- Don’t fall for the ‘free’ $1000
The government is gifting every Aussie an automatic $1000 tax deduction.
That sounds great, but here’s the catch: if your actual work or business expenses add up to more than that, taking the automatic amount could cost you real money.
Bottom line: keep every receipt from July 1 so you can compare. Do it now, before you lose track of what you spent.
- Bill smooth … then bill move
Add up your big irregular bills (rego, insurance) and divide by 26 or 52 to work out what you need to save each pay.
That’s bill smoothing.
But then go a step further: move some of those bills to a cheaper time of year: say, by paying six months at a time instead of 12.
True story: you can get rates deducted from each pay. Bottom line: this can save you hundreds in avoided penalty periods and stop nasty shortfalls. Set it up this pay cycle, not next.
- Automate your affluence
Decide how much you can genuinely afford to send toward your future – for a holiday, new couch, house deposit – and then set up an automatic transfer for the day after you get paid.
If you have a mortgage, house it in your offset. If you don’t, consider Exchange Traded Funds for the chance of stronger growth (yes, they carry risk).
Bottom line: the money you never see is the money you never spend. So, automate it before this pay hits your account.
- Avoid the ‘health cover’ hit
The new thresholds for the Medicare Levy Surcharge – a tax penalty you pay if you don’t have private health insurance – are $105,000 as a single or $210,000 as a couple this tax year. And it’s up to 1.5 per cent of your income … unless you hold it for 365 days of the year.
Bottom line: that’s potentially $3075 gone for a couple on $246,001 (which buys some decent basic hospital cover). Sort it now as the surcharge clock is ticking.
- Grab the free money
Did you earn under $64,293 this tax year? Put in $1000 after tax to your super – roughly $20 a week – and the government adds $500 on top. Bottom line: that’s free money on the table, but only if you act within this tax year. Don’t leave it there.
