Another financial year is fast approaching and now is an excellent time for all medical professionals to review how they organise their financial operations and implement strategies to ensure the next twelve months run as smoothly as possible.
Unsure how to approach this task? That’s understandable — your area of expertise is healthcare, not accounting. Fortunately, Calibre Business Advisory’s team of trained and experienced medical accountants is here to help.
As a medical professional, the success of your practice can be measured in several ways. The health and well-being of your patients are clearly important. However, you also must be able to look at your practice from a business perspective — weigh up profit against loss, implement cost-saving measures, and ensure your team is structured in a manner that maximises efficiency. Calibre Business Advisory’s team of tax accountants can help you with all these tasks (and more), setting you on the path to financial success.
What is tax compliance?
Tax compliance can be defined as the steps you take to ensure you are accurately recording your income and deductions. It is the responsibility of all business owners in Australia to observe tax laws. The first step to doing so is understanding your obligations — what types of taxes affect your business.
Tax compliance is important and not always simple. If you have limited accounting and financial experience, the kind of recording keeping required by the ATO may be confusing. If you operate a particularly large or complex business, staying on top of your taxation obligations (which can change) may require considerable time and resources. If these statements describe you and your medical practice, Calibre Business Advisory is able to assist.
Types of taxation
There are a number of different taxes that could apply to your business. As outlined by the ATO, these include:
● Income tax for business
● Capital gains tax (CGT)
● Fringe benefits tax (FBT)
● Pay as you go (PAYG) withholding
● Pay as you go (PAYG) instalments
● Goods and Services Tax (GST)
● Fuel tax credits
● Wine equalisation tax
● Luxury car tax
● Payroll tax
● Land tax
As a healthcare professional, not all of these taxes may apply to you. On the other hand, there may be other taxes that you might not be aware of which can impact your operations. A significant part of tax compliance is understanding your obligations, which Calibre Business Advisory can certainly assist with.
Record-keeping — it’s important
As a business owner, keeping timely and accurate financial records is paramount. The ATO clearly states that businesses are legally obliged to keep records of all taxation and superannuation affairs, including:
● Documents relating to your business income and expenses
● Documents containing details of any election, choice, estimate, determination, or calculation you make for your business’ tax and super affairs, including how the estimate, determination, or calculation was made.
Given that there can be legal or financial consequences for failure to maintain appropriate records, speaking to an experienced medical accountant about record-keeping practices can minimise a lot of time and cost in the future. Calibre Business Advisory will be able to provide tailored advice on what information is required, how long you should keep information (up to five years may be necessary), and how to best organise and safeguard your records.
The advice that our medical accountants will provide is specific to your business and tailored to the medical industry, meaning your benefit from a personalised approach.
Calibre Business Advisory — servicing all your medical accounting needs
Tax compliance is one of the many services that the team at Calibre Business Advisory offer. We’re passionate about helping medical professionals maximise their financial and operational performance, taking responsibility for these aspects of your business, and allowing you to focus on what you do best — looking after your patients.
Our comprehensive medical accounting services include:
● Business structure review
● Small Business Tax Offset and other incentives
● Tax compliance, including tax returns, activity statements, and PAYG
● Tax planning
● Succession planning
● Business valuation
● Acquisition and mergers
Whether you require assistance in the early days of setting up your medical practice or feel that you could benefit from an experienced financial eye, Calibre Business Advisory is here to assist. Contact our tax accountants today to discuss your concerns and requirements.