The Aevum Accounting Podcast

You may have read that the Treasurer dropped the trust tax. He didn't.What happened on 3 September is that the draft legislation landed, and with it a new way to stay out of the tax without restructuring. The 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts still starts on 1 July 2028, and it's the last of the big Budget measures still to pass.Mia and Leo are joined by tax strategist Harvey Green, who fronted our Budget night episode and starts by correcting his own advice from May.In this episode, we cover:How It Works: The trustee pays 30% on the trust's taxable income before it goes anywhere. Beneficiaries still declare their share and get a credit — but it's non-refundable. Already on 30% or more? Very little changes. Streaming income to someone on a low rate? The difference is simply gone.Bucket Companies: Company beneficiaries get no credit at all. $100 of trust profit loses $30 at the trust, then the company is taxed on its full share again. Treasury designed it that way on purpose.Bendel, Briefly: June's High Court decision said an unpaid entitlement owed to a bucket company isn't a Division 7A loan. The government says it will legislate on unpaid entitlements separately, so that door is closing.Path One — Do Nothing: If everyone you distribute to is already on 30% or more and there's no bucket company, it costs you close to nothing. Treasury reckons roughly half of all discretionary trusts won't pay more in a given year — do the sum to know you're in that half.Path Two — Elect Fixed Distributions: The new option, and the reason for the "dropped it" headlines. Nominate beneficiaries with fixed percentages adding to 100%, and the trust is treated like a fixed trust with no minimum tax. Nothing transfers, so no stamp duty, and a bucket company can be nominated. But it's one-shot — it must be made in 2028–29 or never — you give up all discretion, percentages only change on death or separation, and breaking it revokes it permanently and taxes that whole year at the top rate plus Medicare.Path Three — Restructure: A rollover window from 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2030, now open to any discretionary trust of any size — broader than we said on Budget night. All assets, one transferee, four-year clawback. And no stamp duty relief, which is the whole problem for land-rich trusts.Who's Out: Super funds, fixed trusts, special disability trusts, deceased estates and charitable trusts. Genuine testamentary trusts. Primary production income — it's the income that's excluded, not the farming trust, so rent and interest are still caught. Vulnerable-minor income. Anything paid to a registered charity or DGR. And wages: if a family member does real work in the business, pay them a real wage, as Treasury itself suggested.Four things to do this month: model what the minimum tax would have cost you last year, get the trust deed out and read it, price the stamp duty on a restructure if you hold land, and clean up what your bucket company is owed.And one thing not to do: don't restructure on a draft. The law isn't final and the rollover window doesn't open until 1 July 2027.Already an Aevum Accounting client? You don't need to chase this. If and when it becomes law, the team will be contacting every client with a trust to book a meeting and go through the options properly.Not a client yet? Visit aevumaccounting.com.au to book a session and have your trust modelled under all three paths.Shoutout: A massive thank you to James for the fantastic 5-star review!Important Disclaimer: The information shared in this episode and description is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute specific tax or financial advice. Everyone's situation is unique, and tax laws are complex. For personalized advice tailored to your specific situation, we always recommend consulting with a qualified professional at Aevum Accounting.

Payday Super went live on 1 July. Two months in, the pattern of what's going wrong is clear — and it's rarely what employers expected.Almost everyone gets this backwards: it isn't a cost increase. The rate is still 12%, the same people qualify, and for most employers the amount is identical to last year. What changed is the timing. And the timing is what's catching people.Mia and Leo are joined by tax strategist Harvey Green for the practical version. We previewed this in Episode 33; this is what it feels like to actually run payroll under it.In this episode, we cover:"Received", Not "Sent": The contribution has to land in the employee's fund within 7 business days of payday, with enough information to allocate it. Your clearing house's processing time is now your problem.The Business Day Trap: A business day excludes any day that's a public holiday for the whole of any state or territory. A Northern Territory holiday removes a business day for the entire country — but a part-state holiday like the Royal Hobart Show doesn't. You can't just count weekdays.The Clearing House Is Gone: The ATO's Small Business Superannuation Clearing House shut entirely on 1 July. It was free and widely used, and if you hadn't replaced it before your first July pay run, you've had a rough two months. Easily the most common problem we've seen.Qualifying Earnings Isn't the Bogeyman: New term, but the ATO is explicit that for most employers it doesn't change the amount. The only real addition is commissions for work done entirely outside ordinary hours.The Cash Flow Half Nobody Mentions: Under quarterly super you always held money that was owed but not yet due, and plenty of businesses were quietly using it as working capital. That buffer is gone. Same annual cost, no rolling balance.The Rebuilt Super Guarantee Charge: You no longer self-assess it — the ATO does, from your Single Touch Payroll data every pay run. Interest compounds daily. There's an administrative uplift that shrinks if you disclose voluntarily. And for the first time, the charge is tax deductible. Penalties actually fell too — from up to 200% down to 25% or 50%.When You Get More Than 7 Days: Twenty business days for a new employee's first contribution, and out-of-cycle payments like a Christmas bonus ride along with the next regular payday.Funds Now Have 3 Days, Not 20: To allocate or return a contribution. Errors surface far faster, so your employee data quality matters more than it used to.Contractors Just Got Riskier: The rule hasn't changed — contractors paid mainly for their labour are employees for super purposes. But with per-pay-run reporting, a long-standing misclassification is a much shorter fuse.Four things to check this week: whether contributions are actually arriving in seven days, what replaced your clearing house, whether you pay out-of-hours commissions, and how clean your employee data is.And if you've already missed some, come forward. Voluntary disclosure reduces the uplift and the charge is deductible now. The worst version is being found by a system that watches every pay run.Connect with Aevum Accounting: Not sure your contributions are landing on time? Visit aevumaccounting.com.au to book a session with the expert team today.Shoutout: A massive thank you to Vikaash for the fantastic 5-star review!Important Disclaimer: The information shared in this episode and description is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute specific tax or financial advice. Everyone's situation is unique, and tax laws are complex. For personalized advice tailored to your specific situation, we always recommend consulting with a qualified professional at Aevum Accounting.

