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Travel & Motor Vehicle Expenses

This Knowledge Shop IQ module explores the high risk areas of travel arrangements - working through the distinction between travelling, living away from home and relocating, and the way that this can impact on the tax treatment - and, motor vehicle expenses - specific risk areas and issues that need to be considered when clients use motor vehicles in their business and employment activities.

 

The tax treatment of travel arrangements can be complicated and the rules difficult to apply in practice. The ATO has also recently released new guidance on deductions for travel expenses, which in some ways, changes the way that we need to deal with this area for our clients.

 

These areas have become high risk in recent years as the ATO has concentrated its focus on the deductions claimed for expenses.

 

See the IQ module outline. 

 

 

The Travel & Motor Vehicle Expenses Module is part of the Intermediate I Program of 10 modules specifically designed to manage the training needs of your Intermediate team members across a year.

 

More on the Intermediate program

Partner Manager Knowledge Shop IQLevel
Intermediate

Length
94.35 minutes + quiz questions

Access
24/7 for 12 months

Resources
Downloadable reference notes

PD Hours
1.9 PD Hours

Introduction & Outline (1:36) 

Managing Travel Deductions

The options (4:13)

  • Distinguishing between
    • Travel
    • Living away from home
    • Relocation

Key concepts (4:01)

  • The underlying rules for claiming travel deductions


Travel to perform work activities (3:29)


The 4 categories (10:04)

  • Ordinary home to work travel
  • Temporary or remote locations
  • Alternative places of work
  • The exceptions Special demands travel
  • When travel qualifies as special demand travel
  • The scenarios that would typically be special demand travel
  • Co-existing work locations
  • What qualifies as co-existing work locations
  • Relocation

Allowances & ATO reasonable rates (4:13)

  • A deduction for travel can be claimed, now what?
  • How to work out what the deduction is
  • The special substantiation rules

Quiz | Travel between offices (1:21)

  • Quiz Brad

  • Quiz Answer Brad

ATO focus areas (4:04)

  • The areas where the ATO have placed increasing focus
  • The substantiation rules in practice
  • The traps of a bona fide travel allowance
  • The problem with the substantiation exemption The problem with the substantiation exemption

Quiz | Allowable deductions for interstate travel (1:50)

  • Quiz Jess

  • Quiz Answer Jess

Reporting on the tax return (2:53)

  • The general rules
  • Exemption from the general rules
  • Evidence to support claims

Travel diaries (1:53)

  • When a travel diary needs to be kept

  • The exceptions and how they apply


Employer obligations (1:31)

  • What needs to be shown on a payment summary

  • When travel allowances are not shown on the payment summary

  • Travel allowances, PAYG and superannuation guarantee


Living away from home & relocation travel (3:41)

  • Living away from home:

    • What is deductible when an employee is living away from home
    • FBT exemptions and concessions
    • Salary packaging opportunities
  • Relocation travel
  • Opportunities available for employees

Managing Motor Vehicles

Individuals and motor vehicles (4:36)

  • What is a car

  • Division 28 – what is deductible 
  • Does registration matter?
  • What happens if vehicle not a car

     

The 2 deduction methods (6:47)

  • What is required and what deductions can be claimed under:
    • Cents per kilometre method
    • Log book method
  • Example | Joe


Jointly held cars (1:57)

  • What happens when a car is held by more than one person

  • The options and opportunities


Other issues (3:36)

  • Changes in methodology and the implications

  • Interaction between motor vehicle deductions and the PSI rules


Commercial vehicles (2:44)

  • The options when a vehicle is not a car

  • The choices for how deductions can be claimed

Depreciation (4:35)

  • How depreciation managed for:

  • Normal lease arrangements

  • Luxury cars

  • Hire purchase arrangements

  • Chattel mortgages


Luxury cars (3:38)

  • Calculating the luxury car limit for depreciation purposes

  • The exceptions

  • Areas of confusion


Disposals (4:48)

  • Identifying when a balancing adjustment calculation required

  • The tax implications depending on how deductions claimed

  • Calculating assessable gain or deductible loss

  • Managing adjustments


Quiz | Balancing adjustments (1:56)

  • Quiz Jerry

  • Quiz Answer Jerry

GST and motor vehicles (1:59)

  • How GST applies

  • GST and the luxury car limit

  • GST exemptions


Quiz | Luxury car tax (2:36)

  • Quiz Brad

  • Quiz Answer Brad

GST on running costs (2:50)

  • The creditable use percentage

  • GSTR 2006/4 and fair and reasonable method for creditable purpose

  • The shortcuts to calculate creditable purpose in GSTB 2006/1

 

GST adjustments (3:30)

  • GST adjustments when there is a change in creditable purpose

  • When it’s likely to be an issue and the impact

 

Quiz | GST implications of the sale of a car (1:36)

  • Quiz Jane

  • Quiz Jane Answer

 

GST and finance arrangements (2:34)

  • The 1 July 2012 changes

  • Treatment of
    • Standard lease
    • Hire purchase arrangement
    • Chattel mortgage

 

Reference notes are provided with this module.

  

IQ Presenter

Michael Carruthers

 

Tax Director, Knowledge Shop

Michael Carruthers Director Knowledge Shop

Michael oversees the development of the tax team for Knowledge Shop and Hayes Knight in Sydney and is head of the Hayes Knight group’s national tax committee. 

 

Michael has a knack for seeing through the complexity and helping practitioners work through highly technical issues with certainty and accuracy. 

 

He is a member of the advisory panel for the Board of Taxation and was an expert panel member for the Board of Taxation’s review of tax impediments facing small business.

 

Linked In

AAA_SEAL_2016_Winners_THOUGHT_LEADER_OF_THE_YEAR.png

Michael was the Thought Leader of the Year at the 2016 Accounting Awards