Not all purchases made by a business will be tax deductible. Those that are must be related to the earning of income, but even then there are some exceptions.

Some costs have a private component, such as motor vehicle expenses, that must be apportioned between business and private use. Other costs may be totally related to a business, such as the registering of a patent or trademark, but are classed as a capital and therefore not tax deductible.

Some examples of expenses that could be claimed however, include employee salaries and super contributions, advertising, rent or leases, bank fees, interest on loans, freight and insurance, repairs, promotions and giveaways, depreciation of assests and the costs of a registered tax agent.

For more information on what expenses are tax deductible for your business and what records you should be keeping for these, please feel free to contact our office.

Big businesses like Myer and David Jones are considering new ways of attracting customers after The Commonwealth Bank released information showing a massive turn in the way Australians are doing their shopping.

It is estimated that last year, Australians spent $9.5 billion on online shopping sites, $4.2 billion of this on overseas sites. The ease and widespread access of the internet, coupled with a growing trust for online retailers, is seeing shoppers take advantage of the high Australian dollar and reap bargins from overseas stores.

While slashing prices hasn’t seemed to stem this flow, department stores are reviewing their pricing policies and trying other strategies, such as offering their online customers free shipping, in order to regain the nation’s retail loss.

With these changes in shopping trends and the growing popularity of online webstores, Australian small businesses are being encouraged to modernise their business structures to help bring some of the $5.3 billion, currently being spent overseas, back to our shores.