As we draw closer to the festive season and Christmas shopping is underway, you’ve probably got your thinking cap on in regard to maximising your budget for gifts. Did you know that in certain circumstances Christmas gifts are actually tax deductible?
As an employer, you can provide tax deductible gifts to staff, clients and vendors. Conditions around tax deductible Christmas gifts change regularly, so we encourage you to check the latest information provided by the ATO.
Gifting charity donations for Christmas, however, is an option open to everyone, with fewer requirements to meet to boost your tax return.
When is a donation to charity given as a Christmas gift considered tax deductible?
Of all the Christmas gifts you could choose to give this year, charity donations will give back to families in need, as well as boost your next tax return.
For a charity donation to be considered tax deductible, it must be in an amount of more than $2, and not be given to a charity in exchange for goods or benefits (raffle tickets, entry to an event etc). The charity must also be endorsed as a Dedicated Gift Recipient by the ATO, and your receipt for the donation provided to prove your gift meets these requirements.
This means that when you choose a charity donation as a Christmas gift to staff or clients, your business is contributing towards its social responsibility portfolio, making a difference for families in need and taking the opportunity to give a meaningful and personalised gift to a valued member of your team. Charity gifts are a win for everyone involved!
When is a Christmas gift to staff considered tax deductible?
For a Christmas gift to be tax deductible, it must be gifted by a business entity to a staff member, client or vendor under certain conditions.
Gifts that are considered by the ATO to be “entertainment” fall under different conditions to those that are not, so we will address the two types of gifts and the tax benefits businesses can leverage separately.
Are Christmas gifts that are considered to be “entertainment” tax deductible?
Christmas gifts that the ATO consider to be entertainment include tickets to theatre performances, sporting events and concerts. Cinema tickets, airline tickets and other forms of event-based activities also fall within the category of entertainment.
Entertainment gifts that cost $300 or more are tax deductible, but they are also subject to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT), something to keep in mind if you have an extensive client portfolio or staff list you wish to provide with experiential gifts. If, however, you give tickets that are less than $300 in value, they are not tax deductible, but they’re also not subject to FBT.
What about Christmas gifts that aren’t considered “entertainment”?
The conditions for gifts that aren’t considered entertainment are much different, and more likely to earn a business a decent boost to their tax refund.
Material gifts such as chocolates, Christmas hampers and baskets, wines, or fragrances, as well as monetary gifts in the form of vouchers or charity donations are not considered entertainment. Christmas gifts that aren’t entertainment are tax deductible regardless of value, and are only subject to FBT when valued over $300.
Show your appreciation for staff and clients with Christmas gifts that will boost your tax return
Christmas gifts are tax deductible when they meet particular conditions, but they will always boost your tax return when you choose a charity donation.
We encourage you to be creative in your choice and personalise toward the interests of your recipient. Show your appreciation for staff, clients and vendors by thanking them for a great year with a donation to charity for Christmas, an act of hope and kindness for the new year.
You might be wondering, is World Toilet Day actually an international observance? Well, yes, World Toilet Day is marked annually on 19 November. It sounds funny, but the reality is that 4.2 billion people still live without access to safe sanitation or toilet facilities. That’s more than half the world’s population.
On World Toilet Day, we want to tell you more about the observance, its significance and how you can get involved. Read on for your guide to World Toilet Day!
Who invented the toilet?
Latrines have been used for thousands of years to dispose of human waste with various forms, including those used by the Romans, being more sophisticated than others. A latrine is very simple, usually a pit or a trench, whereas a toilet is a fixed receptacle which can easily be flushed out to dispose of waste.
The first flushable toilet was invented by English courtier Sir John Harrington in 1596. He described a 60-centimetre-deep oval waterproofed bowl, fed water from above by a cistern. Flushing this toilet required 3.8 litres of water to be poured into the bowl, which would drain the waste into a sewer below.
Toilets as we know them were first manufactured by the English plumber Thomas Crapper, who in the 19th century invented the ballcock, the tank-filling mechanism that is still used in all our toilets when we flush.
While Crapper didn’t invent the toilet, it was his addition to the toilet that revolutionised the way we manufacture and use sanitation facilities, as well as their potential to improve health and quality of life for those who use them. It is this “toilet”, that we now associate with the term.
When was World Toilet Day first observed?
The first World Toilet Day was announced in 2001 by Jack Sim, a philanthropist from Singapore. It was founded to inform, engage and inspire people to take action towards providing accessible and safe sanitation facilities around the globe.
Goal 6 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals calls for adequate sanitation, which includes a system assuring that waste is safely processed. Efforts to bring attention to the current sanitation crisis were strengthened in 2010, when the United Nations announced that it is a basic human right to have access to water and sanitation.
What is the significance of World Toilet Day and why is it observed?
With 4.2 billion people worldwide without access to safe sanitation facilities, we are in the midst of a global sanitation crisis. World Toilet Day might not seem like a significant observance, but it is observed to raise awareness and encourage strategic thinking towards tackling the crisis.
A key topic of interest that is regularly discussed around World Toilet Day is sustainable development of sanitation facilities, particularly regarding the use of water resources and climate change. The observance also highlights the key role safe sanitation facilities play in preventing the spread of disease, and maintaining a good quality of health.
How to get involved in World Toilet Day
Getting involved in World Toilet Day is easy and can be loads of fun! We’ve put together a few ideas to help you get started, but we recommend bringing your creativity to the table and pushing the boundaries.
1.Raise awareness on social media
Social media is a great conversation starter, and there’s a number of ways you can initiate a World Toilet Day-focused conversation with your network:
Share a photo of your toilet on Twitter with an informative caption about World Toilet Day and add in the hashtag #WorldToiletDay. (Remember to close the lid!)
Start a poll on Facebook and ask your network if they’re aware of how many people don’t have access to safe sanitation facilities.
Comment on content shared by the United Nations about World Toilet Day during the observance.
Tag friends in engaging content on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram that includes facts about World Toilet Day you think they should know.
2.Educate yourself and others
An international observance is a great opportunity to educate yourself and others about a topic you might be interested to learn more about. Research content related to safe sanitation facilities, such as documentaries, videos, podcasts, articles and more.
Once you’ve built a strong foundation on the topic, organise a World Toilet Day-themed trivia event as a team-building activity with your colleagues, or a game to play with your friends on a Friday night.
3. Donate a Deepwater Borehole System
There are many charities which are working towards providing communities around the globe with the water resources and sanitation they need to improve the health of children and families.
You may wish to donate Gifts for Good, ChildFund Australia’s range of charity gifts, which includes the option to donate a deepwater borehole system. The water provided from the borehole system will be the first step in providing a community with safe sanitation facilities.
Alternatively, you can donate a share of a deepwater borehole system, which could be combined with others to fund drilling, construction and maintenance of a complete solar-powered, deepwater borehole system.
4. Donate monthly to ChildFund Australia
You can start making a difference to 1,000 children today, by making a monthly donation to ChildFund Australia. It’s a simple and convenient way to give and month by month, you’ll help to create lasting change that you can see.
Your donation will be used to support the education, safety and health of children in developing nations, including providing them with access to running water and sanitation facilities. By assisting with funding access to clean water and adequate sanitation, you’ll be helping to protect these children from diseases that can spread due to poor hygiene.
Make a difference this World Toilet Day
World Toilet Day isn’t just about toilets. It’s about the role toilets play in keeping each and every one of us healthy, and improving global access to safe sanitation facilities. We recommend that you have fun with this observance, get yourself and others involved, and express gratitude for something as simple as having a toilet.