Three different things, one confusing name. The Medicare levy, the Medicare levy surcharge, and private health insurance all interact — and getting them mixed up is quietly costing people thousands.In this episode, Mia and Leo separate them properly: who actually pays, who's exempt, what kind of cover gets you out of the surcharge, and the policies that look like the real thing but do nothing at all.We lead with the 2025-26 figures, because that's the return most people are lodging right now, and flag the 1 July increases as we go.In this episode, we cover:The Levy vs the Surcharge: The levy is 2% and almost everyone entitled to Medicare pays it. The surcharge is a separate charge, on top, only for higher earners without hospital cover. Same name, different rules.Who's Exempt: Serving defence force members entitled to full free medical treatment, and DVA Gold Card holders — full exemption if the whole family is in the same position, half if a spouse or dependants still use Medicare. Worth checking, because we see people who've paid it for years.Visa Holders and the Statement: If you're not entitled to Medicare, you may be exempt — but you need a Medicare Entitlement Statement from Services Australia, and you need to hold it when you lodge.The Nationality Trap: Australia has reciprocal agreements with eleven countries, including the UK, Ireland and New Zealand. Those citizens do get Medicare access, so they generally can't claim exemption. Two people on the same visa, doing the same job, get different answers based on their passport.The Surcharge Tiers: For 2025-26, singles start at $101,001 and families at $202,001, rising through 1%, 1.25% and 1.5%. From 1 July 2026 those become $105,001 and $210,001.A Cliff, Not a Slope: At $118,000 the surcharge is $1,180. At $118,001 it's about $1,481 — because the higher rate applies to your whole income. One dollar costs roughly $301.Extras Doesn't Count: Only hospital cover exempts you. People pay for private health insurance every month and still pay the surcharge, because their policy is extras-only.Your Excess Is Capped: To exempt you, the yearly excess can't exceed $750 for a single or $1,500 for a family. Sort a comparison site by cheapest and you'll often land on a policy that doesn't do the one job you bought it for.Suspending Counts as Uncovered: Suspend your cover while you're overseas and you'll pay the surcharge for every suspended day.Overseas Visitors Cover Doesn't Work: It's not a complying policy. No surcharge exemption, no rebate. If you're liable, you need a complying Australian policy in addition to the overseas cover, not instead of it.Do the Sum Properly: Compare the surcharge against the premium after the rebate, not the sticker price — a $1,200 policy is closer to $911 for most people under 65.The Clock Before You Turn 31: Lifetime Health Cover loading adds 2% for every year you wait past 30, capped at 70%. And the rebate doesn't apply to the loading, so it stings more than it looks. Ten continuous years of cover and it comes off.Most of this is checkable in an afternoon, and if it's wrong this year it's probably been wrong for a few. Amendments are often available.Connect with Aevum Accounting: Not sure which of these applies to you? Visit aevumaccounting.com.au to book a session with the expert team today.Shoutout: A massive thank you to Zoe for the fantastic 5-star review!Important Disclaimer: The information shared in this episode and description is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute specific tax or financial advice. We are not insurance advisers. Everyone's situation is unique, and tax laws are complex. For personalized advice tailored to your specific situation, we always recommend consulting with a qualified professional at Aevum Accounting.

