New board topics in Not for profit

government grants received

BBbowls — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 00:21:43 GMT

when a NFP organization receives grants for the improvement of Facilities from a government body, with nothing in return by the club, ( upgrading facilities to improve and involve disability members) is the grant received included in the organizations income ? ( Is there the need to show income and expenditure in the profit and loss statements.)

Thus this amount received contribute to the $150.000 threshold re GST for NFP organizations?

myGovID on Samsung S5

KP_ES — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 04:46:36 GMT

I have been using Auskey and now have to move to myGovID for my work in admin at a non profit preschool. I use Auskey to access the ATO portal for IAS & BAS, to submit STP etc as well as to access our funding body at ECCMS.

We dont have a work mobile phone. I will be using my personal phone which is a Samsung Galaxy S5, Android 6.0.1. The App store says my phone is not compatible with the myGovID app.

I'm guessing you will say that I have to have Android 7.0 or later.

Are you expecting all small users like me to buy new phones? I work part time. My income does not stretch to a new phone for the sake of one app.

NFP football club

SB510 — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 00:19:02 GMT

Hi, I am a treasurer of a football club that has just had to register for GST.

We have created a sub entity that will be GST free to run our catering functions etc.

Can I please clarify are we able to run our fundraising raffles under the GST free entity?

Earnings from contract with the United Nations

stevewilson58 — Sun, 16 Feb 2020 21:41:40 GMT

I have been approached by the United Nations to undertake some consultancy work for them to improve statistics in an overseaqs country- not a long contract at just 25 days. However, reading all the documentation and talking to people has made me very confused about the tax arrangements. I have been told by someone who does a number of these contracts that this work is tax exempt and that is why the daily rate is low compared to my other contracts but I would like to make sure before I accept the work.

The income seems to be exempt as the United Nations falls under this:

activities of your employer as a prescribed charitable or religious institution exempt from Australian income tax because it's located outside Australia, or the institution is pursuing objectives outside Australia

Honorarium

Chris6543 — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 11:04:39 GMT

I’m part of an organisation that is choosing to pay its executive director an honorarium of $38k to do three days a week work. This seems more than is reasonable for an honorarium, but they are insisting they don’t need to withhold PAYG or pay super.

Public fund and DGR requirements

ccb — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 07:58:56 GMT

Hello,

I am after some advice about public funds. Sorry if what I'm about is all ignorant, but we are struggling to get answers.

We are a small wildlife shelter who were advised to create a public fund when we had an influx of animals and donation come through due to bushfires in 2009. We are no longer experiencing that influx and haven't for some time and are looking at the possibility of closing the public fund as it can be difficult to manage at times. Our main questions are as follows:

- Do we need a public fund to be able to give tax deductible gift reciepts? If we close the fund and are unable to give DGR's, can members of the public still claim donations?

- What is the maximum amount of money we can fundraise without a public fund, as a NFP organisation?

- If we close the public fund, could we apply to open another in the future if we get an influx of donations again?

Any help is much appreciated.

Cheers,

Cassey

Reduction of travel allowance - specifically the meal allowance rate

Nezily_mondejar — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 07:22:56 GMT

Hi,

Our NFP organisation follows ATO TD 2019/11 3 July 2019 for travel allowance. Our new management would like to reduce the meal allowance rates as it is very high. Can the employer set their own meal allowance rate for staff travelling?

The Award that we are under do not have a prescripted amount, only the term "reasonable' amount. It is the ATO who set a specific amount that is why it is being adapted. But it seems that the amount from ATO is a burden to NFP like us, can we reduce it?

Thank you in advance for any word of advice out there.

Cheers, Nezi

Donations to church not separate entity

FBRMC — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 23:53:12 GMT

Hello,

My question is: can a tax deduction be claimed for a donation to a Church, if this is not a DGR, does not have its own ABN but it is a subsidiary of a DGR NFP organisation?

Thanks!

identifying assessable income

Jay20 — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 02:58:19 GMT

1) An expensive perfume worth $250 gifted at Christmas time. received on account of employment.

2) A monthly entertainment event paid by the restaurant owner. The owner spends around $380 on the meals. received on account of employment.

3) Tip $335 cash

are these two scenario under assessable or exempt income?

Charity Employees and Exempt FBT income

Posca — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 00:57:14 GMT

When you send pays to the ATO STP, should your gross wages include the exempt $611.50 per fortnight or not. I use MYOB and they only let me deduct the exempt amount from the gross pay. How does STP allow for the exemption at the end of the year so that the exempt is actually exempted?

Becoming a DGR

Kathboy534 — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 06:33:25 GMT

The church I attend is trying to raise money for restoration of stained glass windows. We would like to set up a gift fund and ask for donations from the public. How do we go about becoming a DGR, so that we can offer tax deductibility to those who donate?

my employer did not pay taxes or superannuation

donna1 — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 04:00:23 GMT

Hi, my son worked in a coffee shop for 6 years. On employment there, the employer said that he pays no taxes or superannuation to his employees. Salaries are paid in cash. Because my son has a mental illness, he preferred to take any job rather than sit at home. So he agreed.

Question: If my son reports this type of evasion, is my son also guilty of tax evasion? (note here that my son would have had to mention his employer's name when putting in a tax form, and that would have got his employer in trouble)

My son quit his job due to stress. The employer refuses to give my son a letter which says he is no longer employed there. Hence, Centrelink won't allow any welfare. The question is how do we prove my son worked for this employer? And how do we go about it?

STP reporting

Ulrich — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 01:31:33 GMT

Hello ATO. I have two questions for you:

1. Acting as the employer, I have set up STA and am using a software provider to lodge fortnighly statements to the ATO for one employee which includes info on a fringe benefit portion and some withholdong tax. Recently I received an emai from the ATO stating that I need to make a finalisation declaration before 31/7 by providing a finalisation indicator for the employee. How do I provide a finalisarion indicator?

