally.

From 1 July 2026, employers pay super each payday rather than quarterly, with contributions required to reach the employee's fund within 7 business days of pay day. No tax agent extension applies to super guarantee deadlines — the contribution needs to actually land in the fund by the due date, not just be initiated.

For the FY2026–27 FBT year (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027), self-lodged FBT returns are due 21 May 2027. Lodging through FinCore Advisory as your registered tax agent generally extends this to 25 June 2027, which is useful if your benefit arrangements (like company vehicles) need more time to value accurately.

The deadline automatically shifts to the next business day — no action is needed on your part. This applies to all ATO obligations, including individual returns, BAS, and FBT.

You can generally claim the cost of buying, insuring, and repairing tools of trade you use to earn your income. Items over $300 need to be depreciated over their effective life rather than claimed in full upfront. What you can claim depends on your records and how much of the use is work-related. Without receipts, you can claim up to $300 total for work expenses — but this $300 limit applies across all your work-related claims combined, not per item or category, and it doesn't apply to car, meal allowance, or travel allowance claims, which have their own substantiation rules.

Yes — if technical books, trade publications, or journals are genuinely necessary for your job, the cost is deductible.

Outdoor workers can claim sunscreen, sunglasses, and hats used for work, provided the expense is substantiated and apportioned for any private use.

There are two methods: the logbook method and the cents-per-km (set rate) method, each with different record-keeping requirements. Keeping a logbook and all receipts gives you the best chance of the larger claim. A logbook needs to cover a minimum of 12 consecutive weeks and is generally valid for five years unless your circumstances change significantly, and you'll also need opening and closing odometer readings each year. You don't have to use the same method every year — pick whichever suits your records best. Without a current logbook or full receipts, you're limited to the set rate method, capped at 5,000 km per year. Note that you can't claim car expenses at all if your car is salary packaged.

Generally no — personal grooming and haircuts aren't deductible, with limited exceptions for some performing arts professionals.

Compulsory uniforms are generally deductible if they identify you as an employee of that organisation or in a specific occupation. Simply being told to wear certain colours (like a waiter in black and white) isn't enough, and neither is wearing a store's own branded clothing — both are treated as conventional clothing. Registered corporate wardrobes can also qualify if certain conditions are met. Where the clothing itself is deductible, you can also claim laundry, dry cleaning, and repair costs.

No. Fashion clothing isn't deductible even where your employer requires you to wear it — a manufacturer's logo as part of the design doesn't identify you as an employee, so it doesn't qualify.

No — you have to have actually incurred the expense, and it needs to be work-related. The $300 rule just means you don't need a receipt for that amount; it doesn't let you claim $300 you never spent.

If your travel is genuinely related to your job and you have the right records, you can claim transport and incidental costs. Overnight travel also lets you claim meals and accommodation, and overseas travel requires you to keep a travel diary.

Only if you've actually incurred a work-related expense and can substantiate it. Ordinary travel between home and work generally isn't deductible unless, for example, you're carrying bulky tools or equipment. Even where an allowance is paid, your deduction is capped at what you actually spent — not the allowance amount.

No — where the main purpose of the trip was a holiday and the seminar was incidental, the trip itself isn't deductible. You can only claim the specific additional costs of attending the seminar, such as the registration fee or transport to the venue.

You can generally claim a portion of your running expenses, based on hours worked from home. The ATO's fixed rate method (70 cents per hour) covers electricity, gas, phone, internet, stationery, and computer consumables — if you use this method you can't claim those items separately. You can still claim depreciation and repairs on office furniture and equipment, and cleaning if you have a dedicated office area. Alternatively, you can work out your actual running costs and claim the work-related proportion instead. If your home genuinely operates as a place of business — with features like a separate entrance, signage, or clients visiting — you can go further and claim occupancy costs too, including mortgage interest or rent, council rates, insurance, and utilities.

Installation costs aren't deductible, but part of your line rental can be if you're required to make calls from home, along with your actual call costs — keep a log of work-related calls for at least four weeks. Mobile phones work the same way. If you're using the 70 cents per hour home office method, you can't make a separate phone claim on top of it.

