Latest news with #financialyear
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Centrelink's warning for thousands over cash boost set to be delivered in weeks
For those of you who don't celebrate it, the new financial year is upon us, running from 1 July to 30 June. We've ticked over from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026. That means it's time for Services Australia to check that families got the right amount of financial support over the past year, which is a process called balancing. Balancing happens after the financial year ends on 30 June. We compare your estimated income with your actual income. For many families, this check can mean a helpful top-up or supplement. Others might see no change, or in some cases, a debt to repay. It's important to know that Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Care Subsidy (CCS) are balanced separately, and each one follows its own process. RELATED Centrelink issues ATO tax refund warning: 'Repay it' Common neighbour problem plaguing Aussie houses Centrelink issues ATO alert as Aussies submit their tax returns What families need to do For most families, we need you to confirm your income before we can balance your payments. You can do this by either lodging a tax return with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or by telling us you don't need to lodge one. If you have a partner, they will need to lodge a tax return, or you will need to tell us they don't need to as well. If you or your partner are not required to lodge a tax return, you can confirm your income using your Express Plus Centrelink mobile app, or Centrelink online account through myGov. Just remember, if you get both payments, you'll still need to confirm your income to balance your CCS, even if you didn't need to do anything for your FTB balancing to long does it take? We start balancing FTB from July and CCS from mid-August. CCS balancing is later, as we need to get information from childcare providers before we can get started. After you lodge your tax return, the ATO will confirm your income for the financial year with us. This might not happen straight away. It can take up to 28 days for the ATO to give us this information. Don't ring to check on how it's going, you can track the progress of your balancing in your Express Plus Centrelink mobile app. You can also track your CCS balancing using your online account through myGov. What happens if I've separated from my partner? If you separated during the year, we can balance your FTB after you confirm your income. We'll use the income estimate provided for your ex-partner if they haven't lodged a tax return yet. You don't have to contact them. If you get CCS, we still need to confirm your ex-partner's income. You don't need to contact your ex-partner for these details. Call us on 136 150 to confirm this. 'Uh oh, I think I'm going to get a debt' Don't panic! We know things can change over the year. You'll get a letter explaining your balancing outcome either through your myGov inbox or in the mail. We'll let you know your options if you need to pay money back. If you owe Services Australia or the ATO any money, as part of the balancing process, we can recover debts from any FTB top-ups and supplements to reduce what you owe. We can do this even if you have a repayment arrangement in place. Please talk to us if you're experiencing financial hardship or worried about paying back a debt. We can work with you to set up a repayment plan for your circumstances. How to avoid a debt next year There are things you can do throughout the year to help get the right payments and reduce your chance of getting a debt at tax time. You should make sure your family income estimate and other details are always up to date, you can do this anytime things change during the year. You can use your online account to select the right FTB payment choice for your situation. You may choose to get all, part or none of your payment fortnightly. We'll then pay any other FTB you're entitled to when we balance your payments. Services Australia withholds 5% of your CCS to help reduce the likelihood of you getting an overpayment at the end of the financial year. You can increase this percentage through your online account to an amount that suits you. By doing this, you can boost your chances of getting a top-up when we balance your payments next tax time.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Top 10 superannuation funds revealed as Aussies receive 'double-digit' returns
Australian superannuation funds have posted a 'tremendous' result for the 2025 financial year, despite a bumpy second half of the year. The median growth fund returned double digits. Chant West research has revealed the top-performing growth super funds for the year, with niche fund Legal Super found to deliver the highest returns at 12.9 per cent. Growth funds are defined by the research house as those with 61 to 80 per cent in growth assets, with most default MySuper options falling into the category. Vanguard came in second place with an 11.8 per cent return, followed by Colonial First State, Australian Retirement Trust and NGS in third place with growth of 11.2 per cent. RELATED $105,000 superannuation warning over growing 'mini-retirement' trend Coles and Costco grocery price comparison 'shocks' Aussie mum Aussie tradie loses $110,000 house deposit due to small detail The median growth fund returned 10.5 per cent, following returns of 9.1 per cent in 2024 and 9.2 per cent in 2023. Chant West senior investment research manager Mano Mohankumar said the strong financial year results, despite trade tensions and the conflict in the Middle East, were due to "resilient share markets", along with all major asset classes generating positive returns. 'International shares and Australian shares, which have average weightings of about 31 per cent and 24 per cent respectively within a typical growth portfolio, both returned 13.7 per cent,' he said. 'Foreign currency was also a meaningful contributor due to the depreciation of the Australian dollar, with the international shares return of 13.7 per cent (reflected in hedged terms) translating to 18.6 per cent in unhedged terms.' Unlisted property is expected to finish with a positive result in the 2 to 5 per cent range. Mohankumar noted Australian and international bonds had their best year since 2019, posting returns of 6.8 and 5.4 per cent respectively, and cash posting a 4.4 per cent return. SuperRatings said the first half of the year brought back 'some much-needed stability to fund returns' but the second half saw 'extreme ups and downs as global events threw markets into turmoil'. 