How Doctors Can Beat the Taxman
February 20th, 2014
While the taxman is targeting investors hiding assets overseas, there are much less complicated ways to cut your tax bill. Here are 6 legal tax-minimising strategies that you can easily use – and they can make a significant difference to your overall wealth creation. Not only are these legal ways to cut your tax bill, they will give you more money to build your wealth.
1. Mortgage Offset Account
Have you accumulated some cash and you’re not sure about what to do with it? If you have a home loan, putting the extra cash into an offset account can not only reduce the amount of interest payable on the loan, but it will also stop you paying tax on the interest you would otherwise have earned.
2. After-Tax Super Contribution
Using some of your after-tax earnings to contribute into super may make sense for you. The thing to focus on is the environment that your money is invested within. Compared with investing after-tax money in an investment in your own name, investing via super is taxed at a maximum of 15% on earnings and 10% on capital gains, and for those eligible for transition to retirement their money grows in a zero tax environment.
3. Discretionary Family Trust
An effective way to hold investments, a trust is a separate investment structure where assets are controlled by one or more persons (the trustees) on behalf of a group of other persons (the beneficiaries). A discretionary trust allows the trustee to decide who gets the income and capital the trust owns. These can suit someone on the highest tax bracket with family members who are on lower tax rates.
4. Transition to Retirement
If you are over 55, the combination of salary sacrificing pre-tax income into super, and drawing an income from super benefits can be very tax effective. Not only does it get more into your super fund but your cash flow remains the same. The income tax reduction comes about thanks to receiving less salary income (and therefore paying less tax) and more concessionally taxed pension income from your super fund.
5. Investment Bonds
Earnings from an investment bond are excluded from personal income tax because the bond provider pays the tax at 30% internally, leaving you nothing to declare on your tax return. To get the full benefits, you have to leave your money in the bond for 10 years. After this, there is NO tax to pay! It is possible to get access to the money before 10 years, but then there will be some tax payable.
6. An Investment Company
Setting up a company through which investments are bought is one way of ensuring the tax paid is never more than 30%. Income type assets are best held in a company, and growth style assets are best held by a super fund where the tax on capital gains is just 10%.
Start now to beat the Taxman! To start saving tax immediately, contact us TODAY at info@mediqfinancial.com.au or 13000-MEDIQ(63347). Tax saved now will lead to increased wealth for your future.
