Life in the best lane
Towards the tail end of the weekend I remember seeing some hype about the Superbowl which is the grand final of American football for those that aren’t familiar. It’s beamed around the world to a HUGE worldwide audience – a massive event.
So huge and all-consuming is it, that even those with less than a passing interest in giant, helmeted humans attempting to kill each other over a football will slip away from work to watch the fighter jet fly-overs, the half-time show, the star spangled awesomeness of the whole spectacle.
I mean, if they choose to. And choice is what I got around to thinking about on the weekend once the Superbowl commercial had finished. We have a number of guiding principles here at Inspire CA and it is our hope that our clients see the value in them all – especially the one about lifestyle.
Create Your Lifestyle
“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
That’s about choice too. It’s a choice because if you own a small business or even a larger concern, you have the opportunity to work hard and be rewarded… or work harder still and be rewarded. Even the most efficient, business savvy people in the world realise that they could literally find enough work to do to take up every hour of every day – if they wanted too. But a wise person once said, “No one lies on their deathbed and thinks, I wish I had spent more time in the office!”
If you’re smart, you’ll be efficient enough to ensure that you’re not overworked and have time to give to your family and other interests. If you’re wise, you’ll choose to make a difference to those important to you by cashing in those extra hours for family time or new adventures. Maybe even sample some American beer, gorge yourself on hotdogs and marvel at the carnage being played out on the gridiron (American football field) right before your very eyes whenever you want.
Work out why you work
My last thought for this edition of “How was your weekend” is actually a tip. Revisit your vision for your business and then go one step further: what did you want it to help you achieve in life. Write it down, tattoo it on your arm, tattoo it on a friend’s arm but just make sure you remember that your business is supposed to work for you, not necessarily the other way round.
Self Managed Super Funds vs Retail Super? A Warning…
Many people are quite comfortable sitting in simple, plain, ‘vanilla’, industry and retail superannuation funds. Self Managed Super Funds or ‘SMSF’s’ are a lot different.
The Warning:
- If you are someone who is laid back.
- You are really not interested in your retirement.
- You don’t want to make investments yourself.
- You are really happy going along with the flow,
Then really, a retail or an industry-based fund is really up your alley.
Don’t make the step of going through a self-managed super fund.
But for those who want a bit more excitement, those who want to really press ahead and become a self-made success, to really make the most of the opportunities, I really suggest that a self-managed super fund may well be for you.
From our perspective, if you move over, and you become engaged in your SMSF, you need to start to choose these 9 things –
- What stocks am I going to choose?
- What managed funds am I going to choose?
- Am I going to invest in property?
- Am I going to go borrow to buy a property?
- Am I going to buy a property for my business, and then lease it back to my business?
- Which members of my family am I going to bring into this fund?
- Am I going to bring my children in?
- Am I going to bring my parents in?
- Am I going to bring my daughters or sons-in-law into the fund?
So the first benefit of an SMSF is becoming engaged with your future.
“Engagement with your Super is Engagement with your Future.”
One of the most important things about engagement and being a Self-Made Success is then to become knowledgeable in what is a self-managed super fund.
To learn the rest of the 8 Benefits of an SMSF, The ‘Inspire Boys’ Favourite 3 Wealth Strategies they personally use, and details of the Become a SMSF Millionaire 12 Week Online Course, go to www.smsfmillionaire.com/go
Ben Walker of Inspire SMSFS Pty Ltd (1243433) is an authorised representative of Finance Wise Global Securities Pty Ltd ABN 60 146 708 045. Finance Wise Global Securities Pty Ltd holds an Australian Financial Services License (No. 397877).
The Bottom Line series – 2. How to build your Profit War Chest
How much money can be transferred to the War Chest without threatening the health of the business?
Start out slow and easy, then build up.
Most stable companies should be able to post a profit of 10% – 25% after all expenses.
But, to start off, begin with low threshold, where maybe 5% of every inbound dollar goes to the War Chest.
Over time, slowly increase the percentage. Monitor your cashflow to see if your business gets woosey.
Don’t stow away too much money too quickly.
Just like donating too much blood in one sitting is harmful, rapidly draining cash from a business can cripple or kill your organisation.
