Building & Construction Industry – employee or contractor?
The ATO has developed a decision tool that helps payers in the building and construction industry determine whether a worker is engaged as an employee or independent contractor. It will give a decision based on answers to some simple questions.
On answering a series of questions, the decision tool provides a report which will give:
- a decision of employee or contractor (for Commonwealth taxation and superannuation purposes) for this particular arrangement
- a summary of the information you have provided
- the basis of the decision, and
- a summary of your Commonwealth taxation and superannuation obligations relating to the worker.
Users will remain anonymous at all times. No personal information is transmitted to the Tax Office
Access it here Employee or contractor?
Tradies, the ATO & Industry Benchmarks
The Tax Office has been working with trade associations to develop industry benchmarks to help tradespeople comply with their tax obligations.
Businesses can use the benchmarks to compare their performance to the rest of the industry and check that their tax records accurately reflect their business practices.
The benchmarks provide guidance on the amount of time and materials involved in an average job in certain industries, such as the number of litres of paint used by a painter. These ‘inputs’ are based on the factors a tradesperson uses when preparing a quote for a client.
Tax agents can use the benchmarks to assist them when preparing and lodging tax returns and business activity statements for their clients.
To date, benchmarks, developed in conjunction with the relevant trade associations and through consultation with tax practitioners and peak industry bodies, have been prepared for several industries. Below are FREE fact sheets for industries to date:
