Ascend News

Find out about recent StrataMax changes to creditor account posting and Ascend's temporary workaround to the issue they've created.

What to look out for in the handover financials when taking on a new strata management.

A strata manager can still be legally liable for the tax affairs of a strata company if they are listed as the public officer... even if they no longer manage the property!

Accrual based accounting (recording income and expenses based on when they're incurred rather than when paid) is the accepted best practice in strata.. but it can cause a headache when it comes to income tax.

What Strata Managers need to know.

There exists a little known nuance in the ATO's Tax Ruling 2015/3 that can greatly reduce the tax payable by strata companies operating a pay per use laundry facility for their residents.

Can you get away with not charging GST on levies if they're only used for loan repayments?

Important Advice for Strata Managers Regarding New ATO Compliance Requirement

A significant change is about to be introduced by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

A forensic audit to review the suspected financial mismanagement of a prior manager often results in good money disappearing after bad.

The ATO has been in a generous mood for early payers in recent times

What are the tax treatments when a strata earns money from laundry and vending machines?

We recently received the below question from a subscriber of LookUpStrata, Australia's top property blog on strata living.  We thought it worth sharing also here:

Unlike business financials, strata companies rarely show an expense for depreciation of assets.

How does depreciation work with common property?

Things to think about when investing a strata company's surplus funds:

Are strata companies really providing any 'taxable supply' for GST purposes?

Agency Relationships - How to claim GST when a supplier invoice is made out to another entity.

When a strata company collects a fee for providing information via status certificates but then pays it straight to the manager, do they really have to do a tax return?

What should you put at the Input Tax Credit question when making an insurance claim?

Why strata financials aren’t like corporate reports (and don’t need to be)

With the new financial year upon us, we thought you might like a quick 'ready reckoner' of tax obligations for your strata clients:

We're being asked for an ACN (Australian Company Number) for our strata company.  Where do we find it?

Not all strata levies are deductible for tax purposes.

Looking to save time when signing bulk tax returns / activity statements for your managements?

The vast majority of strata managers we work with are very aware of when a strata company needs to prepare a tax return and what is required to be included (ie: interest income from banks, status certificate income, laundry receipts etc).  On occasions though, a councillor may request further justification as to 'Why?'

Entities that are considered 'non-profit' can be exempt from paying income tax in Australia if they meet certain elegibility criteria set by tax legislation.  

Honorariums are a kind and practical way to reward the hard working volunteers that contribute so much to a strata company.  Keep in mind the potential tax implications though.

The Australian Government has announced stimulus packages aimed at helping Australians navigate financial hardships as a result of COVID-19.

We would like to wish all of our clients well during this difficult time for small business. As always, we are here to help you in any way we can.

Single Touch Payroll (STP) has been passed by parliament. This means that all employers, including many strata companies, will need to report payroll information electronically to the ATO every time they pay employees.

Single Touch Payroll is a mandatory change in the way employers report payroll to the ATO.  It affects all employers and our FAQ article gives strata managers all of the information they need to know.

Many strata schemes inadvertently provide fringe benefits to caretakers and set themselves up for possible costly tax bills as a result

On 26 February 2018, the SBSCH service will move to the Tax Agent Portal / Business Portal Environment.  Ascend outlines how will this affect your business.

Last week, the ATO issued Taxation Ruling TR 2015/3, outlining the Commissioner's views in relation to income tax matters that affect strata title bodies. This ruling represents the final version of Draft Taxation Ruling TR 2015/D1 which was issued back in March.

The ATO has issued a new draft tax ruling explaining specific income tax issues that affect strata companies and their owners.