Tax Planning & Strategy

A written tax planning document covering: your current-year projected position, the structures and entities you currently use, scenarios for the decisions in front of you (sale, restructure, super contribution, property purchase), pre-30 June action items with dates, and documentation of the position for each decision so it is defensible if reviewed.

For pre-30 June planning the practical window is April–May — late enough that we have most of the year's actuals, early enough to execute super contributions, asset purchases, prepayments and structure changes before year-end. For mid-year planning (a sale, a refinance, a new business) we engage as soon as the decision is on the table.

Sometimes — through legitimate deductions, super contributions, structure changes and timing. We plan, review and document positions; we do not promise specific outcomes because ATO results depend on individual circumstances and current law. Where a position is borderline we tell you and document the reasoning so the return is defensible.

Closely. Negative gearing implications, deductibility of interest, debt recycling, redraw vs offset positioning, refinance timing relative to CGT events, and trust or company borrowing for investment all sit at the intersection of tax and lending. Because the same practitioner handles both, the plans are prepared to work together, not against each other.

Division 7A can treat certain payments or loans from a private company to a shareholder or associate as deemed dividends — taxable in the recipient's hands. If you operate through a Pty Ltd, the loan account between you and the company is a planning consideration every year: minimum yearly repayments and the ATO benchmark interest rate (which is set each income year), and the timing of any new drawings. We apply the rules current for the relevant income year and document the position and the actions required before year-end.

Both arrangements work. Some clients engage us only for forward-looking planning and keep their existing compliance accountant for the annual returns. Others move both. The planning document is portable either way — it is written for the client, not the next professional.

A planning engagement is priced as a fixed fee based on the scope: number of entities, complexity of decisions, lending interaction, and the level of documentation you need. We quote in writing after a scoping call. Scoping ensures the engagement is proportionate to the complexity involved — we do not promise a net saving.

Legitimate planning — claiming deductions you are entitled to, using available concessions, structuring within the law and documenting positions — is the explicit framework the ATO expects. We avoid aggressive positions where the Part IVA general anti-avoidance provision could apply, and we document every position so it can be defended if reviewed.