Yes — items like these are claimable, but since they usually cost more than $300, the claim needs to be spread over the item's effective life (depreciation), and only the work-related proportion is deductible. Keep a usage log for at least four weeks to establish that proportion.

Yes — the ATO treats an iPad the same way as a laptop. If it's used to produce assessable income, you can claim the work-related portion, adjusted for private use and depreciated if it cost more than $300. Keep a usage log for at least four weeks.

No — childcare expenses aren't tax deductible.

No — because you received something in exchange for your money, it isn't treated as a donation. The same applies to raffle tickets. Only genuine donations to registered charities, where you receive nothing in return, are deductible.

No overall cap exists, provided the expenses were genuinely incurred in earning your income, are work-related, and you can substantiate them where required. Poor or missing records are usually what limits people's claims, not any statutory cap.

Yes, provided it shows the supplier and purchase date — you can add a note describing what was bought. Bpay records and email receipts are also accepted, as long as they show the date, supplier, nature of the goods, and amount.

Generally five years from the date you lodge the return the claim relates to. For depreciating assets, keep the receipt until the asset is fully depreciated, even if that's beyond five years.

Yes — fees paid to a registered tax agent for preparing your return, handling amendments, and managing your tax affairs are deductible, as is travel to see your agent (capped at 5,000 km total per return if using the cents-per-km method). Registered tax agents are the only people legally permitted to charge a fee for preparing tax returns.

No. If you buy crypto as an investment, capital gains tax applies on disposal. If you buy and sell regularly with a profit-making intent, you're more likely treated as a trader and taxed on income instead. This applies regardless of where the crypto is bought or sold, or how anonymous the transaction feels.

If you're an investor and your proceeds are less than your cost base, you make a capital loss, which can offset capital gains in the same year, with any unused amount carried forward indefinitely until future gains absorb it — capital losses can only offset capital gains, not other income. If your coins are lost, stolen, or you're a victim of fraud, you may also be able to claim the loss as a capital loss. Traders who make a loss can potentially offset it against other income in the same year, subject to the non-commercial loss rules.

Usually not. The personal use exemption only applies where the cryptocurrency cost $10,000 or less and you can show it was acquired to fund genuine personal spending — like a holiday, car, or wedding — not held as an investment. Relying on this exemption incorrectly is one of the most common reasons people run into trouble with the ATO. Where your crypto holdings cost more than $10,000, the exemption isn't available at all, regardless of intended use.

As an investor, you pay CGT on each disposal — sale proceeds minus your cost base, less any capital losses, with a 50% discount available if you held the asset for over 12 months. As a trader, buying and selling frequently with a business-like structure, profits are assessable income rather than capital gains, and trading stock rules apply instead. Disposal includes selling for cash, swapping one crypto for another, gifting it, trading it, or using it to pay for goods or services — for gifts, market value is used in place of sale proceeds.

Your net capital gain (or trading profit, if you're a trader) is included in your tax return and taxed at your marginal rate along with your other income — there's no separate crypto tax payment process. Keeping accurate records of every disposal throughout the year makes this far more straightforward at tax time.

Yes — dividends are assessable income in the year you receive them, and are included in your tax return along with any attached franking credits.

Franking credits represent tax the company has already paid on its profits before distributing a dividend to you. You include the "grossed-up" dividend (cash amount plus the franking credit) in your assessable income, then claim the franking credit as an offset against your own tax payable — which can reduce your tax bill, or in some cases result in a refund if your marginal rate is lower than the company tax rate.

Yes — selling shares for more than your cost base (purchase price plus brokerage and other incidental costs) triggers a capital gain, which is assessable income. If you held the shares for more than 12 months, you may be entitled to the 50% CGT discount. If you sell for less than your cost base, you make a capital loss, which can offset other capital gains.

Managed fund distributions can include several different components — income, dividends and franking credits, interest, foreign income, and capital gains — each taxed differently. Your annual tax statement from the fund breaks this down, and each component needs to be reported separately in your return rather than as a single lump sum.

