POTN Aussie club # 10..'The Shame'

Nice one Andrew!!! Have fun with all that. I got a smaller delivery of similar film a few months back.

I however just went out and got one of these yesterday!

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Nice wheels Phibo, is this an upgrade or a new hobby?

Soo.. any tax experts here? About to buy a 5D II - would I be able to claim that on tax even if I haven't made that much money from photography in the past year?

Collin85 wrote in post #11812939
Soo.. any tax experts here? About to buy a 5D II - would I be able to claim that on tax even if I haven't made that much money from photography in the past year?

Unless it is your only source of income, it will be classed as a hobby and the govt won't care about the income nor the ability to claim tax on gear to make that income

Do you use it for work?

I always wondered if you buy it just before the end of financial year and use it only for work in those last few weeks weather you can claim 100% (total write off not depreciation)

Obviously this must go along with a genuine need for work.

I have claimed a percentage of my photo stuff on tax because I use it for work to take photos of wetlands and soil profiles etc.

Collin85 wrote in post #11812939
Soo.. any tax experts here? About to buy a 5D II - would I be able to claim that on tax even if I haven't made that much money from photography in the past year?

I haven't claimed on any of my gear. When your lens does its silky smooth thing and the body grabs the image and you've just obtained a superb photo, does the money really matter?

Okay, I may be hosed for this, but having the right gear at the right time, isn't that the important thing?

Since we no longer have a two cent piece, my five cents worth

C:\>

srowlandson wrote in post #11812987
Unless it is your only source of income, it will be classed as a hobby and the govt won't care about the income nor the ability to claim tax on gear to make that income

No this is not exactly true. The rule is whether you have a profit making intention or not

Irrespective of how much you make, if you provide services with the intention of charging market price for profit, then it is a business

If you provide services, but only to cover costs, or only for a small nominal fee, then it is a hobby

The difficulty is proving it is a profit making intention if you only make $1000 but charge $2000 depreciation (for example). Whilst a loss does not mean it is not a profit making intention (a business), it is harder to justify if you get audited

In regards to claiming tax refunds on your photographic equipment - I was told by an accountant that you must earn a minimum of 20K p.a. before you can start depreciating equipment on your tax claim. You are free to claim GST on equipment purchases if it as a second job but till you reach the minimum income level you are limited as to what you can claim. Not sure how accurate that is - would obviously be best to call the ATO and clarify this.

mcminty wrote in post #11811320
I love the brown UPS van...

UPS actually come to you? Around here, they pass off to Aus Post for the last mile.

smorter wrote in post #11813654
No this is not exactly true. The rule is whether you have a profit making intention or not

Irrespective of how much you make, if you provide services with the intention of charging market price for profit, then it is a business

If you provide services, but only to cover costs, or only for a small nominal fee, then it is a hobby

The difficulty is proving it is a profit making intention if you only make $1000 but charge $2000 depreciation (for example). Whilst a loss does not mean it is not a profit making intention (a business), it is harder to justify if you get audited

Don't forget, you don't 'charge' depreciation, you claim back on the income tax. You have to earn enough to pay enough income tax to claim it back..

AdamC wrote in post #11813955
UPS actually come to you? Around here, they pass off to Aus Post for the last mile.

Yup! I placed the order on Monday night (morning in New York).. by midnight American time it was in Louisville (the UPS hub), then 24 hours later it had arrived in Sydney.

I'd hate for Australia Post to do the last leg. They'd likely lose it...

AdamC wrote in post #11813955
Don't forget, you don't 'charge' depreciation, you claim back on the income tax. You have to earn enough to pay enough income tax to claim it back..

True, but I use the word "charge" as just a generic descriptive word to mean, increasing your expenses (allowable deductions) for tax purposes. If you want to get really technical, the correct terminology is that depreciation is an allowable deduction against your assessable income for taxation purposes. But thanks for highlighting this so others don't get confused

Rai33 wrote in post #11813730
In regards to claiming tax refunds on your photographic equipment - I was told by an accountant that you must earn a minimum of 20K p.a. before you can start depreciating equipment on your tax claim. You are free to claim GST on equipment purchases if it as a second job but till you reach the minimum income level you are limited as to what you can claim. Not sure how accurate that is - would obviously be best to call the ATO and clarify this.

I'm an accountant, albeit a company auditor not a tax accountant so take this with a grain of salt

You cannot claim GST unless you have a ABN and are registered for GST. Individuals cannot claim GST, only businesses can. So you will need to register a business or organisation with an ABN, and register for GST in order to do so

There is no minimum to depreciate as far as I know

smorter wrote in post #11814000
I'm an accountant

My condolences



Would the education tax refund thingo cover camera equipment? That could be another option perhaps...?

Well I'm just one year out of uni so not too late to change

smorter wrote in post #11814000
I'm an accountant, albeit a company auditor not a tax accountant so take this with a grain of salt

You cannot claim GST unless you have a ABN and are registered for GST. Individuals cannot claim GST, only businesses can. So you will need to register a business or organisation with an ABN, and register for GST in order to do so

There is no minimum to depreciate as far as I know

No ship Sherlock that you need an ABN ...Uni has been worth it :P

Jokes aside - I was told that in the situation where say photography is your second job and your primary income is more than xxx (somethign like 20 or 25K) then you must earn over a certain amount from your photography before you can start claiming for depreciation, expenses etc Then apparently once you start earning above the minimum threshold you can retrospectively claim these expenses. Are you able to verify that's the case?

Actually we don't learn really learn about ABN's or tax at uni, I just went here for all the stuff I typed above
www.ato.gov.au