Party Plan and centrelink??

[briggsy's girl]

hehehe - nothing is ever easy hun!

[sassy123]

wat the ATO guy said doesnt sound right $50,000 is a big amount for a HOBBY. i make around 15k at the most a yr and i have to do BAS and do GST. i would look into the ATO side of things more or you could be caught out big time. also when you do get advice make sure you get names and numbers so your not just saying well some guy told me i could do this and that.

[Astrid]

What is a hobby is way much more complicated than a $$ threshold, it is on the ATO site what they take into account what is a hobby. $50,000 used to be the threshold before you had to register for GST, now it is $75,000. As for whether it is taxable income, well that is a different matter and better discussed with an accountant who knows you whole circumstances.

[Pretty Butterfly]

Thanks Astrid, your right, i double checked!!!

But I will have to call back anyway..... As soon as I said its a party plan, similar to tupperware type thing, and tried to go on and explain, he cut me off, and said party plans are "hobbies" and unless I suddenly make a lot of money doing it, they dont need to know....

So an hour wait again today I feel.....

[Astrid]

Tax is such complicated stuff, it is really best to get a direct answer from the ATO or from an accountant (preferably CPA or CA) that takes into account your circumstances. People have to be really careful advising others on what $$ figures are needed to declare to the ATO. Whether something is a business or not is very complicated.

Ok, to quote Lulu, I am now pulling rank. My background 10 years in accounts and finance, an almost finished accounting degree (stopped due to kids), years of payroll, Assistant financial accountant at a publicly listed company. My own bookkeeping business for small businesses and helped run my husbands business. I do not believe that the average person should be giving any tax advice, unless they are just quoting information off the ATO site or pointing someone towards there. Accountants are there for a reason, use them to find out what is the best circumstance for your family. It may be that once you start earning a reasonable income that you may need to set up a family trust for example, but someone else earning the same money may be advised something else.

Yes accountants cost money, but they are worth it, they do years of study and keep up that training (esp CA, CPA's & NIA). 10 minutes on the phone to that ATO cannot come anywhere near to matching their experience. Just call them and you might find there is no charge to come in for a brief chat.

Part of running a business is knowing when someone else is better at doing a task than what you are. Think of every minute, hour etc spent on the phone, internet etc trying to find out this information, when you can just go in and talk to someone for 1/2 hour. Running a business is about best use of time and resources.

[briggsy's girl]

thanks for jumpin in Astrid - i know the centrelink side of things, but did think it sounded a little on the dodgy side to be told not to declare the info to ATO as it's classed as a hobby. i know the first year i did partyplan i took all the details to the accountant at tax time - i let him decide if i needed it. have done the same each time i've started a different party plan (and i've been through a few - it's an awesome way to get what i wanted cheaper! lol)

definitely with any small business get proper financial advice. just because something is going to be run "like partyplan" doesn't mean the same rulings will apply...

[Pretty Butterfly]

Well I guess I'll need to go see someone... this is getting to be more hassle than its worth!!!

I tried the ATO again, to see if different people will tell me different things... got the same story again....

As long as its not my own product, and I'm just passing products through, like tupperware, it doesn't matter how many companies products I'm selling. Just as if i sold Avon and Tupperware. Provided I dont set up 'shop" or earn over $50,000 selling other peoples products, its a hobby. I can keep my ABN if its required, with 2 pieces of documentation stating I have to have one. 3 nappy places have already requested I have one, so all good there...

But you are both spot on... I need a pro's help here!!!!

I just wanna sell some fluff!!!!

[Tinks]

wat the ATO guy said doesnt sound right $50,000 is a big amount for a HOBBY. i make around 15k at the most a yr and i have to do BAS and do GST. i would look into the ATO side of things more or you could be caught out big time. also when you do get advice make sure you get names and numbers so your not just saying well some guy told me i could do this and that.

I was told it was classed as a hobby as long as you were selling under $50,000 worth of retail price product a year. Out of that $50,000 you'd declare 1/3 (or your commission, some pp have higher commission) of that as income.

I don't know about what you have to declare to Centrelink though.