Anyone recommend an accountant in Melbourne?

The Garage
#1

I’m starting a new job soon at a research institute and therefore I get salary packaging (PBI $17000).

New position will be $92500 per year.
I plan to salary package mortgage repayments of ~$9000 which uses up my entire PBI $17000 amount.

Due to the fact that I will have to drive 50,000km/year to work my current 27 year old Ford Laser will not survive. I am looking into the possibility of obtaining a new car via a novated lease, but I am scared off by the large finance component/payment I will be making on the vehicle (looking to spend $35-$40k). It appears that the finance component of the repayments is about $28000 on a $35k car, yet I’ll have about $18k residual to pay off at the end.

I’d like to speak with someone as to whether I am better off leasing a new car/ex demo car, and paying for fuel, rego, insurance etc in pre-tax dollars, or simply buying a used car in the $15000 range outright, but then paying for all runnings costs out of my post tax dollars.

I have no savings with which to purchase a car outright, so the benefit of the lease is that I wouldn’t need a large amount of money from day 1.

#2

Which part of Melbourne are you located in?

#3

Live in Dandenong Ranges (Emerald/Cockatoo)
Currently work in Clayton, but new job is Parkville.

#4

Does your company use a salary packaging provider? I also work for a PBI and our provider has an associated novated lease provider who can do calculations showing what your after tax salary would be after lease payments and any residual reportable fringe benefit amounts.

You don’t have to lease a new car, you can package your $15k used car as a novated lease too. Depending on the finance rates, broadly speaking you’d be better off packaging a novated lease than buying outright: A) Because you don’t pay GST either on the purchase price of the car nor the running costs, and B) due to the way fringe benefits are calculated you can actually go above your $17k limit in cash terms with a car that you couldn’t with mortgage payments.

However best to get individual advice as it does depend on where you sit in the income tax bands, and your tolerance for risk - eg if you lose your job are you willing/able to continue lease payments (though there is insurance for this).

#5

They use SmartSalary (SmartLeasing).
I have used the calculators, but what I want to know is whether I am better off buying new and packaging everything or buying 2nd hand, owning the car (something in the $10000 range) and paying for fuel etc myself.

Is there an option of simply salary packaging fuel, rego, insurance etc but not the car?

What turns me off is the following.

Car I want to buy is $36888
Lease term of 3 years the finance payments alone are $9300. This excludes insurance, fuel etc.
At the end of 3 years I will then have paid $28000 in car costs and have a residual of $18000. There for the car will cost me $46000 in total, which is $10000 more than its purchase price.

What I want to know is whether or not the tax savings are more than this $10000 that I pay more for the car. I assume that it must as no one would lease otherwise.

#6

I don’t think there is, no.

We use the same company, and they will do a pretty good individual quote based on your actual salary details (better than the basic calc on the website).

Not sure where you got the car quote from, but they have access to fleet savings too, so might be able to get the same car for a little less than the $36k you’ve been quoted.

You’ve also got to consider what the car’s likely to be worth at the end of the lease. Often it’s worth significantly more than the residual, so you can profit that way. However with 150,000km on the clock that might not be the case in your situation.

My advice would be to get a personalised quote from smart leasing - with and without the car, and compare the difference.

#7

Try PDFA. (Platinum Finance Direct). I think they do packaging of just the extra components.

#8

I don’t know an accountant in Melbourne… But I would just strongly recommend following up with some professional advice, even if you have to pay a few hundred bucks to sit down with someone, because if you get stuff like that wrong, it could cost you $$$…

I salary sacrificed when I was with QHealth, and because I didn’t get any advice/etc, didn’t realise that my HECS was going to bite me…

You could try contact your bank, and ask if they have financial advisors/etc available for customers. Some CBA branches have advisors on hand…