ATO (tax office) payments by credit card

[KLN]

Had my accountant visit during the week, and between Company Tax Bill, Personal Tax Bill X 2 and Superannuation Fund Tax Bill it was only $24K. i said "is that all".
my accountant laughed. i was the one who told him about paying on the CC.

 

[angusburns]

My accountant rang me today to tell me about my tax bill. Instead of being annoyed, I was calculating how many FF points I can get! Is that bad?:shock::shock:. I think I might apply for the CitiBusiness Gold Visa as I don't have to pay the bill till March next year and I might as well get 1.25 pts per dollar spent + the 40000 pts sign up bonus.

Or you could look at the Citiselect Visa card if you want Singapore Airline or Velocity points instead.

Their conversion to the airlines may seem a bit confusing at first glance as it goes from your spend to Citirewards points to Airline points - there is an intermediate currency.

You earn at 2 Citipoints per dollar and then redeem at 1.5 Citipoints to one KrisFlyer or Velocity point = 1.33 Krisflyer point per dollar. (easy eg $3 = 6 Citipoints = 4 Krisflyer points, or 4pts/$3 = 1.333.... aka 1 1/3)

FWIW, You can also transfer to Asia Miles (Cathay) but conversion is 2 Citipoints to 1 Asia Miles points, so $1:1 AM point same as Qantas with this card.

Pros and Cons of the two cards

CitiSelect Visa cost is $700 but they give you 80,000 points on signup/first use.
CitiBusiness Visa cost is $149 but they give you 40,000 points on signup/first use.

CitiSelect points are uncapped, CitiBusiness is capped at $250,000 spend.

CitiSelect can go to Singapore Airlines / Krisflyer or Virgin Velocity @ 1.33 points per $ or to Asia Miles at !:1 or to Qantas after a $49 fee at 1:1, whereas CitiBusiness can only go to Qantas (AFAIK) @ 1.25 points per dollar (and no $49 fee required as no other option than direct to Qantas)

So I would use CitiBusiness if I wanted Qantas FF points and CitiSelect if I wanted Singapore FF points or was going to spend more than $250k per year.

Singapore Air seems to have more availability at a cheaper rate with a better product, if you travel internationally, so perhaps a better option.

Hope this helps - I spent a good while today looking for the conversion rates from CitiRewards to the airlines on the Citibank website and eventually had to call and ask. The call centre woman apologized for the rates not being on the website - something she was well aware of. Be aware that Citibank customer service is often diabolical but once it is all set up it seems to work fine.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

CitiSelect can go to Singapore Airlines / Krisflyer or Virgin Velocity @ 1.33 points per $ or to Asia Miles at !:1 or to Qantas after a $49 fee at 1:1, whereas CitiBusiness can only go to Qantas (AFAIK) @ 1.25 points per dollar (and no $49 fee required as no other option than direct to Qantas)

Not true - CitiBusiness Gold indeed can be transferred to KF - I have CBG and do transfer to KF.

 

[kpc]

Pros and Cons of the two cards

CitiSelect Visa cost is $700 but they give you 80,000 points on signup/first use.
CitiBusiness Visa cost is $149 but they give you 40,000 points on signup/first use.

CitiSelect points are uncapped, CitiBusiness is capped at $250,000 spend.

CitiSelect can go to Singapore Airlines / Krisflyer or Virgin Velocity @ 1.33 points per $ or to Asia Miles at !:1 or to Qantas after a $49 fee at 1:1, whereas CitiBusiness can only go to Qantas (AFAIK) @ 1.25 points per dollar (and no $49 fee required as no other option than direct to Qantas)

So I would use CitiBusiness if I wanted Qantas FF points and CitiSelect if I wanted Singapore FF points or was going to spend more than $250k per year.

Singapore Air seems to have more availability at a cheaper rate with a better product, if you travel internationally, so perhaps a better option.

Thanks for your analysis which I basically agree with. My personal situation is that I currently have the AMEX charge card at $900 / year. This remains my preferred card for all payments (with one exception) as I earn 1.5 pts per $ spent and I can TF to QF/SQ/DJ at 1:1 ratio. The exception is when I pay my tax due to the 0.48% ATO surchage for payments by MC / Visa compared with 1.25% for AMEX. Even though my accountant allows me to tax deduct the surcharges, I think it is better value for me to use a Visa card to pay my taxes with the best pt earn per $ spent Visa card which is the CitiBusiness at present (1.25 pts per $ spent). Sure this will all go to QF at 1:1 ratio in multiples of 10000 pts but I do need QF points from time to time.

I hope my tax NEVER reaches $250,000 per annum (so the point cap on Citibusiness does not affect me); actually it will be great as it will mean I'm earning a $hit load of money! The lower annual fee with the Citbusiness is a small added bonus + the 40000 pts sign on bonus. (Currently have the Citibank Visa Plat but when the conversion goes to $2 per 1 QFF pt in April 12, that card will be cancelled!!)

If i need Sq / DJ pts etc, they can be TF from my AMEx account.

 

[angusburns]

Not true - CitiBusiness Gold indeed can be transferred to KF - I have CBG and do transfer to KF.

Thanks - that is good to know. Not immediately obvious from the CitiBusiness web page, rewards tab:

CitiBusiness Gold - Credit Cards - Citibank Australia - Citibank Australia

Is it the Citi Take Flight option? What is the conversion ratio from the CitiBusiness Gold points to KF points?