Once you have adjusted expenses and cash outflow to sustain your Profit War Chest withdrawals, you will quickly accumulate a tremendous cash reserve.
In this case, should tough times come knocking on the door, and they often do, you will have our Profit War Chest to back you up and if necessary, bail you out.
Of course as your cash reserves grow, they will be in excess of your rainy day needs – our recommendation is 3 months of business expenses.
At that point, you should take a portion as an equity distribution.
Trust me, it’s a really nice way to reward yourself for running a healthy business.
If you’ve never given blood, I strongly recommend you do it. If you don’t regularly donate to your company’s Profit War Chest, I strongly encourage you to start, there’s no question.
Applying the Cash Rich Business model to your business can literally save its life. As with everything else in your business, you Profit War Chest isn’t going to happen unless you take action.
Start out slow and easy, then build up.
⏰⏰⏰ The ugly truth about TIMESHEETS – what old school accountants don’t want you to know about how they charge when they bill you by the hour ??
You may not realise this but ‘Old School’ Accountants charge by the minute.
They are driven by timesheets.
What’s the problem with your accountant charging you using timesheets?
The problem is this…
If the accountant wanted to make more money out of you, what does he need to do?
“Take longer,” you say?
And you would be correct … he could take longer.
But the ugly reality that I’ve seen is this –
“an accountant who does timesheets could either take longer to make more money out of you, or he could just “SAY” he took longer.”
It’s like a dirty Donald Trump locker room secret that most accountants don’t want you to know about – a practice called “TIMESHEET PADDING.”
I’m guilty. I’ve fabricated some pretty spectacular timesheets in my time.
But I was expected to by my employer in order to ‘meet budget’.
That’s why I went out on my own to start INSPIRE CA and why we price our jobs UPFRONT and GUARANTEE that your investment in our fees will pay for themselves many times over in tax saved.
So next time you receive a bill from your Accountant ask him or her if they use timesheets to charge and if instead, they could move you to a fixed price or upfront fee so that you know exactly how much your bill will be.
Got a burning question about using Business Structures to save tax and create a family vault?
Book in, to TEST DRIVE AN ACCOUNTANT – a 15 min rapid fire Q & A session with an Inspirational Accountant.
Are Coffee Meetings Tax Deductible?
Ever wondered if coffee meetings are tax deductible?
Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a big coffee freak. I have about 3 or 4 cappuccinos every day. My favourite coffee shop is Bellissimo. You’ve got to try it. It’s around the corner from Inspire and there’s also one around one from my house. I get it everywhere.
I was down there meeting with a prospective client the other day. I shouted the coffees, of course. I went to pay for the coffees and the kind girl behind the desk asked me, “Would you like a tax invoice?” It made me think, why would I need a tax invoice? Are coffee meetings tax deductible? So I went back to Inspire and asked the accountants this very question:
“Are coffee meetings tax deductible? What about other meetings that include food, are they tax deductible too?”
Here’s what they told me:
You can claim meals while you’re traveling overnight.
If you’re an employee going off to a conference, and you’re away from your usual home, then you can claim that meal.
There’s guidance from the ATO, but budget for about a hundred dollars per night. That means you might be able to go to the coffee club and grab a Bolognese, but I wouldn’t really be going to Jamie’s Italian and getting a full course meal.
You can claim meals supplies as a working lunch.
Say you got a team, this happens quite regularly during tax time, we’re really busy and we tend to work late. We go out and buy Domino’s. That’s fine because that’s all part of keeping the progress going, with regards to our work. If it’s related to our team being able to continue working, then that’s okay.
You can claim meals supplied from an in-house canteen or café.
I know this really cool engineering business in West End, who have a chef in-house and they supply meals to their team, throughout the day. What a great place to work? These items would be tax deductible and exempt of FBT.
You can claim snacks on the road, while you’re going as a business owner.
As a business owner, you might be out and about, meeting with clients throughout the day. Grabbing a coffee and a muffin, here and there, while you’re doing your day-to-day work is A-okay. Again, you’ve got to be reasonable. The ATO isn’t stupid. If you’re putting through 7-course at a gas station lunches, instead of a coffee here and a muffin, it’s probably not going to go down so well.
So there you have it! The 4 rules, with regards to how to make coffee meetings and meals tax deductible.