'With so many global events over the year there has been an increased level of uncertainty around fund returns this year,' SuperRatings director Kirby Rappell said. 'However, superannuation is designed to build and maintain wealth for retirement and since most of us will have plenty of time until we retire and begin accessing our superannuation, it is important to block out as much of the noise as possible and focus on how we are doing over the long term.' Top 10 performing growth funds Here were the top 10 performing growth funds, according to Chant West. Legal Super MySuper Balance 12.9 per cent Vanguard Super SaveSmart Growth 11.8 per cent CFS FirstChoice Growth 11.2 per cent Australian Retirement Trust Balanced 11.2 per cent NGS Super Diversified (MySuper) 11.2 per cent smartMonday Balanced Growth 11.1 per cent AMP Future Directions Balanced 11 per cent UniSuper Growth 11 per cent Award Super Balanced 10.9 per cent Brighter Super MySuper 10.9 per cent Looking at longer-term returns, here were the top 10 growth funds for the 10 years to June 30, 2025. Hostplus Balanced 8.3 per cent Australian Retirement Trust Balanced 8.2 per cent AustralianSuper Balanced 8 per cent UniSuper Balanced 7.9 per cent Cbus Growth (MySuper) 7.7 per cent Vision Super Balanced Growth 7.7 per cent HESTA Balanced Growth 7.6 per cent Legal Super MySuper Balanced 7.6 per cent Aware Super Balanced 7.6 per cent CareSuper Balanced 7.4 per centError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
News.com.au
17-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Acting like they're on parole': Proof Aussies are straight-up paranoid at tax time
Aussies love to chew the fat over just about anything, except if it is about their tax returns, apparently. From July 1, Australians can start lodging their tax returns for the financial year from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. This is a shock to approximately no one, as that is how the financial year works. However, when hit the streets of Sydney's CBD to find out if Aussies were clamouring to submit their returns or putting it off, the vibe was off. People acted less like we were asking if they had submitted returns, which is something pretty much anyone who earned money in the last 12 months needs to do, and more like we were asking them to admit to a crime on camera. Some were happy to stop and chat, but as soon as the word 'tax' was dropped, they immediately fled, one man even broke into a jog. Is anything worth jogging over? Keep in mind, we weren't chasing, I said, 'no worries have a good day!' At one point, the Gen Z cameraman I was with pointed out that everyone was straight-up 'acting like they're on parole'. Aussies were acting suspiciously, and there was a lot of nervous laughter. Finding out if people had lodged their returns yet felt as taboo as asking a Boomer how much money they earn. The response was nothing short of cagey and borderline paranoid. We spent over three hours approaching people and got five people to agree to be on camera, with the rest seeming genuinely terrified at the prospect. The most amusing part was that the people who did stop to chat certainly didn't say anything controversial. When asked one woman in a fancy scarf if she had gotten around to doing her tax return, she said she was on top of things. 'I have, yes,' she said. The woman then explained that she was happy with what she got back, but it would be going towards something pretty boring. 'Cost of living expenses and paying off a number of debts' she explained. Similarly, another woman who had already completed her tax return said she was planning to funnel what she has received back into her savings. 'Saving for a house and marriage. All that good stuff,' she said. She did add that she used to have way more fun with her tax returns. 'Not one cent went into savings. It went straight into shopping,' she said. Meanwhile a man in a trendy blazer admitted he was less on the ball. 'Definitely have not done it yet,' he said. When he does get around to doing it, though, he certainly doesn't have big plans for the tax return. 'I'm not much of a spender so I'll probably save it,' he said. Although he did add, 'I have a partner that likes to spend.' Another man said he was in 'the middle of doing' his taxes right now and the 'vast majority' would be going back into his savings. A tradie that filmed us chatting to him for his Snapchat story admitted he hadn't gotten around to it yet either. 'I haven't,' he said. Accountant Linda Mirams told that she's unsurprised that we got a frosty reception roaming the streets of Sydney. 'It is so much to comprehend and that is why people get nervous,' she said. Ms Mirams argued that people get nervous around tax time because there's not enough education around it. 'Most ordinary people don't have any idea about the basic tax system. It is crazy,' she said. 'There's also so much publicity and hype around audits.' The accountant advised that Aussies shouldn't worry so much, as long as they're not actively trying to deceive the tax office, any issues can usually be sorted. 'If you're way outside the norm, which is when you get flagged. There's so many little tricks around how you're allowed to claim stuff,' she said. 'If you do get flagged there are two parts. Firstly the ATO will go 'you're outside the norm' and you've got 28 days to respond.' Ms Mirams said as long as you can justify the expenses, then you're fine, and she stressed that there's a 'review process' and it isn't a witch hunt. 'You're not out having coffee and next minute you're audited and then being dragged away by the police,' she promised. The accountant said that, even if you make a mistake on your tax return and the ATO flags it, you don't need to panic. 'People think 'oh my God', but if we put everyone in jail that has a tax debt half the country would be in prison,' she said. Ms Mirams said that often, when you make a mistake, the ATO adjusts the outcome, and you pay back any shortfall. If you can't afford the bill, you can then go on a payment plan.