2. The tax exempt fringe benefit portion for the employee is being lodged into an ATO approved b-packaged account. The bank informs me that 31/3/2020 is the end of the FBT year. I am currently reporting the FBT portion fortnightly to the ATO via approved software. Does the ATO require extra information at the end of March such as an FBT annual Statement from the bank?

Registered Charity-GST-supply & sale electricity via embedded network to retirement residents

SMW — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 05:16:54 GMT

Does GST apply when a registered charity supplies and sells electricity via an embedded network to retirement residents?

GST concessions for non-profits organisations information states - certain supplies made by a registered charity that operates a retirement village may be GST-free. Those supplies must be made by the charity to a resident of the retirement village. The range of supplies which this GST-free treatment applies to, includes the supply of accommodation and the services related to the supply of accommodation.

Would appreciate any comments to support or unsubstantiate whether GST will or won't apply

Tax implication on multiple scholarship holder

RosieTrinh — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:14:26 GMT

Hi all,

I have a question about tax implication for mutiple scholarship holders.

If a person receives concurrent scholarships for the same course, should she or he need to pay income tax?

From my understanding, full-time study scholarship is exempted from paying income tax. However, in case a person holds mutilple scholarships for different courses, can all of them be treated as fulltime scholarship? it is suspicious that a person can do two full-time studies at the same time so I was wondering in this case if the money received from scholarships should be considered as an income and being taxed.

Thank you

Appopriation transferred to third pary

Jeansy — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 01:15:12 GMT

Sceneraio

Government related entity provideds funds that are government appropriation to another government related entity for research. The government related entity who received the funds then subcontracts the research to a non governement entity. The funds are transferred periodically to this non government entity.

My question is the funds from governement entity to government entity would be outside the scope of GST if appropriation. If the funds are then transferred to third party to do the research, is this transfer also outside the scope of GST? I have found conflicting advice searching for information.

with holding tax

Aurora2020 — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 08:50:47 GMT

Our Rotary Club has had a long term deposit with the St George Bank since 2010, as we did not have a Tax File Number until last week, St George have been with holding tax on that account sine 2010.

I understand that the bank should refund any wth holding tax for the current faninacial year but how can we claim back any moneys deducted from previous finacial years.

the Form on the ATO website doesnt appear to applay to our needs as a not for profit Rotary Club

if a consultant donates their time can they claim that as a tax deduction

Venessam — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 05:21:44 GMT

We are DGR so donations are tax deductable. If a consultant issues an invoice for say $250 then the next line item is donated -$250 equalling a zero total. (or any combo) can he use that as a tax deduction or do we need to issue a separate receipt for donated time

Gst cash prizes

ALADAM — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 23:25:44 GMT

For gst are cash prize money able to be offset against entry fees

Record Keeping for Minor benefits under $300

NoTaxingIdea — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 05:32:34 GMT

What records need to be kept when giving minor benefits under $300 per year, to a staff member and their associate.

For example I would like to give a staff member a gift card of $250 to a place of their chosing and another gift card (able to be used at multple locations) to their partner. Do I need to record the names of each person a minor benefit is given too? Or just keep the original receipt. This is a one of Christmas gift idea.

We are trading as a not for profit, incorporated association, early childhood business that receives partial funding from governement and fees from parents.

Hobby or business?

LeSouef — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 04:03:34 GMT

Our sports club has a pensioner who is interested in helping out. He will maintain our facilities and grounds, more or less on a daily basis. However, he asks for some compensation to cover incidental expenditures and personal costs. He is worried though he might have to declare any recompense as income, and that in turn will affect his pension. We are keen for him to help us out. Some days he may not be able to make it, and so long as he lets know we can find someone cover for those days. For him, this is an outing with a purpose. It gets him out of the house and allows him to do something he loves. He is not interested in expanding his volume of work. He is not asking for much, eg $170 per week for generally for mornings (say 3.5 hours), 7 days a week. Somtimes, the work goes into the afternoon, but the compensation will remain the same. In return, we would not vary his compensation. Is this a hobby or a business?

Second Hand Goods

TBD — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 08:53:39 GMT

Our NFP club is registered for GST. Is GST applicable to the sale of second hands goods for say $2200?

I recall second hand goods being exempt from GST.

Donations to non DGR (but NFP) entity

PinkyT — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 03:25:09 GMT

The Business entity set up an "official" fundraising cause for NFP organisation (not DGR). Can these expenses be deductible for the business? If yes, how they shoud be categorised? (Donations?, Sponsorship?)

For e.g, setting up high school scholarships or fund-raising event for a local footy club.

Thanks.

PinkyT

ETP cash payment

peter1981 — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 00:06:11 GMT

Hi, we are a club and receive gratuities from members at the end of the year. Can we set aside part of that gratuity collected and use that to pay staff if they retire after 10 years of employment as an incentive for them to work with us longer?

Fringe benefit admin queries for not-for-profit organisations

g4rsjlee — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 03:09:55 GMT

Hi,

It would be greatly appreciated if we could have ATO’s feedback on our queries listed below.

We are currently ACNC endorsed non-profit organization, a church organization.

We have a few admin questions regarding fringe benefits tax for not-for-profit organizations to pay our ‘, religious practitioners’.

It is recommended to us by the union (where our church group belongs to) to have 50:50 split between wage and fringe benefits.
However, considering the amount our church can afford to pay our religious workers we have deemed 40:60 wage and FB would be more appropriate.

40% wage would include such expenses as donation and offerings which would not be considered as expense fringe benefit.

Noting that religious workers would have no maximum limit expense payment fringe benefits, I presume that there would be no risk or possible tax issues for such treatment.

Could you please confirm? Or advise us possible issues, if there is any?

Could you please confirm if we would also need to classify or pay expense benefits to our religious practitioners per different categories?

Our understanding is that as long as they are expense payments, we won’t need to classify expenses or define categories of payments.
Is our understanding correct?

Moreover, could you please confirm even personal entertainment and shopping for religious practitioners can be defined as expense payment fringe benefit for religious practitioners?

Our church is planning to pay our religious practitioners into two different accounts owned by the employees. i.e., one account for wage and the other one for fringe benefits.