To conclude, My advice to you, as a fellow business owner is to:
- Focus on whatever investment you make into your business, whether it’s a coffee meeting here or whether it’s a Facebook ad there.
2. Ask yourself the question, ‘What is the return on investment you’re going to get from that?’ I always try to aim for 5 to 20 times our way. This is the focus point for you as a business owner, if it turns out to be tax deductible as a result, well bonus. If it isn’t, move on. There’s no point in trying to spend an hour trying to make a 20 cent tax savings on an orange mocha Frappuccino that you had on the weekend than risk that concern and anxiety that might come from being audited.
3. And most importantly, focus on the biggest bang for your buck!
Got a burning question about Tax, Your Accountant or Business Structures that can save you even more?
Book in to TEST DRIVE AN ACCOUNTANT – a 15 min rapid fire Q & A session with an Inspirational Accountant.
Pay Less, Little and No Tax in SMSF. It’s legal.
In every Self Managed Super Fund there are 2 sides. An Accumulation side and a Pension side.
Using Harvee’s plane analogy from the beginning, the accumulation side or phase of an SMSF is when the fund is actively growing. The same as when that plane is climbing to new heights. You can’t touch any of that money while it’s in accumulation and that accumulation side has a set tax rate of 15% on what it earns.
So step 1 in controlling taxation is saving tax on contributions.
For example, I contributed $30,000 this year into my Family Super Fund – it’s called the Keshi Super Fund, named after a family dog I used to walk.
If I chose not to dump the $30K into super, I would have paid tax on that $30,000 at my highest marginal tax rate of 49%.
So by putting $30,000 towards my goal of becoming a Self Made Success, I saved $10,200 tax because as I’m in accumulation, I paid at only 15% instead of 49% – my plane is ascending!
Now fast forward 33 years and my wealth plane has been ascending higher and higher, it’s 2049 and I hit what is called preservation age, which means the government allows me to start accessing my super.
The plane begins its descent towards landing at retirement, so I am allowed to bring some of my assets in the SMSF over to the Pension side.
Any idea what the tax rate is on the Pension Side?
Zero percent. Booyah!
So that $30,000 I contributed last year, not only did I save $10,200 on the contribution, but so too did the other 3 members in my Family Super Fund.
With the $120,000 now in the fund, from 4 members contributing $30,000, we used that as a deposit to buy a $500,000 Commercial Property.
If we held on to the property for 34 years, and let’s say it doubled in value over that time and it’s worth $1,000,000.
I can sell the property when the SMSF is in pension phase and pay ZERO tax on that $500,000 capital gain.
WOW, WOW, WOW.
Just to give you some context, If made the exact same property deal but brought it in my own name, outside of super, I would have had to pay $122,500 tax (based on my top marginal tax rate of 49%)
So that’s how the Accumulation side and Pension side of an SMSF work – 15% in accumulation 0% in Pension.
But that’s not all …
What if I told you we could use negative gearing inside of a Super Fund to turn that 15% tax rate in the accumulation phase, down to ZERO?
That is legit possible.
There’s thousands of us SMSF Millionaires who implement this strategy every day.
Week 3 of the Become a SMSF Millionaire, 12 week course the lesson is called “The SMSF Millionaire’s guide to paying Less, Little and even NO tax in your SMSF”. It’s very hard to get ahead if 50c of every dollar you earn is going to the Tax Man.
You can watch the entire Become a SMSF Millionaire Web Class at www.smsfmillionaire.com/go
Why Business Owners Need To Take Holidays, 8 to 12 weeks a year ⛷⛵️
I’m fresh off the boat from 9 magical days in New Zealand and instead of cheap souvenirs, I’ve got a game changing business strategy for you:
Grab a big 12 month calendar and map out all the holidays you want to take, aim for 8 – 12 weeks. Block out:
- the overseas holidays
- the local holidays
- the school holidays
- the summer beach camping trips
- the long weekends that coincide with a public holiday
- the long weekends that don’t coincide with a public holiday (c’mon you are a business owner after all!)
- the birthday celebrations
- the weddings
- personal and professional development courses
- business planning weekends – working ON your business, not IN
Once you’re done, tell us in the comments below where on earth you’re heading in the next 12 months (I want some inspiration!)