You lodged. You were assessed. You paid. And then a second bill turns up with a number on it you weren't expecting. That's Division 293, and it's probably the most misunderstood assessment the ATO issues.In this episode, Mia and Leo are joined by tax strategist Harvey Green to unpack who it catches, how it's actually calculated, and the two payment traps that cost people real money. It's the companion piece to Episode 53 — same super system, completely different tax.In this episode, we cover:It's Not Division 296: Easy to confuse. Division 296 is the $3 million super tax from Episode 53. Division 293 is triggered by your income, not your balance — and you can end up paying both.$250,000, and It Hasn't Moved Since 2017: Nine years, with no indexation mechanism in the legislation at all. Not paused — simply absent. So every year of wage growth pulls in people who don't think of themselves as high earners.It's Not Your Salary: Division 293 income is broader — taxable income plus reportable fringe benefits plus net investment losses plus the concessional contributions themselves. Which means a negatively geared property can reduce your taxable income and still push you over this line.The "Lesser Of" Rule: The extra 15% applies to the lesser of the amount you went over by, or your contributions. The ATO's own example: $240,000 income and $15,000 of contributions produces a bill of $750, not $2,250. Crossing the line by a little costs you a little.The Ceiling: The concessional cap rose to $32,500 on 1 July 2026, so the most anyone pays this year is $4,875. A bigger cap is a small win and a small sting at once.The One Unusual Year: A redundancy, a big bonus or a property sale can lift a single year over the line. Our worked example: someone on $200,000 who receives a $60,000 redundancy ends up with $4,500 of Division 293 tax in the year they lost their job.Trap One — the 60 Days: You get 60 days to elect to pay from super. That does not extend the due date on the assessment. People hear "60 days to pay" and start accruing interest.Trap Two — the Release Authority: If you have an SMSF and pay before the ATO issues the release authority, that isn't a Division 293 payment. It's illegal early access to super, with the penalties attached. The organised trustee is the one who gets caught.The Debt You Might Not Know About: If your Division 293 relates to a defined benefit interest, you don't pay now — the ATO holds it in a debt account that accrues interest until your benefit is released. Common in older public sector, military, judicial and university schemes.But Don't Stop Contributing: 30% still beats 47%. On the full $32,500 cap you're about $5,525 better off through super than taking it as salary. Division 293 reduces the benefit; it doesn't remove it.The letter is unsettling, but it's rarely wrong and it's almost always predictable in advance. Knowing which side of the line you're on beats finding out by post.Connect with Aevum Accounting: Not sure whether this is coming for you? Visit aevumaccounting.com.au to book a session with the expert team today.Shoutout: A massive thank you to Katrina for the fantastic 5-star review!Important Disclaimer: The information shared in this episode and description is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute specific tax or financial advice. Everyone's situation is unique, and tax laws are complex. For personalized advice tailored to your specific situation, we always recommend consulting with a qualified professional at Aevum Accounting.

You've seen the headline: a $1,000 instant tax deduction, no receipts required. What almost nobody tells you is what it's actually worth in your pocket — and the answer is closer to $200 than $1,000.In this episode, Mia and Leo cut through the noise on the new standard deduction for work-related expenses. It's now law, it starts with the 2026-27 return, and it will genuinely help millions of Australians. But it also comes with a record-keeping trap that could cost you far more than it gives you.In this episode, we cover:It's Law, Not a Proposal: It passed both houses on 25 June 2026 and received Royal Assent the next day. A lot of the coverage online still says "draft" or "proposed" because it was written before then — check the date on what you're reading.Not This Year: It first applies to the 2026-27 return, which you'll lodge from July 2027. It does not apply to the return you're lodging right now.What It's Actually Worth: A deduction reduces your taxable income, not your tax bill. So $1,000 is worth about $170 at the lowest rate, $320 in the middle, and $470 at the top. Treasury's own estimate of the average benefit is $205.A Floor, Not a Bonus: It's applied automatically, and it's reduced by whatever work-related expenses you actually claim. Claim $400 and your standard deduction drops to $600 — you land on $1,000 either way.Sarah and Dan: An office worker with $200 of expenses ends up around $250 better off and never thinks about it again. An electrician with $2,500 of tools and gear gains nothing at all — and goes backwards if he starts binning receipts.The Trap Worth Knowing: If you claim even a dollar over $1,000, you need records for the whole amount, not just the part above $1,000. There is no free first thousand you don't have to prove.Should You Stop Keeping Receipts? No — and that's the ATO's own advice. Unexpected costs can push you over the line without you noticing, and by then it's too late to go back and collect them.Who Misses Out: It applies to salary and wages and similar labour income. It does not apply to business income or dividend income, so sole traders and investors are outside it entirely.The Union Fees Quirk: Union fees and professional association memberships don't reduce your standard deduction — so you claim them separately and keep the full $1,000 on top. The one receipt worth chasing even if everything else is under the line.Who This Really Changes Things For: If your work expenses sit consistently under $1,000, this is a genuine simplification. If you're a tradie, nurse or agent, you're likely well past the line already and nothing much changes.The Rate Cut Alongside It: The second bracket dropped from 16% to 15% from 1 July 2026, and drops again to 14% from 1 July 2027 — that one turns up in your pay, not your refund.$1,000 sounds like a lot. $200 in your pocket is the honest version. It's still worth having — it just helps to know which number you're dealing with.Connect with Aevum Accounting: Not sure whether you're above or below the line? Visit aevumaccounting.com.au to book a session with the expert team today.Shoutout: A massive thank you to Pat for the fantastic 5-star review!Important Disclaimer: The information shared in this episode and description is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute specific tax or financial advice. Everyone's situation is unique, and tax laws are complex. For personalized advice tailored to your specific situation, we always recommend consulting with a qualified professional at Aevum Accounting.