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Investments: where to get information about your tax requirements
Warning: This information may not apply to the current year. Check the content carefully to ensure it is applicable to your circumstances.

This brochure lists the products and services we provide to help you understand the tax requirements of your investments, such as:

  • capital gains or capital losses from the sale of shares and property, or
  • rental income, expenses and depreciation.

These products and services will also help you lodge your tax return correctly.

Investment schemes

Some advice about investment schemes:

  • Don’t let promised tax benefits influence your decision about an investment.
  • Always check that an investment has a Tax Office product ruling.
  • For a checklist for investors, visit www.ato.gov.au/individuals.
  • Remember: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Guide to capital gains tax (NAT 4151 – 6.2004)

  • Explains capital gains tax (CGT).
  • Helps you calculate your capital gain or capital loss and complete your income tax return.
  • Covers shares and units, trust distributions, real estate (including your main residence), marriage breakdown, deceased estates and record keeping.
  • Explains the CGT consequences for bonus shares, shares acquired under an employee share scheme, bonus units, rights and options, and shares and units if a takeover or demerger has occurred.

Personal investors guide to capital gains tax (NAT 4152 – 6.2004)

  • Provides worked examples of distributions of capital gains from managed funds.
  • Covers the sale, gift or other disposal of shares in a company, units in a unit trust or managed fund.
  • Covers non-assessable payments from companies or managed funds.

Rental properties (NAT 1729 – 6.2004)

  • Explains taxation reporting requirements for rental property income.
  • Provides information on allowable deductions, including decline in value (depreciation) items.
  • Provides examples on how to calculate deductions and includes an example of a completed rental property worksheet.
  • Outlines record-keeping requirements.

Deductions for prepaid expenses (NAT 4170 – 6.2004)

  • Explains how to work out your deductions for prepaid expenses.
  • Covers both non-business and business prepaid expenses for all types of taxpayers.

Guide to depreciating assets (NAT 1996 – 6.2004)

  • Explains how to work out the decline in value of your depreciating assets.
  • Explains what happens when you dispose of or stop using a depreciating asset.
  • Covers the deductions available under the uniform capital allowance system for capital expenditure other than on depreciating assets.

You and your shares (NAT 2632 – 6.2004)

  • Provides information about shares or bonds held as an investment and the tax implications of owning shares or bonds.
  • Explains how dividends are taxed.
  • Covers the types of expenses you can claim as deductions.
  • Explains deemed dividends from private companies.

Refund of franking credits (NAT 4105 – 6.2004)

  • Describes franking credits and their link with the franked dividends you may receive as a shareholder in a company or investor in a managed fund.
  • Contains an application for refund of franking credits for people who do not need to lodge a tax return.

How to claim a foreign tax credit (NAT 2338 – 6.2004)

  • Provides information about foreign tax credits if you receive income from overseas and pay foreign tax on it.
  • Helps you work out your claim.

Foreign investment funds guide (web only)

  • Explains foreign investment funds.
  • Provides information about measures for income and gains in foreign companies not controlled by Australians.

Self managed superannuation funds – role and responsibilities of trustees (NAT 11032 – 6.2004)

  • Outlines trustees’ administrative obligations.
  • Provides information on the restrictions that apply to self-managed superannuation funds.
  • Includes a compliance checklist.

Super Co-contribution – fact sheet (NAT 11589 – 7.2004)

  • Explains the Super Co-contribution, which gives you a helping hand if you earn less than $58,000 a year, make personal superannuation contributions and meet all other requirements.
  • To work out how much you may be eligible for, use the calculator at www.ato.gov.au/super.

Understanding tax in retirement (NAT 9190 – 6.2003)

  • Provides information about managing retirement changes for people who have already retired or are planning their retirement.
  • Contains answers to many frequently asked questions, and refers to a number of other organisations and sources.

Tax Office free services

TaxPack 2004 Supplement

  • Provides information about income tax on capital gains or capital losses, rental income, foreign source income and managed funds.
  • Use the supplement in conjunction with TaxPack 2004.

e-tax

Prepare your tax return electronically and lodge online. To help you prepare your tax return, e-tax provides:

  • a capital gains tax module – to help you work out your capital gain or capital loss
  • a rental property worksheet
  • a depreciation worksheet.

e-tax is free, safe and secure, and is available to the vision impaired via screen reader software. Most refunds are sent within 14 days. Download e-tax from http://atogovau/etax

Demerger calculators

Visit www.ato.gov.au to work out the cost base for your shares in:

Rulings

  • Product rulings offer certainty to participants about the tax treatment of specific structured investment products. A product ruling does not guarantee any product as a good or viable investment.
  • For legal information such as rulings, practice statements and tax laws, visit www.ato.gov.au

More information

  • Visit our website at www.ato.gov.au
  • Phone the Personal Tax Infoline on 13 28 61.
  • For superannuation enquiries, phone 13 10 20.
  • To order publications, phone the Publications Distribution Service on 1300 720 092 and quote the publication’s full title and NAT number.

Last Modified: Tuesday, 5 October 2004



Relying on our information - our commitment to you

We are committed to providing you with advice and guidance you can rely on, so we make every effort to ensure that what we give you is correct.

If you follow our advice or guidance and it turns out to be incorrect, or it is misleading and you make a mistake as a result, we will take that into account when determining what action, if any, we should take.

Some of the advice and guidance on this website applies to a specific financial year. This is clearly marked. Make sure you have the information for the right year before making decisions based on that information.

If you feel that our advice and guidance does not fully cover your circumstances, or you are unsure how it applies to you, contact us or seek professional advice.

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