The back story on why holidays and travel is good for business …
This is an inspirational process and will do wonders for you as a business owner.
Most people plan out their holidays around their work.
They hope there will be some spare time and money leftover for holidays each year.
But the problem is, there never seems to be enough time or money leftover!
And sadly another year goes by with no time for play… Sad face emoji
What a shame, seeing as how big & beautiful the world is.
The successful business people I know plan their work around their holidays, and I too have been doing it for the last 12 years.
Plan the year ahead by blocking out at least 8 – 12 weeks of holiday time.
Work out where you want to go.
Work out how much you need to save.
And then reverse engineer your business to fund the lifestyle you want to live.
Why is this important?
- Light at the end of the tunnel.
The business journey is tough at times, long days, late nights, weekends. You’re almost always ‘ON’. Knowing there is some downtime on the horizon can do wonders for your subconscious and allows you to focus intensely on the task at hand.
- Work life balance.
Your family and friends will know when they can enjoy some good quality time out with you.
If they know there is a good 10 weeks of planned holidays, they won’t worry so much if you have to work late or work through a weekend here and there.
- Holidays give you time to think.
I have my best ideas when on holiday! I’m a big picture type thinker and getting out of the office (and sometimes the country) gives me some precious time to THINK BIG, THINK LONG TERM, THINK RADICAL IMPACT.
- Holidays ensure you have deadlines.
Have you ever noticed how much you get done the week before, you take 2 weeks off to go camping on Stradbroke island with limited wifi or reception?
You somehow move mountains so you can switch off and enjoy the trip.
You find a way to make it happen.
That’s the power of putting holidays first.
Since my first real overseas holiday at the end of year 12, I’ve been able to –
- Salsa in the streets of Cuba
- Find spiritual sanctuary with the sharmans of India
- Volunteer in remote communities in Mexico, Brazil & Africa
- Follow Carnival street processions in Rio De Janeiro
- Eat the freshest sushi in the fish markets of Japan
- Snorkel the Blue Hole in Belize
- Ride elephants through the jungle in Sri Lanka
- Endure nude Sauna in Sweden
- Speak at an International Conference in Maui, Hawaii
- Sip the finest Madeira Wine in Portugal
- Get Bali Belly, Delhi Belly & Port Moresby Belly…
- Follow the ancient INCA trail to Machu Picchu
- Scoff pizza and beer in New York
All while building a successful investment portfolio and multiple businesses.
In fact, it was those priceless experiences that fuelled my own entrepreneur journey, and I’m confident that TRAVEL will do the same for you.
I truly believe it when they say,
“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”
But how do business owners fund their Big Goals – like 8 to 12 weeks a year holiday?
They Become a Cash Rich Business.
Here’s the process –
- Put Your Profit First – A percentage of every dollar that comes in, goes first to your profit war chest.
- Every quarter, 50% of your Profit War Chest goes to –
- 50% to Building a nest egg – I invest in cashflow producing assets like Shares, Property (Residential & Commercial) & Precious metals.
- 50% Spreading your wings – You can drive that new car, enjoy regular holidays, eat out, drink that nice bottle of wine etc.
- Enjoy the holiday. Recharge. Open your eyes to the world. Be present with your family.
- Build a better business. Going on holiday leaves room for your team to make decisions and helps you see the gaps in your business systems and where the business still depends on YOU. Fix it.
You can use the code ‘wanderlust’ to get $10 off the next Become a Cash Rich Business [Workshop] – A short course in cashflow acceleration for small business owners who love family but not numbers. The CRB method will help you rapidly get on top of debt, start to amass a rainy day fund and worry less about the ups and downs of cashflow – RSVP at inspireca.com/events.
So where are you going in the next Financial Year?
Share your travel plans with me and the rest of the Inspiring Business Community here.
Make Additional Super Contributions to reduce your tax
How does this strategy work?
You may be aware that superannuation is the best investment vehicle for tax purposes out there.
It’s also easy to put this in the back of your mind for a number of reasons.
You might think:
1) “I can’t touch it now, so why bother…”
2) “There’s hardly anything in there, so I’m going to concentrate on making money in my business.”
3) “The laws change every five minutes, I’d rather not worry about it.”
