Further clarity on technology investment boost

Accountants have been recently turning their minds to the bonus 20% deduction that is available to some clients under the technology investment boost.

For a particular cost to qualify for the boost, one of the key conditions is that the expenditure needs to be spent wholly or substantially for the purpose of the client's digital operations or digitising their operations.

In many cases, the key challenge is working out whether the expenditure meets this condition.

While there are some examples of costs that might qualify in the explanatory materials accompanying the legislation and in the existing ATO fact sheet in this area, there are still significant areas of uncertainty.

Recognising the difficulty in this area, the ATO has released some additional guidance. Although the guidance does not provide a full or exhaustive list of eligible costs, it does make some comments on certain expenditure and confirms the following:

• An ongoing subscription to an accounting software platform for a client's business would be within scope of the boost; and
• A multifunction printer and scanner would not qualify if it was intended to be used only to make copies of paper copies, but it would be within the scope of the rules if used to scan paper documents for digital use and storage.
  

Outside of this, the ATO suggests that a good indicator of whether an expense is within scope of the boost is to consider whether the business would have incurred the expense if they didn't operate digitally.

The ATO also confirms that the expenditure does not need to be new to qualify. An ongoing and existing subscription can qualify for the technology boost if the subscription costs are incurred between 7:30pm AEDT 29 March 2022 and 30 June 2023, subject to the other conditions being met.

Still not certain if you qualify for this deduction? Don't hesitate to us and we can discuss your particular circumstance and help get you a boost.

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GENERAL ADVICE WARNING | The information contained in this article is general and is not intended to serve as advice. No warranty is given in relation to the accuracy or reliability of any information. Readers should not act or fail to act based on information contained herein. Readers are encouraged to contact a professional advisor for advice concerning specific matters before making any decision.