Allied Health Professionals
As an Allied Health Professional (e.g. psychologists, physiotherapists, pharmacists, medical radiation practitioners, chiropractors podiatrists, optometrists, speech pathologist, osteopaths, etc.) you are effectively running your own small business and there are important matters you have to deal with. It is also worth noting that there are onerous penalties for getting things wrong or leaving them too late. Our experts can talk you through the options available to suit your specific circumstances.
Your specific circumstances and financial affairs are unique to you and there are various options open to you. There are tax implications regarding the financial decisions you make so you should seek specialist advice in order to ensure the decisions you make are well informed. Often Locums obtain what we refer to as ‘gin & tonic’ advice from their ‘friends/colleagues. Please note that setting up a limited company is not necessarily the best option available to you and there are numerous factors to consider.
In brief, our specialist medical accountants can:
- Offer guidance surrounding which legal structure is the most tax efficient for your personal circumstances
- Deliver tax planning support to minimise tax liabilities while ensuring full compliance with statutory duties
- Assist with the lodgements of Tax Returns, Business Activity Statements, Fringe Benefits Returns and Single Touch Payroll & Superannuation compliance
- Deliver a responsive and proactive service to ensure you can make informed financial decisions
- Prepare comprehensive financial statements which meet all ATO and national accounting guidelines in a timely manner!
- Hold annual and/or quarterly financial meetings to ensure you understand your accounts
- Offer on-going FREE telephone support as part of our fixed fee; and
- Assist with the investment planning, pension annuities and securing property financing
There are countless expenses which the General Practitioners can claim so we provide clients with a simple yet detailed checklist and ongoing advice to ensure that all allowable expenses are claimed; which includes
- Work related travel or motor-vehicle expenses
- Staff Expenses (if any) and their superannuation contribution
- Protective clothing and equipment
- Professional registration fees
- Professional indemnity insurance and work-cover
- AHPRA or other medical professional association membership fees
- Medical equipment
- Insurance for equipment
- Conferences and professional development
- Travel and accommodation expenses related to professional conferences
- Mobile phone, computer and other IT equipment
- Professional journals
- Reference books – professional library; and
- Personal superannuation contributions
Under s 8-1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA), an expense is deductible to the extent that it is:
- incurred in gaining or producing assessable income or
- necessarily incurred in carrying on a business for the purpose of gaining or producing assessable income
AND it satisfies the following tests:
- it is not capital in nature
- it is not private or domestic in nature
- it is not incurred in gaining or producing exempt income, and
- a provision of the ITAA does not prevent it from being deductible
Protection against the increased frequency and cost of tax audits is now essential and as such we offer a service to safeguard General Practitioners from the potential significant costs of any such investigation. While additional tax liabilities are an issue, equally important are the professional fees which could be incurred, should there be a dispute with the tax authorities. We therefore recommend all our clients take advantage of our Tax Audit Insurance, which covers professional fees incurred in handling a tax dispute with ATO.