But while those thoughts may have an element of truth, there are some very effective ways to incorporate your superannuation into a broader wealth creation and tax planning strategy.
For instance, you can:
1) Use your superannuation to purchase your business premises, even if you don’t have the full amount in super
2) Pay 15% tax on earnings on your superannuation if you’re accumulating a balance.
3) Pay 0% tax on earnings if you’re drawing a pension (with conditions, if you’re over 55).
So here’s how the numbers would crunch.
The example we’ll use is where your taxable income is $200,000.
Option 1 (Without Tax Planning): Pay in your own name
The tax rate in your own name would be at individual rates, of up to 47%.
So you’d be up for $67,547 Tax.
Ouch!
Option 2 (With Tax Planning): Contribute $22,000 to Super prior to 30 June.
Your taxable income would reduce to $178,000.
By contributing $22,000 to super prior to 30 June you’d save $7,040 in tax, when compared to paying in your own name.
What do you need to implement this strategy to make additional super contributions?
- A Business.
- Cashflow available put into super.
- A chat with an Inspire Chartered Accountant – www.calendly.com/inspireca.
- To take action prior to 30 June.
FAQ’s: Super contributions to reduce tax.
Do I ever get taxed on money in Super? If so, when?
Yes, you get taxed at 15% in super for everything you contribute and claim a tax deduction for.
This 15% is paid by your super fund when they lodged the tax return (if you own an SMSF); or the tax is taken straight from your balance when you deposit it if you are using a public super fund.
Is there a limit as to how much I can put into super?
Yes, there sure is.
The limit is $30,000 if you’re 48 years old or younger.
And $35,000 if you’re 49 years, plus.
The limits are a lot higher (up to $540,000) if you’re making the contributions from after tax money.
What happens if I don’t have the cashflow to put into super?
To get the tax deduction, the super needs to be paid by 30 June of the year.
Make Additional Super Contributions now before your opportunity is missed for another year.
If I have many family members, can we pool our Super limits?
A super limit is per person.
And yes, you can contribute the $30,000 or $35,000 for each person. It will end up in their own super account, though, so for instance, you cannot ‘borrow’ a super limit from another family member and pay yourself $40,000 instead of $35,000.
NEXT STEPS: You can book in a Quick 10 Min Chat here with an Inspire Chartered Accountant to talk about Tax Saving Strategies that will work for you.
Ben Walker of Inspire SMSFS Pty Ltd (1243433) is an authorised representative of Finance Wise Global Securities Pty Ltd ABN 60 146 708 045. Finance Wise Global Securities Pty Ltd holds an Australian Financial Services License (No. 397877).
Distribute to your Children Under 18 – Tax Planning Strategies to action prior to 30 June
How does this distribute to your children strategy work?
Discretionary Trusts are great for Young Families in Business as they give you… you guessed it, DISCRETION.
In fact they’re more well known as Family Trusts.
They give you discretion about who pays tax, how much they pay and potentially when it’s paid.
So let’s combine the power of discretionary trusts with the fact the you have a bunch of little ones running around the house!
The example we’ll use is where your taxable income is $200,000.
Remember all those dirty nappies, sleepless nights & Saturday morning sports events?
Well the ATO is about to reward you for being a busy parent juggling a family and a business!
Option 1 (Without Tax Planning): Pay in your own name
The tax rate in your own name would be at individual rates, of up to 47%.
So you’d be up for $67,547 Tax.
Ouch!
Option 2 (With Tax Planning): Use your Discretionary or Family Trust to distribute $416 to each of your Children under 18.
Let’s say we you have 3 little ones under 18…
- That’s $416 to little Johnny.
- Another $416 to baby Sarah.
- And a final $416 to Mikey aka “Wreck It Ralph”.
With 3 kids, you’d reduce your taxable income by $1,248 which would means you’d save $586 in tax, when compared to paying in your own name.
What do you need to implement this strategy?
- A Business.
- A Discretionary or Family Trust.
- Kids under the age of 18.
- A chat with an Inspire Chartered Accountant – www.calendly.com/inspireca.
- To take action prior to 30 June.
FAQ’s: Distributing income to your Children.
Why $416? Seems low…
Many years ago, this used to be a few thousand dollars for each child.