And at the end of each year, say 30th of June, we would like to calculate the cash balance remaining in the account for fringe benefit and report as wages.
Could you please confirm if the above administration methodology would be acceptable by the ATO?

Or if we open a new church’s bank account and pay religious workers fringe benefits to the church’s account and give employees a card to use for their expense payments, are we correct in thinking that the remaining cash balance would be the church’s cash asset and therefore the employees would not be obliged to report as wages?
Are there any restrictions for such fringe benefit cash accounts? As long as employees have documents to support cash transfers, can we allow the employees to transfer cash to other accounts? Eg, rent payments to real estate agents.
In case of an audit, what sort of documents would the employees be required to provide in relation to fringe benefits?

Eg, if the employees used the cheque card to pay for their expenses as fringe benefits, would they be required to keep all the invoices for 60% fringe benefit payments?

Thank you

Tax

peter1981 — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 00:38:53 GMT

Can you please advise on what the income tax implications regarding a cash payment (outside payroll) or gift voucher payment being made to a member of staff who is retiring the company. We are a public company limited by guarantee. We do not receive an FBT exemption. We are not a public benevolent Institution.

thank you.

Gift from relatives

Phuongngan — Sun, 01 Dec 2019 06:33:36 GMT

Hi!

My uncle sold his property and give me $200,000 as a gift via a bank cheque. Do I need to pay individual tax for this amount of money?

Thank you!

Tax Returns for Body Corporates

Franley-Place — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 04:17:23 GMT

Does a Body Corporate need to lodge a tax return if no income other than levies. ABN required for telephone line.

Supplier Not Charging GST

Penglert — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 05:15:07 GMT

Good Afternoon

We have a supplier that is not registered for GST but we have paid more than 75K since 1/7/19.

They claim their business is trading as a foundation and is a charity.

They are not listed in the ACNC Register.

On the ABN lookup - they are not entitled to receive tax deductible gifts and are not registered for GST.

Question - who will be at fault if we continue to pay them GST Free if they were to get audited by the ATO and is there any comeback on us?

stp

bginnivan — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 05:58:03 GMT

Hi do i need stp for our landare group? it has one secretary that we pay occasionly on per hour basis. years ago she was an employee but not in last few years. how do i get her status changed?

Brendan Ginnivan

Superannuation Guarantee

Jaylow — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 06:27:22 GMT

I'm considering joining a committee of a small registered charity. I've checked out the books. It has one part-time employee engaged as a contractor for his services. Paid about 30,000 a year plus 9.5% for super. About $32850 pa all up. has been this way for about 4 years. Trouble is the super payments have been going direct to him and he has contributed the $2850 a year to his SMSF.

By my understanding, the charity should report this situation. and is required to pay the 9% later increased to 9.5% tof the total amounts previously paid to the employee (eg last FY $32850), backdated to when employment started, plus 10% interest, plus some penalties. This is a considerable amount of money, that is going to end up in the employees pocket..

When I raised this, I was told employee was a contractor and what was being done was correct. There was no need to report this to the ATO. My other concern is that, there may not be sufficient funds to cover what I think is owed and that the committee office bearers arlikely to be personally liable for the debt.

Any advice would be most welcome.

pension age and how to claim

Drifter1954 — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 05:49:17 GMT

I was born in September 1954 and want to know when I can claim the pension and where do I do that online or at a Centrelink office.

Donation receipt entity name

KWinter — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 02:04:45 GMT

Hi,

I'm running a charity that is registered with the ACNC and has DGR status. The registration is under the name The Enneagram Movement. We are looking to run a fundraising campaign for an initiative called Enneagram Prison Project Australia. So The Enneagram Movement will be the legal entity supporting the Enneagram Prison Project Australia initiative. We have registered the business name "Enneagram Prison Project Australia" under our ABN.

My question is in relation to receipts for donations. Can we simply use the name "Enneagram Prison Project Australia" on our receipts, or will we need to use the legal entity name of The Enneagram Movement?

Kind regards,

Kyle

religious body and FBT for religious practitioner

willemtwee — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 08:03:05 GMT

Hi. I have read all examples and rules relating to the FBT for religious organisations and practitioners. The situation at hand satisfies all criteria. However my question relates to the extent of what are allowed as FBT tax exempt payments made to the pastor

Are payments made to the pastor all exempt? We keep assuming the man works full time as a religious and qualified person. Like if a credit card was provided to him could any and all costs he incurs in everyday life be regarded as FBT payments to him without tax? And holidays and associated travel is also permissable? (I saw one example where it was mentioned)

If so then such a person could be set up with a stipend of just under the taxfree limit and paid eveything else as an FBT payment. What is the intent of the law on this?

GST for Clubs,

TBD — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 00:13:53 GMT

Does a not for profit Golf Club which is registered for GST, need to account for GST on items such as raffles and other fund raising activities such as competitions for example for "nearest the pin" .

Members may pay an extra $1 each time they play in addition to the Green Fees to participate in these extra activities?

Not for profit payments, to a religious practitioner, after resignation.

CityGates — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 07:05:33 GMT

Scenario: the church is an ACNC registered not for profit religious institution & the minister is credentialled.

Question: if I was employed as a church minister, resigned voluntarily, provided no further work, was promptly offered a sizeable gratuity payment ... would I pay tax on the gratuity 1. as if I was still employed as a minister (accessing non-reportable FBT) or 2. as if it was an employee termination payment?

Thanks for any guidance.

Intern honorarium

1Church — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 01:04:52 GMT

We have an intern coming in to work with our youth outreach. The person will be volunteering. We would like to pay a monthly honoraium and/or pay for education expense.

What are the implications for assessable income. GST, PAYG, SGC? An honorarium is a very grey area to me.

Uninc. Association non-profit seeking advice on ABN/TFN

AlexEnergy — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 03:12:06 GMT

Hello,

I am running a small non-profit at my university and we want an ABN/TFN so we can get a business bank account. We are an unincorporated association.

