Home loan guarantee scheme extended
The Home Guarantee Scheme guarantees part of an eligible buyer’s home loan, enabling people to buy a home with a smaller deposit and without the need for lenders mortgage insurance. An additional 25,000 guarantees will be available for eligible first home owners (35,000 per year), and 2,500 additional single parent family home guarantees (5,000 per year).
$450 super guarantee threshold removed
From 1 July 2022, the $450 threshold test will be removed, and all employees aged 18 or over will need to be paid superannuation guarantee regardless of how much they earn. It is important to ensure that your payroll system accommodates this change, so you do not inadvertently underpay superannuation.
For employees under the age of 18, super guarantee is only paid if the employee works more than 30 hours per week.
Donations to political parties
With the election looming it is worth revisiting what is an allowable tax deduction for donation made to political parties. The rules are clear on this and are as follows:
- They must be paid in a personal capacity and not by your business.
- The recipient must be a registered political party, an independent MP or an independent candidate.
3. If you pay a membership subscription to a registered political party you can claim a tax deduction.
Superannuation Guarantee increase to 10.5%
The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate will rise from 10% to 10.5% on 1 July 2022 and will continue to increase by 0.5% each year until it reaches 12% on 1 July 2025.
Depending on your employment agreement, this increase may result in a reduction in your take home pay of 0.5%.
If your employment agreement states that you are paid on a total remuneration basis (ie base plus SG and other allowances) then your take home pay may be reduced by 0.5%; however if your agreement states an annual salary plus superannuation, then your take home pay will remain the same and the 0.5% increase will be added to your SG payments.
