讨论2008报税中的几个问题

四天晒网

花了两个小时把2008的TaxPack读了一遍，花了一个小时装上E-Tax大概做了一下，然后又花了一个小时在FReeoz把罗会计和其他网友的相关报税帖子读了一遍，有一下几个问题，想和大家探讨（注：所讨论问题均为最初级的简单税务家庭，DIOK－DOUBLE INCOME ONE KID，不适合什么ABN之类的朋友）.

1. 关于来澳探亲的父母可不可以作为dependants who are maintained by you以便做tax 的offset。

罗大侠置顶的长贴里在大约地四页有谈到这个问题，但答案也不是很明确，包括他说业界很多会计都不同意做这个offset。问题的关键在于：如果父母过来是以探亲的名义，也就是说，他们所持的签证是访问/旅游签证的话，他们是不是不符合Australian resident的要求。

E-tax的help文件里面解释如下：
You cannot claim a tax offset if your dependant did not reside in Australia or was only visiting you during a holiday in Australia.

而2008 TaxPack里面的说法则是（P71）：
A dependant needs to be an Australian resident for tax purposes.

比较有意思的是，在对于“Are you an Australian resident?”的解释上，E-tax的help文件里面有个很有趣的说法（见红色文字）：

The standards the Tax Office uses to determine your residency status are not the same as those used by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship or Centrelink.

Generally, the Tax Office considers you to be an Australian resident for tax purposes if:

● you have always lived in Australia or you have come to Australia and live here permanently
● you have been in Australia continuously for six months or more and for most of that time you worked in the one job and lived at the same place, or
● you have been in Australia for more than half of the income year 2007-08 – unless your usual home is overseas and you do not intend to live in Australia.

If you go overseas temporarily and you do not set up a permanent home in another country, we may continue to treat you as an Australian resident for tax purposes.

Overseas students who come to Australia to study and are enrolled in a course that is more than six months long are generally treated as Australian residents for tax purposes.

在上述这些官方解释中，没有很明确地提出象我们父母这样持探亲签证一住就是将近一年的情况。它提到了“only visiting you during a holiday in Australia”，但这个“during a holiday”怎么理解呢？从“the Department of Immigration”的角度讲，父母不是resident,是visitor。但E-tax里又说“The standards the Tax Office uses to determine your residency status are not the same as those used by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship or Centrelink.”。同时，对于持学生签证（非PR）呆够半年的人，他们又“generally treated as Australian residents for tax purposes.”。也就是说，如果是持学生签证呆够半年而又符合做我的dependent的人，就可以从我的税务里面做一个offset。

所以，其实在对于探亲父母是否可以做tax offset的问题上，确实有漏洞可以钻。但个人以为，还是不做的好。



2. 关于自己在上个财年自己交了1000块的Super Co-contribution到super账户的问题。

E-tax的help文件里面解释如下：

Super Co-contribution

You may be entitled to the Super Co-contribution of up to $1,500 a year for personal superannuation contributions that you made during the income year that you do not claim as a tax deduction. The Government will pay $1.50 for every $1 you contribute, up to a maximum co-contribution of $1,500 a year. Any contributions received by your superannuation fund after the end of the income year can only be taken into account in relation to the next year.

The maximum co-contribution applies if your total income is $28,980 or less. (Your total income is your assessable income plus reportable fringe benefits shown at item 10). If you have income from carrying on a business, your business expenses are deducted from your total income for working out the amount of the co-contribution. The maximum co-contribution you could receive is reduced if your total income is above $28,980 (the lower income threshold).

To receive a co-contribution your total income (that is, your assessable income plus reportable fringe benefits) must be less than the higher income threshold, currently $58,980. You must also earn 10% or more of your total income from employment, carrying on a business or a combination of both. Some other eligibility conditions apply and more information is available on www.ato.gov.au/super or by phoning the Superannuation Infoline on 13 10 20.

We will use the information on your income tax return and contributions information we receive from your superannuation fund or RSA provider to work out whether you are eligible in any year. If you are, we will automatically calculate the co-contribution amount and deposit it into your superannuation account. You must not report the personal contributions you want to have matched for a co-contribution at this item. Show only contributions for which you are claiming a deduction.

The Super Co-contribution will generally be paid directly into the superannuation account to which you made your personal superannuation contribution, providing that fund will accept the co-contribution.

If you wish to have your co-contribution paid into a particular superannuation fund, you can complete a superannuation fund nomination form which is available on www.ato.gov.au/super or by phoning the Superannuation Infoline on 13 10 20.

也就是说，在Item D12 Personal superannuation contributions中，如果你想要政府给你的那些super Co-contribution，就不要在这一项里面申请这1000块的deduction。

我的理解对吗？


3. Credit Card 的年费可以算做 Account manangement Fee来deduct吗？

4. 工作相关花费deduction部分，如果超过300就需要提供书面证据（发票）。

   比如：Laundry＝150
         other WORKING RELATIVE EXPENSE＝300
         去年找会计师退税＝70

那么是不是说这三部分的费用都需要保留发票？





欢迎各位高手发表见解！谢谢。

憬憬

1.不可以。确实有空可以钻。我觉得这就是澳洲税法的好处，可以argue，乐趣无穷。正好碰见论坛里有tx也问到了关于australian resident for tax purpose,有时间明天详解。
2.需要在此申报。政府根据你在income tax return里面的申报以及你的super fund提供的信息来给你co-contribution
3.不可以。因为credit card没有给你产生银行利息收入。
4.是的。澳洲税法另一个好处——一切靠自觉。你报了超过300块，没收据，ATO也99%不会跟你要收据的！ ，除非你不巧是他们今后五年当中的审计对象～

[ 本帖最后由 憬憬 于 29-7-2008 23:38 编辑 ]