If I apply for an ABN/TFN, what obligations do I need to meet, what are the risks? We have no employees (all volunteers) and do not plan on using GST. Our income will be through corporate sponsorships (~20k per/annum).

Follow-up question. Is corporate sponsorship considered business income? Is selling tickets to cover the cost of an event also considered business income?

Thank you for your help.

How do I register DGR deductable gifts?

46216dgr — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 03:09:42 GMT

NFP (Scientific research institution)- Is financial award to researcher taxable?

Hayley123 — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 11:02:27 GMT

The Association is a Scientific research institute, they want to offer financial award (for eg: $5,000) to their reseacher for being 'best author'. Does the reseacher need to report this as their assessable income and pay tax on it?

Also, is there any tax implications or special reporting that the Association need to report?

Tax "donation" on homebrand milk?

JE4873 — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 23:06:45 GMT

Can I claim the "donation" for farmers on the Woolworths home brand milk on my tax?

Implications of NFP organisation offering cash prizes for Competitions

YMAC — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 03:59:37 GMT

Hi there,

We would like to know if we offer a cash prize of $3,000 to the winner of an art competition we are holding.

What tax and reporting implications are there for the NFP and for the winner of the competition?

Thanks

GST on Camp Fees

SCE — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 22:51:39 GMT

If I had a not for profit organisation that was registered for GST that had a sub entity that ran a camp for children, would the camp fees we charge to the children be GST Free? Could we claim back the GST on the catering and other costs in relation to putting on the camp?

I need to obtain a nat 2943 form to update our ABN details

keith1 — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 07:38:45 GMT

Taxation of superannuation death benefit paid to charity

KeithS — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 07:33:28 GMT

I want to leave my superannuation death benefit (SDB) to an Australian charity.

I'm aware of the general rule regarding taxation of SDBs: broadly, no tax if the SDB is left to a dependent (as defined in the legislation), but tax to pay on the taxable component of the SDB if left to a non-dependent, eg. to a charity.

Ignoring the medicare levy, and ignoring any untaxed element of the taxable component of the SDB, is the tax to pay 15% of the taxable SDB component or is it the lower of 15% and the recipient's marginal rate? If the latter, because the charity pays no tax, does this mean that taxation of the SDB will be 0%?

Thanks for any help the community can give.

Period of review in the Income Tax Status Review Worksheet for self-assessing NP organizations

AntonAus — Mon, 30 Sep 2019 05:52:58 GMT

Dear community, it is unclear if the Period of Review From/To dates are meant to be:

- in the past (assessing your organisation’s past activities)
OR
- in the future (assessing your organisation’s planned activities).

These fields are in the Income Tax Status Review Worksheet for self-assessing non profit organisations

Many thanks,
Anton

GST for not for profit organisation

Iany42atoc — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 11:54:28 GMT

I'm about to do my first BAS for a NFP organisation. We receive grants and donations. We also purchase equipment for our work and food and other items for distribution. I understand that the grants we receive have a GST component, whereas donations do not. Items purchased for distribution to clients, as well as equipment, office consumables etc for use in providing our service usually have GST as part of the price we pay. How do the various fields on the BAS form e.g G1, G10 and G11 relate to those activities? It's confusing to see G1 described as total sales, when in the "normal" understanding we don't actually have sales as such.

Tax deductibility of Christmas cards seeking donations

cecilyneil — Sun, 22 Sep 2019 23:36:21 GMT

I am a member of a small NFP with DGR status. We wish to sell Christmas cards charging a donation of $8 per card or $20 per 3, the donations going to the provision of sanitary toilets in one of our overseas project sites. I would like to know if these purchases are tax deductible so far as the buyer is concerned.

Travel to a Not-For Profit AGM

Topaziel — Thu, 19 Sep 2019 07:14:34 GMT

Dear all,

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question!

I am a private individual who recently joined a Not-Fot-Proft as a member.

The NFP organisation is registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), and has 'public benevolent institution' status.

Will interstate travel to the AGM of this organisation be tax-deductible?

Thanks again!

Long Service leave for casual to part time

sandy1 — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 04:45:03 GMT

Can you please advise how to calcualte LSL for an employee who was casual then, part time with inconsistent hours?

if there is a break in service during the casaul employement will that be counted as continous service for LSL calcualtion? employee joined the organisation in 2006.

Regards

Not-for-profit (Church) repaying member's lending loans without affecting member's taxable incomes?

mgkbc-sa — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 06:56:36 GMT

A church group having a savings of around $100,000 wants to purchase a $239,000 property. Members in the group are willing to seek personal loans and lend them to the church which the church will repay later. The church is incorporated, registered as Charitable Organization under ACNC and is Tax Concession Endorsed. How would the church take funds from member's personal loans or peer to peer lending to purchase that property and how would the church pays back the lenders/members so that those payments are not regarded as their taxable incomes by the ATO?

Donating on Behalf of Someone Else

CuriousOne — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 03:18:56 GMT

If I make a donation in the name of Person A to a registered charity (eg as a Christmas present to Person A) and have Person A's name on the receipt, is Person A able to claim a tax deduction for the donation?

Do I need to pay GST ?

Peggy880799 — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 06:25:41 GMT

Hi.
My family is going to post a a pair of glassesof to Australia from Taiwan for me. The value is AUD$650. Do I need to pay gst in Australia before I pick up the mail? Thank you
Cheers

Cancer Fundraiser tax

Darryl — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 23:06:39 GMT

Hi,

I am president of our local Not for Profit sporting club and we have recently raised almost $85,000 for a member who has been diagnosed with Cancer.

I am wanting to GIFT him and his family the funds, however i am concerned that either he or our club may be taxed on these funds.

Could you please clarify for me

Regards Darryl

Income Tax return

tusharmodgil — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 05:39:12 GMT

Hello,

This is my first income tax return in Australia. I am trying to link ATO with myGov account but unable to do it as the system responds that details does not match.

I have my TFN, BSB, Bank Account Number, Super account number and Payment Summary (only from the latest organization).

