21 Aug 2026
Episode 25: Motor Vehicle Purchases and Payroll Pitfalls & Tips
Two things land on every bookkeeper's desk eventually: a car purchase to code correctly, and a payroll deadline crush that hits all at once. This episode covers both.
Is it actually a car? The car limit explained
A snippet from this month's Let's Get Technical, hosted by Darren Hagarty and Kellie Powell.
The car limit puts a ceiling on the GST credits and depreciation you can claim on a passenger vehicle. It doesn't cap what a business can spend on a car, and it doesn't touch running costs like fuel, rego, insurance or interest. What it does is cap the GST credit to one-eleventh of the car limit, and cap the cost used for depreciation, once the purchase price goes over the threshold.
None of that matters until you've worked out whether the vehicle is actually a "car" under tax law. Darren and Kellie walk through the legislative definition — a motor vehicle built to carry less than a tonne and fewer than nine passengers — and why so many dual cab utes trip people up. Two utes that look almost identical can land in completely different tax treatment, because the test isn't the badge on the bonnet. It's the carrying capacity, and whether the vehicle is designed mainly to carry people or mainly to carry goods.
Practical takeaway for BAS agents: get the manufacturer specs before you code the purchase. GVM, kerb weight, model and variant, and any accessories fitted (bull bars, canopies, tow bars) can all shift a vehicle across the one-tonne line.
Members can catch the full session, Motor Vehicle Purchases, in the Members Centre.
The EOFY payroll crush: pitfalls and tips
ABA directors Peter Thorpe and Kerrie Jarius on managing the reporting pile-up that hits payroll-heavy practices every July.
Peter and Kerrie's practice does payroll for around 90% of their clients, most with 15+ employees, so the July crunch is real for them. Their conversation runs through everything that lands on top of standard PAYG reporting:
PAYG withholding — income statements are due 14 July. Tip: get reconciliations done in June so you're not starting from zero on 1 July.
Payroll tax — state-based, and thresholds haven't kept pace with wage growth. The ACT recently cut its threshold from $2 million to $1.75 million, and clients with employees across multiple states (including remote workers) can trip a threshold without realising it. Check each client's annual wage bill against every relevant state threshold as soon as income statements are done, and flag it early if a client is getting close.
Workers' comp — state-based, some managed through a board, others through private insurers. Align renewal and estimate deadlines to 30 June where you can, and track the ones you can't. A lapsed policy is a serious risk to a client's business.
Long service leave — state and industry-based schemes are widening well beyond construction, now covering cleaning, IT and even hairdressing in the ACT. Deadlines vary (often 31 July for industry schemes), so know what applies in your state and watch for newly added industries.
TPAR — not strictly payroll, but usually handled alongside it. Add contractor details (ABN, address, GST registration) as you go, not in a scramble at year end. And don't take a contractor's word on their GST status — check the ABN yourself.
They also flag the Fair Work award increase that lands straight after EOFY — pay rates need updating from the first full pay period after 1 July, often with limited notice.
The overarching tip from both: get organised early, keep clients in the loop about tighter July deadlines, and use a system (in-house or software) that flags every deadline so nothing falls between the cracks.
Links & resources
Getting Technical Publication: The Car Limit and Key Exceptions (https://austbook.net/editions/september-2023-getting-technical-the-car-limit-and-key-exceptions)
Let's Get Technical Webinar: Motor Vehicle Purchases (https://austbook.net/webinars/ep-50-motor-vehicle-purchases---what-you-need-to-know)
Become an ABN member — austbook.net/join-us (https://austbook.net/join-us)
