The Age Pension Payment is set to increase tomorrow, Thursday, 20 September 2012. Following are the highlights: Age Pension Increases | 20 September 2012   Fortnightly Payment Current Amount The New Amount Total Increase Single Base Fortnight 695.30 712.00 16.70 Supplement 60.20 60.60 0.40 Total...

Most Home Owners are aware that you don't have to pay Capital Gains Tax (CGT) if you sell your main home. However, you may have to pay CGT on a portion of the sale proceeds, if you run your business from your main home. The sneaky little trap is that you may have to pay CGT even if you don't claim any of the business's expenses (e.g. portion of electricity, Rates, etc.)! The Tax Department's 'test' depends on whether or not your were eligible to claim bu...

Here's an example of how easy it can be to plan your future with a professional Financial Planner. One of our client's recently contacted me to discuss if they could afford a trip to Europe in 2013. As they were a Total Service Financial Planning Client, we had all of their updated information on file, including their current Expenditure Analysis and details of their Income. I completed the projection this morning for them and determined that they could afford to pay fo...

The Newman QLD Government handed down its first Budget today. They are introducing a First Home Buyer Concession Grant of $15,000 for those buying their first new home, however, there is a catch. In order to get the Grant, you will need to buy a newly-built home, or construct a new home of your own. I assume that means the current $7,500 First Home Owner Grant will be abolished, which means if your first home is an existing property, you'll get nothing. The hand giveth,...