I called on Help Line number and they asked for the Financial institution number or PAYG Summary. I don't know what is Financial institution number and the PAYG details I have does not match with their records.

Is there a way to get all this information online or I have to visit CentreLink?

Regards,

Tush

Paid Parental Leave

LyMai71 — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:16:37 GMT

Good aternoon,

Please could you advise whether or not the employee on paid parental leave be entitled for salary sacrifice (deductions).

Also, if staff on worker compensation scheme is entitled for superanuation payment.

Many thanks.

Kind regards,

Paid Parental Leave

LyMai71 — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 02:28:36 GMT

Good aternoon,

Please could you advise whether or not the employee on paid parental leave be entitled for salary sacrifice (deductions).

Also, if staff on worker compensation scheme is entitled for superanuation payment.

Many thanks.

Kind regards,

tax amendment

ali786 — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 00:50:52 GMT

Hello,

I just realised i didnt claim my charity amount for year 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 tax period. I know it is out of amendment period. Can i still object for the extension of period. Is the applicatiion for extension and amendment is having any success results?

Single Touch Payroll

Rosiepie — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 04:35:50 GMT

I am currently trying to set up the ATO's single touch payroll through MYOB software for the coming financial year 19/20. My question is; as an employer do I send through the last years payment summaries and emdupe file to the ATO the previous way or the STP way?

Entertainment expense questions for a church

WeirderQuark — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 01:24:00 GMT

Hi,

We recently learned that we are unable to reclaim GST on entertainment expenses. I'm going through the church's books now to try and get a sense of what counts as entertainment and what doesn't. Could someone please explain to me which expenses would be entertainment in the following common scenario:

A church retreat is held for members of the congregation. The primary purpose of the retreat is to spend time in religious worship and learning, however many recreational activites and meals are also provided. The church collects fees from the members to offset the costs of the retreat (some retreats end up with a small profit, and others with a loss). Costs include transportation, accommodation, meals and recreational activities. Some church employees are at attendance at most retreats, and they also pay fees and enjoy the provisions paid for by the church.

Are the recreational activities considered entertainment? Are the meals entertainment, or just sustenance? Would the transportation and accommodation be with respect to entertainment? Or does the fact that members pay to attend make none of these entertainment expenses? Is any of this treated differently for employees than for church members?

Any replies that could clear this up for me would be very appreciated! Thank you!

Clarification on entertainment fringe benefits for FBT exempt religious institutions

WeirderQuark — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 07:08:39 GMT

Hi,

I'm trying to get my head around a number of rules that concern entertainment fringe benefits for churches. Specifically I'm trying to determine under what circumstances a church can and cannot claim a GST credit for the purchase of food and drink. The situation is a church body where the head of the body regularly has lunch meetings with members of the church district for the purpose of pastoral care.

First, could someone please tell me if I understand correctly how this works for a regular business. In my understanding there are two options for accounting for entertainment fringe benefits: the 50/50 method and the actual method. Regardless of which method is used, the amount declared a fringe benefit is subject to fringe benefit tax, but is also tax deductible and eligible for a GST credit. The amount spent on entertainment that is not considered an entertainment fringe benefit is a non-deductible expense under Sect 32.1 of the ITAA 1997 and is therefore not eligibile for a GST credit.

I would like to clarify this interaction as it applies to religious institutions. As religious institutions providing benefits to religious practitioners in respect of their pastoral duties are exempt from fringe benefits tax under Sect 57 of the FBTAA, and Sect 57 is not included in the list of exceptions in item 1.6 of the table in section 32.30 of the ITAA 1997 (http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/itaa1997240/s32.30.html), does this mean that 100% of entertainment expenses that a church incurs that aren't subject to some other exception in the table in section 32.30 are non-deductible for the purposes of GST credit entitlement?

Thanks for your help!

Not for Profir Status

phil_k — Wed, 22 May 2019 05:15:32 GMT

We are members of Toastmasters International - a public speaking not for profit organisation with clubs throughout Australia (world).

My query is: As a NFP organisation are there rules pertaining to the amount of $$$ a club could or should hold in its club accounts. Is there a Maximum amount that should be in a club account. Note that as NFP, monies are not distributed back to members but are used for education, training, goods and services.

Your advice in this matter would be appreciated.

Phil Kaufman

District 73 Finance Manager, Toastmasters Int

apply for church abn

oina — Wed, 15 May 2019 05:13:31 GMT

hello just want to find out how to apply for our church abn please.

Non-Profit Club

teamhunt — Sun, 26 May 2019 23:17:55 GMT

We have a non-profit swim club that is registered for GST. Our members attend an external gym club that charges the swim club for the member's sessions, and in turn, we charge the members in their quarterly invoice. The Gym Club is not registered for GST and does not charge GST on their invoice. Since this is not a service we are providing, but just on-charging the fees, do we charge GST to our swimmers?

Charity Fundraising and Tax.

test123 — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 06:36:46 GMT

I am interested in doing a crowd-source fundraiser to raise money to help students from low-income families / areas get access to tutoring services.

The plan would be to raise the money using an online platform, then use it to pay for education expenses (like pens and books), as well as professional tutors/tutoring companies to provide tuition to the students. So it would sort of be like a scholarship, where the students get access to the tutoring services for free, but the service providers are still getting paid.

In case it is relevant, I would be doing the fundraising myself. I do have an ABN as a sole trader and work within the education sector.

I am planning on raising less than 15,000, so I would assume that I would be exempt from the charitable fundraising act. (Please correct me if I am wrong) Source of my information here.
For legal reasons I would place the money into it's own separate bank account. While the money is in that account and before it is spent, I would assume that it is 'legally' mine since it is under my control. I want to make sure there are no other legal or tax obligations that I am aware of while the money is under my control, before it gets spent on the fundraising objectives (other than the obvious, I shouldn't go spending that money like it was my personal account.)

One big question I have, is there any reason why I cannot provide the fundraising funds to the students directly for the purpose of buying book/pens e.c.t? Or would I be required to buy the materials myself and then offer them to students for free?

