For many older Australians, having wealth tied up in the family home can make day-to-day expenses challenging. The Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS) is a government-backed program that allows eligible seniors to unlock some of the value in their home without selling it.

In contrast to holiday homes, what happens where you use all or part of your home to produce assessable income? Well, there will be important capital gains tax (CGT) consequences – the most important of which is that you will be likely to lose some of your CGT exemption on the home.

With summer around the corner and beach holiday homes back on the agenda, perhaps it is time to revisit a few tax matters about their use. And the big issue is how you claim expenses if your holiday home is only rented for part of the year.

If you’re made redundant, you may receive a lump sum payout. While this can provide financial breathing room, it’s important to understand how that money is taxed. Not all parts of a redundancy payment are taxed the same and how it is taxed can make a big difference to what you actually take home.

If you run a small business and sell it – or some of its asset(s) – and make a capital gain, the CGT “retirement exemption” may be invaluable to reduce or eliminate the tax payable on the gain. The funny thing is that you don’t have to retire to use the CGT retirement exemption. 

Dying without a valid will means the law—not you—decides who inherits, who manages your estate, and even who arranges your funeral. Intestacy laws provide a safety net, but they may not reflect your wishes or your family’s needs. Protect your loved ones from uncertainty—speak to Pointax today about making a valid will.

Government concession cards, including the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card and state-based Seniors Cards provide significant savings. These cards help you reduce costs on healthcare, prescriptions, and daily expenses, making life more affordable. Learn more from this article and how Pointax can help you unlock your savings.

Tax reform chatter is heating up, but action remains cautious. Beyond small personal tax cuts and the 15% levy on big super balances, the government is weighing intergenerational equity. That could mean revisiting negative gearing, CGT discounts, trusts, and super concessions—issues often benefiting older, wealthier Australians. With Millennials now outnumbering Boomers, community sentiment may push changes. Businesses should also watch possible tweaks to investment incentive

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