Wellness & Lifestyles Australia (W&L) recognises that becoming a sub-contractor may seem a bit daunting if you have been an employee all of your professional life.  W&L has employees and sub-contractors and allows for both structures.

We have a dedicated accountant that we recommend to our therapists to answer any questions, provide advice, do tax returns and complete and lodge applications for ABNs and GST plus preparation and lodgement of quarterly BAS returns.

Leslie Wilding of Wilding Enterprises will happily assist you with all your needs.

Here’s what a few of W&L’s therapists who are using Lesley’s services have to say about her:

“Lesley was fantastic to deal with. She has a great knowledge of the accounting practices that apply to allied health contractors, e.g., deductions, depreciation and eligible expenses. She is prompt with the whole process and her fees are very reasonable compared to other accountants I’ve used in the past. I was very happy with the service and will be using her again to do my accounting for this FY.” (W&L Podiatrist)

“She’s been fantastic.  Lesley handles both mine and my husband’s tax returns and always provides an excellent service. She comes out to our property which is really convenient with having a 2 year old and being very unorganised I don’t have to make several trips with paperwork I have forgotten about! She has saved us literally $1000’s and what she saves us always far outways the very reasonable fees. Lesley is always happy to answer any tax related questions I might have at any time and has provided us with a great spread sheet for working out our BAS returns. I have already recommended Lesley to friends and family and would have no hesitation in recommending her to W&L therapists. Can’t sing her praises enough!” (W&L Physiotherapist)

“Through my accountant Lesley Wilding I received my most satisfying tax return ever in 2009. Upon receiving my notice of assessment I had to call her to verify that there was no mistake in the amount returned! Importantly, she is extremely professional and a lovely person to do business with. I can highly recommend her to anyone wanting to get the most out of their tax return.” (W&L Podiatrist)

You have just started to work for W&L as a sub-contractor?  Click on the flowchart below to see how the process works, step by step!

W&L Flowchart of being a W&L Sub-Contractor

What you need to do first?
You need to decide what trading entity is best for your situation.  If you only intend to do a few hours as a sub-contractor then a sole trader is probably the best scenario.  This means that any income is offset against any expense incurred and the net amount is known as your taxable income and this is what you pay tax on.

The individual tax brackets are shown below:

• $1 – $6,000, Nil
• $6,001 – $35,000, 15% on excess
• $35,001 – $80,000, 30% on excess
• $80,001 – $180,000, 38% on excess
• $180,001+, 45% on excess

If you work full-time as a sub-contractor then it may be appropriate to set up a family trust and you work as an employee of the trust.  That way, your gross salary, superannuation & WorkCover contributions will be tax deductible in the trust.  Any profit can be distributed to family members, including children, tax effectively.  This would need to be discussed in more detail and will require all tax implications to be looked at.

Do you have an ABN?
If you already work in private practice you would already have an ABN.  If this is the first time you have worked as a sub-contractor you need to apply to the ATO for an Australian Business Number before commencing work.  This procedure can take up to 28 days so you need to apply straight away.  You can also apply for an ABN through the ATO website which is much easier.

Do I need to be GST registered?
If your gross income is going to be greater than $75,000 per annum then it is compulsory for you to register for GST – this needs to be done when applying for an ABN.  However, if your gross income is going to be less than $75,000 per annum, you can still apply.  Being GST registered means that you can claim the input credits from all work related purchases including capital purchases (i.e. cars, equipment) but you need to charge GST on services provided (i.e. work done as a sub-contractor).

What expenses are tax deductible?
Any expense that is incurred to produce assessable income is tax deductible.  This means that you can claim items such as:

• Motor Vehicle expenses:
• Fuel
• Repairs and maintenance
• Insurance
• Registration
• Depreciation
• Public liability insurance
• Sickness and TPD insurance (you cannot claim life insurance premiums)
• Professional registrations
• Purchases of equipment over $300 must be depreciated over the life of the item, e.g. autoclave for sterilising instruments
• Continual professional development.  Any seminars, conferences can be claimed including some further education training
• Research journals and books
• Accounting fees
• Printing , stationery and postage – you can also claim expenses relating to personal computers, including internet
• Home office expenses – as work is required to be undertaken at home (e.g. invoices, timesheets, etc) an amount is claimable to cover such items
• Consumables – this covers expenses like the purchase of gels, creams, sterilisation pouches for autoclaves, etc.
• Superannuation contributions
• Purchase of specialised uniforms including laundry/dry cleaning

Details required
Should you wish to use the services of the accounting firm recommended by Wellness & Lifestyles Australia, the details are:

Lesley Wilding, B.Bus, Acct & Law.
Director, Wilding Enterprises
Accounting and Business Solutions
Phone:  (08) 8362 9080
Mobile: 0403 815 240
Email:  wilding@ihug.com.au

Prior to contacting Lesley, please ensure you complete this Wilding Enterprises-Details Form first.  You can either complete the form and email it direct to Lesley or fax it through to W&L on 08 8331 3002 and we will pass it on!

The fee structure for Wilding Enterprises’ accounting services (as at 1/1/2010)  is:

• Complete and lodge applications for ABN and GST (if applicable) - $200.00
• Preparation and lodgement of quarterly BAS returns (per quarter) - $200.00
• Individual tax return (includes pre end of financial year meeting to discuss tax minimisation strategies - $500.00
• Individual tax return with investments - $700.00
• Company and trust financial and tax returns - from $1000.00

DISCLOSURE:  Wellness & Lifestyles Australia receives a 10% commission for each referral.