I haven't been able to find any legislative information regarding scholarships, so I am also wondering if there is something about scholarships before I start.

Once the money is raised, most of it will be paid to the providers of the tutors / tutoring company. Since I am an organisation that has control of the money, am I required to provide any form invoice or other documentation when I pay for the tutoring? Or would it be considered along the same lines as a regular customer paying for their service?
e.g, If I pay $50 a week to Company A for the tuition of Student A, would it be considered the same as me giving the $50 fundraised money to Student A (whether it be a scholarship or other) and then Student A pays Company A directly? It just gets a bit complicated where I am an organisation paying another organisation for services, but those services aren't related to my organisation.

In a different situation, if I wasn't going to pay a company for the tuition, but pay individual tutors for their time instead, I would assume that it would be feasible to pay private tutors with their own ABN, and it would be similar to the situation mentioned above. I would also assume that there would be no professional relationship between my organisation (and my ABN) and the private tutors with their own ABNs. The individual tutors would then organise their own tax and superannuation requirements as they would if they were conducting tutoring regularly. Again, it just gets a bit complicated where I would be organising a private tutor to come to and provide their services, but technically I am not hiring them in any way. I'm just looking for clarification on this and making sure my assumptions are not incorrect.

My last question: If I was the person organising this, is there any reason why I could not pay myself as one of the private tutors? I would assume that it is similar to the situations above, where I can work under my own ABN and do my own taxes / superannuation required. Then my professional relationship would be between myself and the students/scholarship holders, despite the money being paid from the fundraising bank account to my own bank account. But if there are tax and/or legal problems with this please let me know.

Thanks.

GST - Interest charged on Payment Plans

AngPav — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 06:43:15 GMT

Should the monthly interest/fees charged on payment plans for membership subscriptions to a sporting club include GST or are these fees/charges treated as a Financial Supply and thefore no GST included in this fee income?

Regarding GST and NFP golf clubs.

TBD — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 06:44:00 GMT

Does GST apply on the daily Golf competition fees which includes a levy to raise funds to acquire new machinery. (machinery fund)?

Does GST apply to other types of levies for fund raising?

TBD

GST on sale of buildings?

WeirderQuark — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 03:33:56 GMT

I'm helping a friend who runs a not-for-profit with their bookkeeping. I see that they sold a building a couple of years ago, and the sale is marked as BAS excluded in their accounting software. It was not a residential building, and the sale was not for less than 75% of market value. Should this sale have been included on the BAS with GST being sent to the ATO? Is it possible that the conveyancers handled that themselves in their fees?

Sole Trader Charitable Donations

katharinenicole — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 16:58:03 GMT

In the U.S., sole proprietors do not deduct charitable donations from their business income; donations are only personal deductions. I have a bookkeeping client in Australia who makes regular donations to a non-profit through her business accounts and would like to verify if the deduction is treated the same way for sole traders by the ATO. Should I be expensing the donations as a deductible transaction, or tracking the donations outside of her business' Profit & Loss activity?

Is it included to G1 of offering if organisation is a Non for Profit (Church)?

jamiejunmoklee — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 05:20:40 GMT

Hello,

One of our clients is Church and receives some cash from believer on Sunday as offering.

I would like to know whether this income should be included to G1 when we have lodged to BAS.

It would be highly appreciated if you give some comments.

Thanks.

GST on meat raffles?

MS_1234 — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 06:27:56 GMT

If one is registered to be allowed gambling on premises in normal course a trading, then I know GST applies to both Income and or Expenses. However, if the premises then holds a meat raffle but the income is for the "staff social club". Then does the premises still claim GST on the meat pack, and pay GST on the raffle ticket income, seeing as though it is for the staff social club.

FBT maximum allowed

alexaidar — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 12:43:09 GMT

I currently work for a NFP organisation and in this FBT year I have already claimed and received the maximum $15,900 FBT allowed,

I am about to move to another NFP organisation within the same FBT year, am I able to claim the maximum $15,900 FBT once again. In other words is the maximum $15,900 per employer (so I could receive it more than once) or as an individual in one FBT year?

Thank you

GST turnover Non profit organisation

jcol — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 02:20:24 GMT

Hello,

I work with a non-profit organisation, with DGR status. Their revenue has exceeded $150,000 which is the GST registration threshold for non-profits, however they may still fall under the threshold depending on the classification of their income types.

They are a hospitality non-profit, who run weekly dinners at pop up restaurants to generate income. The paid dinners are commercial income and would definitely be included for GST turnover purposes. But this income alone would not take them over the $150k threshold.

In addition to the weekly dinners, they hold an annual fundraising dinner. This dinner is at a substantially higher price that the weekly dinner (around 5 times the price), has more inclusions, and is held at a large event space, not their standard restaurant. In any other non-profit organisation, with DGR status, the fundraising dinner would not form part of the GST turnover. However, given that holding dinners is the main revenue generating activity of the organisation, I am questioning whether the fundraiser dinner can be considered substantially different enough from the main commercial activities and excluded from GST turnover?

Thanks

GST on Grants

Bobalong — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 23:14:21 GMT

A NFP is raising funds for a specific project. The NFP has formally applied to a number of entities through their Grant Application processes. The NFP has been awarded a grant from another NPF community service organisation that is not registered for GST. There is no acquittal requirement even though the grant is for a specific purpose. Is the grant GST free or should it be treated as subject to GST? Thanks

Not for profit?

MrDog — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 21:17:31 GMT

Have recently become treasurer of a "social club" in a retirement village - a group of 6 or so people who hold fund raising events (e.g morning teas) for the other residents and then use any profits (around $7-8000 a year) to provide services and amenities for the residents.

I am unsure what our status is as far as tax is concerned, and if we are liable what can we do to reduce this - I think an Incorporated Association with well defined aims would get us a tax free status, but others disagree.

Amateur sports coach

Jason85 — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 08:23:22 GMT

A not for profit amatuer sports club pays a coach/es for their services for the season. Does the NFP sports club need to provide a PAYG summary, and is this income assessable for the coach/es?