SBS Australia
15-07-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
DIY or Hire a Tax Agent?: A Guide to filing your tax return in Australia
A financial year or tax year in Australia usually runs from July 1 to June 30, and you must file your tax return before October 31. You can file online using the myGov portal linked to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or seek help from a registered Tax Agent. Tax agents recommend ensuring that the expenses you claim are directly related to your work and supported by receipts or other proof for your deductions. Pakinggan ang Podcast SBS Filipino 15/07/2025 08:31 Filipino 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tax warning as Aussies boast about $4,000 refunds: 'Paid the wrong tax'
An experienced chartered accountant has revealed why you shouldn't "celebrate" getting a huge tax refund. The start of the new financial year can mean you receive hundreds or even thousands of dollars back from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as a refund. A poll of more than 6,700 Yahoo Finance readers found 45 per cent will be relying on this cash boost to pay for essential bills. But Two Sides Accounting's Natalie Lennon told Yahoo Finance you shouldn't be expecting much back at all if your affairs are fairly straightforward. "I think everyone got used to the past couple of years when they were getting quite a bit back, whereas if you do get a large tax refund, it usually means you've paid the wrong tax throughout the year," she said. RELATED ATO $1,519 cash boost heading for Aussies in weeks NAB, ANZ slash interest rates as lenders move despite RBA cash rate hold: 'Not a coincidence' ATO tax return warning for 2 million Aussies over dangerous act The government ended the low and middle-income tax offset in 2023, and many might not be able to claim work-from-home deductions if they've been forced back into the office. Those are just some of the reasons why your refund might look different from years gone by. But that hasn't changed the hype surrounding tax time. People have been flooding social media with videos showing what the ATO has estimated they might receive once their tax return has been assessed, which is based on limited of the clips show individuals set for tax refunds of more than $4,000. Equally, there have been people posting screenshots showing they're only expected to receive a measly $6 or even less. Lennon told Yahoo Finance that refunds were fairly common in Australia's tax system, but explained having a big tax refund "is not really something to celebrate". She said that's because you could have had more money in your pocket throughout the year if you were taxed correctly, which you could have put towards essentials, savings, investments, or treats. This was backed up by UNSW Associate Professor Ann Kayis-Kumar. 'It might sound counterintuitive but getting a tax refund isn't necessarily a good thing, it means the ATO has been holding onto your money over the year," she said. "On the other hand, needing to pay the ATO money isn't necessarily a bad thing — it means you're earning more money than most other Australians." More than 14 million people lodged a tax return last year, according to H&R Block, and approximately 10 million of them received a refund. Finder research revealed the average refund anticipated is $1,519. About 52 per cent of people will be putting this extra cash into their savings, while 19 per cent will use it to pay off household bills. Fresh ATO data from the 2022-23 tax season showed Aussies claimed an average of $2,739 in work-related expenses, which was the highest average in at least a decade and was higher than the average amount claimed during the pandemic. But many Aussies aren't sure what they can and can't claim at tax time. Xero research discovered that while 58 per cent of Aussies made purchases in the previous financial year with the intention of claiming them as personal tax deductions, more than half (51 per cent) also admitted they were confused about deduction rules. Two of the biggest areas of confusion centred around claiming car, transport and travel expenses claims (21 per cent), and working from home costs (21 per cent). Almost one in five said they had previously tried to claim a deduction they weren't sure was actually eligible, and 21 per cent discovered the item they had purchased was ineligible only after submitting their tax return. If you are confused about certain deductions, you can read from experts and Yahoo Finance contributors Ben Nash and Mark Chapman about some of the most forgotten and most popular deductions, depending on your profession. Despite millions expecting to have a refund hit their accounts in the next few weeks, there could be a sizeable group who will be hit with a bill instead. The Sharing Economy Reporting Regime has been expanded, and it means any company you make money from, be it Airtasker, Doordash, or YouTube, will report that income to the ATO. Prior to this, you usually had to self-report these extra income streams, however, now it will all come pre-filled on your tax return. "These rules apply to a broad range of services, not just the most well-known," CPA Australia tax lead Jenny Wong said. "If you use a website to rent out a car parking space or your designer handbag, this income will be recorded, and you'll need to pay tax.' These extra income streams could push you into a higher tax bracket, or it could see that refund you were expecting morph into a debt. Wong predicted influencers and OnlyFans content creators could be in for the biggest tax bills because of the enormous amount of money they can make. These creators have been reminded that they have to declare any gifts or gratuities they received been July 1 to June 30 as a form of payment. You have to start paying tax on anything earned over $18,200.
