By Sarah Lowry and Pam Kloosterman

Is your child prepared for living in the real world? That is, do they know what’s involved in moving out of home, living independently and even taking on a part time job? As a parent, do you have the knowledge to transition them to independence? Read to the end to see our extraordinary offer to you and your child.

A child moving out of home is hard enough emotionally without the added burden of financial stress and the paperwork involved in setting up your student for their studies. As parents going through this process ourselves, here are some handy tips we have learnt along the way.

What does your teenager know? Give them this pop quiz:

How much money do you need to live when you leave home?
How are you going to support yourself at uni?
What do you give your new employer?
What is a TFN?
What is superannuation?
What is a tax return and do you have to lodge one?

Starting part-time work

Once they have found a job, they will need to give their new employer their tax file number (TFN) and details of their superannuation fund. Help them fill out the TFN declaration form, especially the question about the tax free threshold. Answer yes if this is their main job.

How can we help our young adults prepare for their new life after moving out of home?

We want to guide our children to independence while still having the backup of mum and dad.

Sit down with your child and prepare a budget:

What are their expenses?
How much do they get paid?
What are their goals?
How much can they save?

Other issues to discuss are:

Is their phone on a plan?
Do they need a car at Uni?
Can they park their car at Uni?
Is their car insured?
What would they have to do if they are in a car accident?
Have they set up a Mygov account with Centrelink in preparation for youth allowance?
Arrange for a separate Medicare card.

Youth Allowance

Youth allowance is a fortnightly payment available through Centrelink for full-time students aged 16–24. It is worth $437 per fortnight for the duration of the course. Applications can be lodged up to 13 weeks before the course starts and we recommend that you do not delay lodging your application.

Rural applications need to meet the independent requirements. To qualify for independent status, students from 'inner regional', ‘regional’, ‘remote’ or ‘very remote’ areas need to have a gap year and earn at least $24,042 (current from 1 July 2016) in an 18 month period. The parents' income must be below $150,000 in the year prior to study. There are other ways to qualify for Youth Allowance without doing a gap year - if you want to know more, please call us at Lincolns.

Students can work while studying and earn up to $437 per fortnight before it affects their Youth Allowance.

Rent assistance

Students receiving Youth Allowance who are living away from home may also apply for rent assistance. These payments provide students with a handy contribution towards their rent expenses. You will need a copy of the rental agreement for this part of the application and the payment is dependent upon the amount of rent you pay.

University fees

All universities now charge fees on a per unit basis. If fees are not paid up front, the student will have a Higher Education Loan Program (HELP Loan) that will need to be repaid from their future income. From 1 July 2018 once a student earns over $42,000 they will have to start repaying this debt. Before embarking on a university degree, it’s a good idea for students to be aware of what level of debt they will have once they have completed their degree.

How can we help?

Lincolns is always available and happy to provide a free meeting with you and your child to discuss these points and help prepare a personal budget.

This free offer is available for all young people leaving home regardless of whether they are going to uni next year. Please call us on 9841 1200 to lock in a free meeting.

Tax Break for Small Business – Extended

By Brendan Taylor

We all know that a small business now has turnover under $10m.

That means a number of income tax concessions are available to you. One of these concessions was due to finish on 30 June this year.

The Small Business Asset Write Off allows a 100% tax deduction for purchases of plant and equipment, vehicles and other eligible capital assets.

That tax break has now been extended until 30 June 2018.

This is great news for small business. There is no longer a panic to purchase these assets before 30 June this year.

If you wish to know more, call your accountant on 9841 1200.

Students living in the real world