Assuming it was the standard CitiRewards conversion ratio of 1.5 CB points to 1 KF point then we get $1 = 1.25 CB pts in and 1.5 CB pts to 1 KF point out or 0.833 KF points per dollar (I think!) v getting 1.25 QFF points per dollar. Is this the way it works?

 

[Cruiser Elite]

100% correct.

BTW - any relation to Monty?

 

[Mal]

I have my tax bull to pay in a cpl of weeks. And back on payg too. The points are great but really need to sort out my tax affairs...

Sent from my GT-I9100 using AustFreqFly

 

[KLN]

Just got my Company Tax bill (which didn't need to be paid yet).
Reading the Methods of Payment on the back - "Payments cannot be made by credit card, or in person at any Tax Office branch or shopfront".

thought i would experiment and voluntarily pay the bill early................Yep, it works thru at ATO Portal.
Company Tax Bill paid early, but it was worth it.
ATO = 10,251.00
+ Surcharge = $128.14
Westpac Platinum Amex = 3 X points = 31,137

 

[Stephen65]

If you pay your tax early the ATO will credit you with interest for the period until it was due but it's at a lower rate than the interest they charge for being overdue on making a payment. Plus you have to pay tax on the interest the ATO pays you.

The BAS forms still say you can't pay by credit card but whether that's an oversight or they simply have a stock of forms they want to use up I don't know.

 

[Pushka]

My accountant rang me today to tell me about my tax bill. Instead of being annoyed, I was calculating how many FF points I can get! Is that bad?:shock::shock:. I think I might apply for the CitiBusiness Gold Visa as I don't have to pay the bill till March next year and I might as well get 1.25 pts per dollar spent + the 40000 pts sign up bonus.

Of course, the Company Tax. I was thinking just BAS. Sweet.

 

[KLN]

Yes, that's why i tried it to see if it worked myself.
another tick for me!!!

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Westpac Platinum Amex = 3 X points = 31,137

Thats Altitude right?

Transfer rate to KF?

 

[cove]

With my current favourite Visa card for tax payments I received a validating phone call this month and last month. Would anyone steal a credit card to pay their taxes?
I guess you get these calls when you have spent "enough"!

 

[KLN]

Thats Altitude right?

Transfer rate to KF?

2 for 1.

i'm happy with that though. i get the airlines i want and use. i have a high enough business spend to put thru it too

 

[Deleted User]

With my current favourite Visa card for tax payments I received a validating phone call this month and last month. Would anyone steal a credit card to pay their taxes?
I guess you get these calls when you have spent "enough"!

He he cove...Was it an automated chick lol

 

[cove]

No automaton girlfriend in the back office of our credit card companies as they ask very specific questions to identify that it is you and your card.
I must say I can see a few of us now look forward to receiving tax assessments......

 

[Deleted User]

No automaton girlfriend in the back office of our credit card companies as they ask very specific questions to identify that it is you and your card.
I must say I can see a few of us now look forward to receiving tax assessments......

Yes there is a few of us here now cove...

Perhaps a future AFF tax rally as per below, perhaps a tax increase may be welcomed by some around here lol

View attachment 4616

 

[Stargazer]

I have just come across this thread -- have read the first 16 pages (the rest will have to work until tomorrow). Anyway I haven't seen an answer to my questions.

It seems to me most if not all of the posts refer to paying business tax via a credit card. What about personal income tax. I have a rather large bill coming up due to a capital gains event. As an individal tax payer can I pay my tax bill via a credit card??

Secondly I had a look at the ATO web site to see if I could find out the following --I couldn't see anything relevant. I understand that its possible to deduct the card payment fee imposed by the tax office as a tax deduction. (In the case of visa and mastercard the ATO web site notes this is 0.48%). As an invididual tax payer can I deduct the card payment fee or is this only possible if you are running a business?

 

[cove]

Yes you can pay a personal tax bill using a credit card. The best credit card to use depends on who you wish to fly with and the points earning rate on that card.
The tax question really should be answered by your tax agent/accountant who knows your circumstances.

 

[Deleted User]

I have just come across this thread -- have read the first 16 pages (the rest will have to work until tomorrow). Anyway I haven't seen an answer to my questions.

It seems to me most if not all of the posts refer to paying business tax via a credit card. What about personal income tax. I have a rather large bill coming up due to a capital gains event. As an individal tax payer can I pay my tax bill via a credit card??

Secondly I had a look at the ATO web site to see if I could find out the following --I couldn't see anything relevant. I understand that its possible to deduct the card payment fee imposed by the tax office as a tax deduction. (In the case of visa and mastercard the ATO web site notes this is 0.48%). As an invididual tax payer can I deduct the card payment fee or is this only possible if you are running a business?

Yes... Have a listen what Cove has to say above... He is the expert in all things related to collecting FF points...!

Furthermore, since the recent reduction of some (visa & mastercard) credit card fees to 0.48%... even if you can not claim a tax deduction for the CC charges, And you value your points at more than say 1c each like most of us do around here, this is still a really good way to earn some points... If you value points at more than 1c each then paying you tax via this method is a "no brainer"

Cove, please correct me if I am wrong... he he.........I'm sure you are more knowledgeable in the more technical side of this stuff lol