Keep contract notes or confirmations for every purchase and sale, dividend and distribution statements, and details of any reinvestment plans (since reinvested distributions still count as a purchase for CGT purposes, even though no cash changed hands). As with other CGT assets, records should generally be kept for five years from the date you lodge the return the transaction relates to.

You must register once your GST turnover reaches $75,000 in a 12-month period (or $150,000 for non-profits). Below that, registration is optional. Ride-sharing and taxi drivers are the exception — they must register from the very first dollar earned, regardless of turnover. You only need to charge GST once you're actually registered. We can help you through the registration process.

Most businesses can claim fuel tax credits for fuel used in eligible machinery, plant, equipment, and heavy vehicles. To claim, your business needs to be GST-registered, and the claim is made through your BAS. The amount depends on the type of fuel and how it's used.

If your turnover is under $50 million, you may access several small business concessions: income tax concessions, excise concessions, PAYG instalment concessions, and FBT concessions. Some concessions have their own, lower turnover thresholds — the small business income tax offset applies under $5 million; CGT concessions generally apply under $2 million turnover (or where your CGT assets total under $6 million net); and small business depreciation concessions, including the instant asset write-off for assets under $20,000, apply under $10 million turnover. Businesses under $10 million may also access GST concessions that can help with cash flow.

Provided you meet the eligibility rules, you can claim a deduction for personal contributions made to a complying super fund. The concessional contributions cap (covering employer contributions, salary sacrifice, and personal deductible contributions combined) is $30,000 for 2025–26, rising to $32,500 for 2026–27. If your total super balance was under $500,000 at the end of the previous year and you haven't used your full cap in recent years, you may be able to contribute more using carried-forward unused cap amounts, available for up to five years. You'll need to lodge a notice of intent with your super fund and receive their acknowledgment before claiming the deduction.

If your turnover is under $50 million, you can generally claim eligible prepaid expenses — like rent, insurance, or professional subscriptions — in full in the year you paid them, provided the payment covers 12 months or less and that period ends within the following income year. Rent paid in June covering the next 12 months typically qualifies, so the full amount is claimable in the year it was paid.

The ATO looks at two figures: your current GST turnover (gross income for the current month plus the previous 11 months) and your projected GST turnover (current month plus your reasonably expected income for the next 11 months). GST turnover means your gross income from taxable sales — not your profit, and not income after expenses. If either figure crosses $75,000, you have 21 days from that point to register.

The ATO will backdate your registration to the date you were actually required to register, meaning you're liable for 10% GST on all sales from that date — even if you didn't charge it to customers at the time. Penalties and interest can also apply. If you realise you've crossed the threshold in a past period, it's better to backdate voluntarily than wait for the ATO to catch it through data matching.

Yes. It's a common choice for new businesses with significant upfront costs, since registering lets you claim back the GST included in equipment, stock, and services — which can meaningfully help cash flow early on. The trade-off is more admin (regular BAS lodgement) and needing to add 10% to your prices, which is worth weighing against your market and client base before deciding.

Under the cash method, you account for GST in the period you actually receive or pay money. Under the accruals method, you account for it when an invoice is issued or received, regardless of when payment actually changes hands. Most small businesses (turnover under $10 million) use the simpler cash method, but the right choice depends on your cash flow pattern and how your business actually operates.

Usually not — renting out residential property is typically GST-free and doesn't require registration. It's a different story if you're developing and selling new residential property, or dealing in commercial property, where GST registration is often required. Property GST can get complex quickly, so it's worth getting advice specific to your transaction before proceeding.

Your invoices need to become compliant "tax invoices" — clearly labelled as such, showing your ABN, and either itemising the GST on each line or stating that the total includes GST. Without this, your clients can't claim their own GST credits, which creates problems for both sides. You'll also need to update your pricing to include the 10% GST, and set up your accounting software's tax codes and chart of accounts correctly so GST collected and GST paid are both tracked accurately for your BAS.