The ATO has reduced the limit over the years, and it now sits at $416 per child.
What about Children OVER the age of 18? Can I distribute to them too?
In most cases, yes – which (depending on their circumstances) massively increases the tax savings! #FistPump
My wife is pregnant and baby is due after 30 June, can I still flick $416 to the bun in the oven?
Nice try… but no.
They have to be born before 30 June to count.
Do step kids count?
Yes.
Most trust deeds will allow this if you’re married or in a de facto relationship with their mother or father.
We have adopted children, do they count?
Yes – so long as they legally your children.
Do I have to actually give them the $416? They already cost me more than that a week!
The fact that you’re already supporting them more than $416 in the year, means that you have already given the money to them (or paid for expenses on their behalf worth more than $416).
So you don’t need to give them $416 in pocket money! Phew!…
So you’re telling me, if I have 15 children, I could bring my taxable income down by 15 x $416?
Yes, that’s right.
Tax free income of $6,240. (A saving of $2,933 in the example above!)
NEXT STEPS: You can book in a Quick 10 Min Chat here with an Inspire Chartered Accountant to talk about Tax Saving Strategies that will work for you.
SMSF Myths Busted! Self managed super fund
Is a Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) right for you?
Already have a SMSF, but want to make it work harder for you?
Over 900,000 Australians run their own SMSF. But the news media is in a frenzy at the moment about SMSF’s and property investments.
We understand that SMSF’s don’t suit everyone, so it’s important you get the right information to decide for yourself.
To assist you to make a correctly informed choice, here are the FACTS:
Why do people set up their own SMSF?
● To be able to make their own decisions about where their super is invested.
● To invest in your own chosen property (business premises “commercial” property or residential property).
Is it expensive to set up a SMSF?
No, it isn’t.
You need a SMSF Trust Deed (the document that contains all of the rules for running your super fund) and we recommend you incorporate a Company to be the Trustee (the decision maker) for the SMSF. Our price for this is $3,000 plus GST, which includes preparation of all required documents, and everything legally required for a SMSF.
For example, if you have $200,000 in super, then the setup costs are 1.5% of your super balance – very low for setting up your financial future!
What are the ongoing running costs of a SMSF?
The ongoing costs start from as little as $250 + GST per month for the administration of your SMSF (includes tax returns, annual financial statements, minutes of Trustee’s meetings) plus $500 + GST for the annual audit of your SMSF.
How much super do I need to set up a SMSF?
Some new media stories suggest you need at least $200,000 (or even higher) to make it cost effective to have a SMSF.
We disagree.
A SMSF is your family wealth creation vehicle. Even if you have as little as $100,000 in super right now, it may make sense to establish a SMSF and then set up life insurance (owned by the SMSF) on SMSF members while they are still fit and healthy.
Also, in many situations, using a SMSF can give you much better estate planning options.
As an example, if you have $100,000 in super and purchase a property (using a borrowing arrangement) valued at $400,000, then you would have a SMSF with $400,000 in gross assets. Assuming a capital growth rate of 5%, you would generally expect the larger amount of $400,000 growing would provide a better outcome than the smaller amount of $100,000 growing.
This is why many people consider a borrowing arrangement for a SMSF.
What investments can I make in a SMSF?
Typical investments include shares, cash, term deposits, and property. There are specific rules about what you can invest in, so it’s important you seek our advice before you make any decisions.
Is an SMSF right for your family?
To help you make an educated decision, book in for a Quick Chat with one of our Advisors.
The next step may be a 30 minute education session with your family. We can clearly explain the benefits of a SMSF and whether or not a SMSF is the right thing for you.
Don’t delay.
The sooner you get started with the right advice, the sooner you will grow your assets to have a better financial future!
A self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) is a popular option for investors seeking flexibility and greater control of their superannuation.
There are many advantages of using a SMSF, and there are also many obligations that you need to be aware of.
We can assist you with understanding these obligations and guide you through the whole process to make it easy for you.
Ben Walker of Inspire SMSFS Pty Ltd (1243433) is an authorised representative of Finance Wise Global Securities Pty Ltd ABN 60 146 708 045. Finance Wise Global Securities Pty Ltd holds an Australian Financial Services License (No. 397877).
Get Cashed Up
