Small business skills and training boost
The Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 4) Act 2023 provides for a temporary skills and training boost for small businesses in the form of a bonus deduction. Small businesses (with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million) are able to claim the bonus deduction as an additional 20% deduction, on top of their ordinary deduction, for eligible expenditure incurred by them for the provision of eligible external training courses to employees by eligible registered training providers.
It applies to eligible expenditure incurred from 7:30 pm (AEDT) on 29 March 2022 until 30 June 2024. Special rules provide for the income year in which the bonus deduction can be claimed.
Small business technology investment boost
The Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 4) Act 2023 provides for a temporary technology investment boost for small businesses in the form of a bonus deduction. Small businesses (with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $50 million) are able to claim the bonus deduction as an additional 20% deduction, on top of their ordinary deduction, for eligible expenditure incurred, and depreciating assets acquired, for the purposes of their digital operations or digitising their operations. The maximum additional deduction is $20,000 per income year.
It applies to eligible expenditure of up to $100,000 per income year incurred from 7:30 pm (AEDT) on 29 March 2022 until 30 June 2023. Special rules apply if claiming the bonus deduction for eligible expenditure on a depreciating asset.
Eligibility for downsizer contributions
From 1 January 2023, the age at which an eligible individual may choose to make a downsizer contribution to their superannuation fund is 55 years or older. This further reduces the downsizer eligibility age which changed from 65 to 60 from 1 July 2022. Prior to 1 July 2022, the eligibility age was 65 years and over.
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Non-arm's length expenses (NALE)
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Support for Small Business and Charities and other Measures) Act 2024External Link amends the rules for NALE for superannuation entities.
Under the amendments, from 1 July 2018:
- For small complying funds, the amount of non-arm's length income arising from a non-arm's length general expense will be twice the difference between the expense that the entity did incur (including nil expenditure) and the amount that might have been expected to be incurred. This is the 'Twice the difference approach’.
- Large APRA regulated funds, exempt public sector superannuation funds, pooled superannuation trusts (PSTs) and approved deposit funds (ADFs), will be exempt from the from the non-arm's length income rules arising from NALE for both non-arm's length general and specific expenses. However, they will still be subject to the remaining non-arm's length income rules for income derived on a non-arm's length basis.
- For all superannuation funds, exempt the application of the NALE rules for expenditure incurred or expected to have incurred before 1 July 2018.
Continue to: Instructions to complete your annual return