SMH Accountants & Advisors

$1,820. That's the maximum penalty for lodging late in 2026 — and it's higher than it used to be. 📈

What waiting on your tax return actually costs:

Failure-to-lodge penalty: $364 for every 28 days overdue, capped at $1,820
General interest charge on any tax debt: 11.43% p.a., compounding daily
That interest is no longer tax-deductible — changed from 1 July 2025, so it's a straight cost now
E-lodged returns are typically processed within about 2 weeks, so lodging now means your refund lands sooner too

There's no upside to waiting until October. Only a bigger number.

📞 Book your tax return this week. Link in bio.



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The $20,000 instant asset write-off business owners have relied on could be about to shrink dramatically, and a lot of people haven't clocked it yet.

Under current law, from 1 July it drops from $20,000 down to just $1,000 per asset. That means most equipment purchases would need to be depreciated gradually over several years, rather than claimed upfront, unless the government's proposal to make the $20,000 threshold permanent actually passes. Right now, it hasn't.

If you're planning a big equipment purchase and banking on an instant deduction, your cash flow and your tax bill could end up looking very different to what you expected.

We're already helping clients time their purchases around this, so there are no surprises when it counts.

DM "STRUCTURE" and we'll help you plan your next purchase the smart way.

📞 03 9969 1247
🌐 smhaccountants.com.au



Instant asset write-off, small business tax deduction, equipment depreciation, ATO asset threshold, business tax planning, cash flow tax planning, SMH Accountants

Thinking about redrawing on your investment loan for something personal? It could quietly cost you thousands down the track.

The ATO looks at what a redraw is actually used for. The moment you spend it on something personal, that portion of the interest stops being tax deductible, even if it's coming out of the same loan you use for your investment.

This is what's known as a mixed-purpose loan, and the ATO is actively matching bank data against what investors are claiming.

Here's the part most people don't realise: one personal redraw on a large loan can shrink your deduction for years, not just for that one transaction. And refinancing doesn't undo it either.

The smarter move is talking to us before you redraw, not after.

DM "AUDIT" and we'll check your loan structure first.

📞 03 9969 1247
🌐 smhaccountants.com.au



Mixed-purpose loan, investment loan redraw, interest deductibility, property investor tax, ATO data matching, loan structure advice, SMH Accountants

Made a bit of extra money this year driving rideshare, renting out a room, or selling online? There's a good chance the ATO already knows about it.

Rideshare and short-stay platforms have been reporting data straight to the ATO since 2023, with food delivery and online marketplaces added in 2024. And if you're trading for profit, there's no minimum threshold to worry about — it all needs to be declared.

The upside: most of the costs involved in earning that income are deductible too, things like fuel, platform fees, or a portion of your car or home office running costs.

Leave it off your return, though, and it's rarely a question of if the ATO notices — just when. And penalties tend to follow.

We'll help you report it correctly the first time, so there are no surprises later.

DM "REVIEW" and let's get your side income sorted properly.

📞 03 9969 1247
🌐 smhaccountants.com.au



Side income tax, rideshare tax ATO, short-stay income declaration, online selling tax, gig economy reporting, ATO data matching, SMH Accountants

The working-from-home shortcut everyone used to rely on doesn't fly anymore.

The ATO now expects a genuine, full-year record of your hours, not a guess from memory in June.

Get the records right and 70 cents an hour adds up fast. Get them wrong, and the ATO can knock out the whole claim, not just trim it.

DM “DEDUCTIONS” and we'll work out which method - fixed rate or actual cost — actually gets you the better outcome.

📞 03 9969 1247
🌐 smhaccountants.com.au



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The ATO's system compares your return against your employer's payroll data, your bank's interest
reports, and industry benchmarks — automatically, before a human ever looks at it.

Most flags aren't fraud. They're mismatches, over-claiming without records, or numbers that just look
unusual for your industry.

But they can still mean a delayed refund or a letter you didn't want.

DM “READY” and we'll check everything lines up before you lodge.

📞 03 9969 1247
🌐 smhaccountants.com.au