tax for 2 years

[baby*toddler*child]

I have just been advised that I need to do tax for 2 years and have NO idea what to do.

Can anyone tell me where to start ? and if you can do a print out of all sales that let you know which ones where sold to overseas customers ?

I have bags of receipts, I used paypal and bank deposit also purchased stock from both local and overseas.

please any help would be greatly apprieciated.

sue

[putney32]

They could have a major problem if the original owner of the account is running another business as the ebay figures will be included in their tax obligations, the only way round that could be for the original 'owner' could employ the OP to run the ebay account and pay them whatever the profit is going to be and the OP includes that as wages on their tax return, no idea if that would work.

only if they also paid Superannuation as well pj!

[*sparklz*]

Welcome back cats 🙂

[thecatspjs]

Thank-you sparklz  😄

[the_hawk*]

It isn't actually true that id's cannot be passed on, many here would know dorroughby who passed away. eBay transferred the account to his son.

😞 He was one of the nicest posters, never saw say a bad word to any one ever.

[jensmanchester-australia]

I think we all seem to have forgotten that the ATO is not such a big bad ogre and if a small business owner has made a genuine error in not realising they had tax obligations they are more than willing to help them sort it out.

If the OP has not transferred the ebay ID into their name but all the monies are going through their accounts then the ATO will quite easily see who has been operating the business.

As far as GST goes - with the average value of the items the OP is selling then it is quite possible they have not reached the $75000 threshold for GST purposes.

The ATO understands that people make mistakes which is why they are more than willing to help in situations like this.

[wishuponastarcelebrationsandgifts]

I think we all seem to have forgotten that the ATO is not such a big bad ogre and if a small business owner has made a genuine error in not realising they had tax obligations they are more than willing to help them sort it out.

If the OP has not transferred the ebay ID into their name but all the monies are going through their accounts then the ATO will quite easily see who has been operating the business.

As far as GST goes - with the average value of the items the OP is selling then it is quite possible they have not reached the $75000 threshold for GST purposes.

The ATO understands that people make mistakes which is why they are more than willing to help in situations like this.

Well said Jen. It concerns me when there are well intended posts that could inadvertantly scare someone (that was otherwise willing to come forward and declare everything) become overly anxious or decide not to declare at all.

During my years undertaking audits (not for the ATO) I dealt with a lot of large multinational companies and have seen first hand the anxiety that the thought of an audit can cause at the financial controller and CEO level. I can only imagine how intimidating it can be to a small business owner that doesn't have any qualifications or experience with regards to taxation.

I haven't read the ATO's current policies regarding penalties, but can say that from my previous experience that generally speaking there are many factors taken into account when determining penalties to be applied (eg. voluntarily declaring a tax debt will attract a far lesser penalty than a situation where it is identified at audit stage that the person deliberately took measures not to pay tax). At the end of the day it is best to be up front and honest.

I agree that the ATO would much prefer to enter into a payment arrangement and collect the taxes owing to them than have someone be declared bankrupt and get nothing.

If you are still reading this post OP, please see your accountant and tell them everything (including any details regarding others that have operated your ebay ID). They are there to help you. I wish you all the best - a positive outcome and a weight lifted.

[masonb1975]

The other members in this forum are quite right.  Basically, you have to go through all your invoices/receipts for the last two years because this will determine how much tax you have to pay.  You might also want to seek help from a licensed accountant to do all the accounting for you and set things straight.

What every business owner must know is that taxes must be paid annually and earnings must be honestly declared.  This is the reason why you issue invoices and receipts to make tracking easier once tax season is near.  

http://www.myimportlabel.com.au/import-export-training-and-courses

[kustomizer99]

Yes, we all have to do everything above board -- but there is really no need for the scaremongering that some members here are reveling in.

The main thing ATO is looking for is people who are claiming welfare benefits without declaring their eBay earnings. This is done mostly on behalf of Centrelink. I doubt that many people would be silly enough to do this, so the vast majority have nothing to worry about.

[phorum_junkie*]

The ATO are not looking for people who are claiming welfare benefits, they are looking for people who should be paying tax. For the last few years Centrelink have had an arrangement that the details of anyone with a turnover of more than the reporting level is passed on to them as well as the ATO.

[1918rose]

Hi if you still need help I can help you out a little, same happened to me and I panicked in the end I paid an accountant $120 he helped me sort it out. Dont worry as long as you go to an accountant it will be ok, kind regards Rose