Is GST chargeable to a NFP Organisation based in the UK but receiving media advertising in Australia

cgargs1966 — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 05:02:44 GMT

Hi there,

We have a new client who is a not for profit organisation and they are based in the UK. They are booking media advertising here in Australia through the major free to air networks.

Do we charge them GST? I have been told yes but the client is very disappointed and saying that is not correct?

Can anybody answer this question.

The supply of media advertising is being aired here in Australia on Australian TV....the client is NFP and is based in the UK?

Thanks so much.

FBT salary sacrifice for Not-for Profit employees

sviths — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 02:02:55 GMT

I am working in two not-for-profit organisations on a part time basis. Both those organisations are FBT exempt as they are Registered health promotion charity endorsed by the ATO.

Per my understanding the annual cap per employee is $30,000 and restricted at an employer level.

Can I claim the annual FBT cap from both exempt registered health promotion charities? i.e claiming FBT cap of $ 60,000 from both employees ($30,000 x 2)?

ATO Approved Donation to Sports Projects re Australian Sports Foundation?

TimCorben — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 02:58:25 GMT

Hi,

I am considering making a donation to promote a sporting project. The project is on the Australian Sports Foundation, and they claim that a donation through them targeting a specific club's sport project will reduce my taxable income.

Question is this true and it has the ATO's approval?

TimCorben

GST on reimbursement

Maree — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 23:59:27 GMT

Hello. We are a NFP. We are reimbursing services for the cost of accomodation - up to $200 (they are paying accomm direct) whilst undertaking study (again we are paying directly). We will request services provide us a tax invoice for accommodation reimbusement for $220 Incl. GST? Is this the correct GST approach? Kind regards

NFP Salary information

jmunro18 — Wed, 02 May 2018 01:27:34 GMT

Hi All

I am interviewing for a role with a NFP. They have stated that up to $15,900 can be put towards personal expenses eg housing loan, credit card etc pre-tax. Can anyone direct me to information on this site that confirms and explains that in more detail?

Thanks (in advance)

NFP Community Organisation Gov't Grant

sandyjj68 — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 00:56:09 GMT

Hello, we are a NFP Community Group operating in Qld.

Until now our only source of income is from membership fees and donations.

However recently we have applied for, and been successful for, a Government Grant to update our equipment and communications.

In the Grant application we had to specify in a break-down list exactly what items were required and why they were required.

Is that enough to determine 'supply' and if so will the grant funds be considered taxable income?

Thank you

FBT

Carmel — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 01:27:03 GMT

I missed the NFP FBT webinar on the 04/04/2018. Could someone please let me know where I can access the recording of the webinar.

Thanks

Carmel

GST on "held" money

MaryM — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 00:23:49 GMT

We have a "sub club" that goes away on trips. Each person pays their trip money to the main club who then pays that money for accommodation and bus fares etc. Does the individual trip money incur GST?

Tax & Not For Profit Income

MarketOrganiser — Sat, 03 Mar 2018 02:44:32 GMT

A group of us organised a not for profit craft market. I opened a personal bank account to handle all the money for the market. What happens at tax time? Do I declare all the income in that account or just the interest on my tax form? I haven't had any personal benefit from the money in that account.

The income was used to stage the market. Any leftover money will be used for the next market.

not for profit

Poet — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 20:31:02 GMT

Hi,

Our nfp has an email address ending in (dot) com.au
i.e. understood to be a commercial operation.
We periodically run a national competition that generates anywhere between $5,000 - $8,000 where some of it is used for; prizemoney, printing an anthogy and postage. The residual is banked/invested.
My question is:
Should we be changing our email address to (dot) org.au

Thanks in advance

NFP (Pbi) and GST

Debbiesap — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 07:02:34 GMT

I work for a NFP charity. people can either contribute as a member or tax deductible donation. membership allows them to attend AGM.

Are these contributions subject to GST

Supported Tenancy organisation seeking tax donation status for waived or severly reduced rent

vpya — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 03:35:43 GMT

Hi there,

We are a homelessness prevention and supported accomodation service working with Highly disavantaged young people and their families. We have PBI status and DGR status (applying for a charitable collections lic in WA as well) We are trying to source more properties for our tenants as the wait lists like all community and social housing is huge. We are commencing a scheme offer full upkeep of rental properties for the owner in exchange for a peppercorn rent on a head lease which we then sublease and case manage the clients. (hope you are following so far!)

Other providers have gained approval from ATO to offer the difference between the actual lease and the current market rate as a tax deduction should the owner so choose. Its possible of course to pay the full lease and have the monies returned by the owner and provide tax deduction that way on "donated" monies. However, its a big round about way of doing it and opens us to risk. Not to mention extra administration by both the owner and the organisation. Can we offer this difference as a Deduction for tax purposes or do we need a summary ruling on our particular case. If so what would that cost, and how do we start the process.

Regards,

Checkout charity

admin — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 02:19:41 GMT

Hello

When donating to a charity at point of sale, such as a supermarket checkout, can the consumer claim this donation in their individual tax return? Provided that they have their receipt, the amount meets the minimum $2, and the charity organistation is "deductible gift recipient" (DGR). Could the collector, ie the supermarket who is passing on the donations collectively claim a tax deduction too?

Thanks

Non Profit Sporting Club - 2 questions (and a lot of background research!)

MrKungFu — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 01:16:49 GMT

Apologies in advance for a rather lengthy post - but I felt the need to include so much info to show the research I've done that has led to my current conclusions and questions. My two questions are at the end of the post.

I’d like to clarify a couple of issues regarding starting a non-profit sporting club with a partnership structure.

The club will clearly qualify as a non-profit, existing purely to encourage a particular martial art through group and private training sessions.

Members will pay the club for training. The club will pay instructors for their services rendered, and the rent of training halls etc.

