MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: Registering a business in Australia  (Read 2004 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

« on: February 26, 2014, 20:37 »
0
G'day folks,

When photography is a hobby that occasionally makes money in your spare time from stock, portrait shoots, events etc, what are the pros / cons of registering a company and putting your income and expenses through it?

I'm spending a few $ on nice gear like everyone else here, and wondering whether I could make any of it tax-deductible by putting it through a business while I'm still on the payroll as a regular employee in a job that has nothing to do with photography. I guess it can't be as easy at that, otherwise everyone would be creating companies and putting cars, property and everything else through them, but I'm keen to learn how those of you who are semi-pro / earning an income from photography while still doing regular salaried work in another industry handle your finances.

FWIW, I'm in Australia...
« Last Edit: February 27, 2014, 00:05 by hairybiker777 »


ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2014, 21:01 »
0
Maybe change your title to 'Registering a business in Australia', as none of the rest of us can help. It's easy in the UK (I started on iStock while I was teaching full-time, so two different tax schedules in the UK), but I find it cost-effective (as well as sanity-saving) to pay an accountant to do the official paperwork.

« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2014, 07:46 »
0
I'm in Australia also.  There are some guidelines about how much you need to make before you register for an ABN, I found them when I was researching the same thing (try the ATO website) but can't remember just how much that was now except for well beyond what I currently earn, or expect to in the near future.  As you say, otherwise everyone with a camera and three sales on SS would be doing it.

If a more experienced pro photographer in Australia happens by though, I'd be interested in their thoughts though!

« Reply #3 on: March 04, 2014, 08:12 »
0
I'm in Oz too. I've applied for the ABN and have all my expenses on equipment tax deductible. From my understanding, you can apply for an ABN once you started a business, and don't required to have any profit. Then, you can claim deduction on the part of your income from your microstock business, but not the income from your full time job.

With an ABN, you need to keep record of all your business activity and submit an activity statement to ATO every quarter. This can be time consuming, but definitely worth doing if your income from micro stock is significant. If your business reach an annual turnover over AUD75000, you can apply for GST deduction as well. That means you can buy your equipment and claim back the 10% GST.



 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
2 Replies
2820 Views
Last post December 13, 2006, 18:01
by roman
8 Replies
3141 Views
Last post October 16, 2009, 04:11
by Dan
0 Replies
3667 Views
Last post January 11, 2011, 22:41
by bbettina
10 Replies
4379 Views
Last post May 18, 2012, 05:04
by ruigsantos
0 Replies
1619 Views
Last post October 13, 2017, 17:45
by Zalee

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors