So let's talk about tax

When I mention tax, I can feel people's eyes roll.  I can hear the clear exhale of breath.  It's dull.  It's boring.  I hate it.  I don't understand it.  Mention sex, and people get their happy on.

They're both three letter words.  How can the word tax have so much sway?

As women, myself included, it was not regarded as necessary to teach me about money.  As an adult, this is either something we learn and pick up along the way or we spend our life fumbling through.  When we launch our own businesses, this adds another dimension to learning about money, real quick.  We wing it, we stress, we hope, and sometimes pray "Dear Lord please let my outstanding debtors pay me."

If you are a sole trader and your home is also your place of business you can claim tax deductions for a portion of the costs of owning, maintaining and using your home for this purpose. There may be capital gains tax implications further down the track if you own your own home - so be proactive and ask the question NOW so you know!

If you operate a business at or from your home, you may be able to claim a deduction for some of the expenses relating to the area you use for business purposes.

These expenses can be divided into two broad categories:

• occupancy expenses (such as mortgage interest or rent, council rates, land taxes, house insurance premiums)
• running expenses (such as gas and electricity, phone, decline in value of plant and equipment, decline in value and cost of repairs to furniture and furnishings, cleaning)

Attached is the link to the ATO home office expenses calculator:

https://www.ato.gov.au/Calculators-and-tools/Home-office-expenses-calculator/

Find out what you can claim - and what you can't.  Tax really is that simple.