The constituent documents will include:

(1)“The assets and income of the organisation shall be applied solely in furtherance of its above-mentioned objects and no portion shall be distributed directly or indirectly to the members of the organisation except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the organisation”

https://www.ato.gov.au/uploadedFiles/Content/SME/downloads/Nonprofit16966Tax_basics_for_non_profit_organisations.pdf

I’ve run through the checklist and self-assessed the club will be tax exempt, therefore:

(2)“Your organisation does not need to pay income tax or lodge income tax returns, unless we specifically ask it to.
Your organisation does not need to get confirmation of its exemption from the ATO”

https://www.ato.gov.au/Non-profit/your-organisation/do-you-have-to-pay-income-tax-/income-tax-exempt-organisations/

In regards to a general partnership structure, there are two areas that I would like to clarify:

(3)“The partnership doesn't pay income tax on the income earned. You and each of your partners pay tax on the share of the net partnership income you each receive.
(4)Requires a partnership tax return to be lodged with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) each year.”

https://www.business.gov.au/Info/Plan-and-Start/Start-your-business/Business-structure/Business-structures-and-types/Partnership

(5)“A partnership is a group or association of people who carry on a business and distribute income or losses between themselves

https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Starting-your-own-business/Before-you-get-started/Choosing-your-business-structure/Partnership/

With all that research out of the way! My questions are generally how to reconcile logical inconsistencies and two specific contradictions in the above. I would generally expect the restrictions on qualifying as a non-profit to take precedence.

From (1) – a non-profit club cannot distribute income to members, I would expect that to therefore supercede (3) and (5) meaning the partnership could not distribute any income between themselves and would therefore have no partnership income on which to be assessed for tax.

Logically I would infer that this means the partnership income split would have to be zero for all partners –and any partners who teach or provide admin services being only eligible for “bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the organisation” (1)

Question 1. To achieve this, I would imagine the club could just pay the partner for this service as a separate sole trader with their own ABN (in the same way they could pay a non partner for their service). Is this correct?

Question 2. Given this, and that (2) the club will be tax exempt and does not need to lodge income tax returns, does that mean (4) no longer applies and the partnership return is not required? Or does the return still need to be lodged with a zero share for all partners?

Charity sub entity employing

Paulbash3 — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 00:09:33 GMT

We run a charity that has opened a sub entity to run a cafe. All profits go back to the charity and it is really just a sub entity for the purpose of GST and also to claim employment incentives from QLD government. My quesion is if the sub entity employs people can the parent charity just pay them on their payroll and payg?

gifts

LJB — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 05:19:33 GMT

NFP employer purchases bottle of wine $18 as a gift to employee leaving. FBT? Can they claim GST credits?

NFP membership fees

LJB — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 00:03:45 GMT

Is there GST on membership fees charged by a NFP with GST Concessions?

% Tax to add to Consultancy fees

SophieVasi — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 06:31:48 GMT

How much GST do I need to charge an NFP for research consultacy fees (my time)?

Working for a NFP Charity

Debbiesap — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 04:41:23 GMT

I have been advised that one of the benefits of working for a NFP is the I can treat the first $15,000 of my income as tax free.

I am not sure if I fully understood but wondering if this is the same as any Salary Sacrifice options available to employees in a commerical company, and if not how do they differ.

Addtionally, is there a list of items that I may Salary Sacrifice (I am assuming it is a restricted list - i..e I cannot salary sacrifice my levies or groceries.

Ty.

Review of our Accounts Receivables

Debbiesap — Sat, 16 Dec 2017 09:07:55 GMT

Really pleased to have found this page

Seeking some advice on oustanding receivables.

I work for a NFP organization (similar ot a social clubs) where we invoice montly subscriptions. Years have gone by, and we have found that members have left without advising they departed and hence to cancel their fees.We are now in the process of trying to identify our "true" A/R balance.

We do not do Company Tax Returns. We remit quarterly CASH BAS statements.

Please advise the best way we should remove these "dormant" members over numerous tax years where we :

a) continue to bill them their monthly billing but as at depature date their account balance was zero

B) After reversing the inaccurae billings (per above) they still had a "true" amount outstanding.

With regards to a) My understanding was as we report on a cash basis and no tax returns, we can reverse the incorrectly applied monthly fees from depature date onward which will close their account and no futher action is required - Tax year is irrelevant? The resulting affect would be a reduced A/R balance

b) Those who had a true outstanding accounts

My superior wants these to be debited to a bad debt account in the P&L. Given we report on a cash basis, and have made no attempt to follow up are we allowed to do this?. If so what is the best way of doing this (DR Bad Debts CR A/R) and what do we do with balance that is residng in our bad debts account. Do we write it off etc.

In both of the above instnaces numerous tax years are involved.

TIA

Non profit generating hobby starting an online presence - am I now a business?

brikoat — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 01:18:54 GMT

Hello,

I have completed the Hobby or Business Tool questions and have come up in a grey area, depending on my answer to the question about having a website / online presence.

I started a hobby about 3 years ago, with the full intention of it being just a hobby. I would guess that I've spent many thousands of dollars from my own money in equipment setting it up and continue to spend hundreds each year to keep it running. I don't keep actual records of this spending, its just mixed in with my other personal purchases. I am happy to spend this because I enjoy the hobby.

This hobby produces fresh produce as one of its byproducts and for about 5 months of the year it sometimes produces excess of what I can use myself or give away to family so I sell it to friends and local neighbours at a price that means I am not making anywhere near a profit (considering what I spend in upkeep of the hobby thoughout the rest of the year).

I currently just sell the excess produce whenever I have it through word of mouth but lately I've found it cumbersome with people constantly contacting me and asking me if I have excess produce to sell this week so was thinking of setting up a website or facebook page to show what I have in excess to sell and then people could check the website to see what I currently have and don't have to keep asking me.

However, I am worried this act of setting up a website will tip me from hobby into a business (a very poorly performing one at that!)

What do you think? Would that make me a business?

Grant received

Treas1234 — Sat, 01 Jul 2017 01:57:40 GMT

We are about to receive a grant, we are a not for profit organisation. The grant is to upgrade our facility. Is is GST free - from my reading it is as it's not related to a supply but would like confirmation if possible?