Business Tax Accountant

More than the annual return. A business tax accountant keeps the structure compliant year-round — coordinating the quarterly BAS, watching the director and shareholder loan accounts, setting the salary-versus-dividend mix, tracking PAYG instalments, and running a pre-30-June planning conversation — so the year-end company or trust return is a confirmation of a known position rather than a surprise. The annual return is the visible deliverable; the discipline behind it is the actual service.

All three, and the combinations between them. Many small businesses run as a sole trader on an ABN; many grow into a Pty Ltd; many sit a discretionary trust above a company for asset protection and distribution flexibility. We prepare the return for whichever structure you have, keep the inter-entity positions consistent, and flag — without pushing — when the structure you are in no longer fits the business you have become. Choosing or changing a structure is a separate planning engagement, not assumed in the annual return fee.

The company tax return page covers the mechanics of one return — financial statements, franking account, the CTR form and its schedules. The Virtual CFO page covers a forward-looking monthly advisory rhythm. This page is the overarching small-business tax service that sits across structures and routes into those specific engagements: it is the entry point that decides which return you need, how the entities connect, and what the year-round compliance cadence looks like.

A company is a base rate entity for an income year if its aggregated turnover is under the threshold and no more than 80 per cent of its assessable income is base rate entity passive income (such as interest, rent, dividends and net capital gains). Base rate entities are taxed at the lower company rate; companies that fail the test pay the full company rate. The classification also sets the rate at which dividends can be franked, so it flows straight through to shareholders. We test it every year because turnover and income mix change.

Yes — as part of the year-round discipline rather than a year-end scramble. Division 7A treats certain loans, payments and forgiven debts from a private company to a shareholder or associate as deemed dividends taxed at marginal rates. We track loan balances, complying loan agreements, minimum yearly repayments and benchmark interest through the year so the position is documented and defensible. The deeper mechanics live on the company tax return engagement.

Yes. Quarterly or monthly BAS and ongoing Xero bookkeeping are offered as integrated services. Keeping the books clean through the year is what makes the annual return predictable and keeps the trial balance lender-ready — current management accounts, reconciled drawings and a credible position are usually on hand when a finance application comes up. Where a business owner is also weighing a personal lending decision, the accounting and the lending are scoped by the same practitioner.

A fixed fee is confirmed in writing after a short scoping call. Price depends on the structure, the number of entities, the condition of the bookkeeping, Division 7A exposure and whether financial statements are prepared from scratch. To start we typically need the prior-year returns and financials, the current-year Xero file or trial balance, all BAS lodged in the year, bank and loan statements, payroll summaries and details of any dividends or distributions. See the Fees page for indicative ranges.