With end of financial year fast approaching there a few changes to be aware of when preparing your 2023 individual tax returns.
- Removal of self-education expenses threshold
The $250 non-deductible threshold for self-education expenses has been removed for the 2022-2023 financial year. The ATO has advised that appropriate records of any deductible self-education expense claimed will need to be kept by the individual.
- Revised fixed rate method for those working from home
With the temporary COVID shortcut method no longer available, individuals are now able to choose to use the revised fixed rate method or the actual costs method.
The fixed rate method has been updated to a rate of 67 cents per hour worked from home. The ATO has noted that this change could increase the rate per work hour that is claimed by an individual when they work from home without having to fulfill the same requirement as the actual cost method to have a home office set aside for work.
The ATO has stated that if individuals choose not to use the revised fixed rate method they must use the actual costs method in calculating a working from home deduction.
Further details about this method can be found in our previous article.
- The end of the low and middle-income tax offset
Individuals should expect to receive a lower refund than prior years as the low and middle-income tax offset as we know it comes to an end. It is important to note that the low-income offset is still available to individual taxpayers with a taxable income of $66,667 or less. The maximum offset available could be up to $700 for low-income individuals.
Please reach out if you have any questions on how these changes will affect your tax return.
