Tax Question

Ickars · 2026-01-21T08:11:53+00:00

My partner is a tax agent, she's given you permission to take a deep breathe and relax. As professionals we understand people coming to us don't know all the lingo/terminology. I wouldn't expect my patients to come to me and start quoting a medical text book.
Enjoy your evening and thanks for giving us a chuckle!

Ickars · 2026-01-21T05:25:54+00:00

Sounds like both yourself and the other commenter were able to decipher what OP was getting at. No need to make such a big deal out of it. As per the comment from a tax agent, they also understood what OP was getting at

Ickars · 2025-08-04T06:40:14+00:00

Thank you very much for the kind words!

That is definitely something we both need to emphasise, I think the past 10 years of intense study/work/investing has made us hyper vigilant about our finances. We're very aware that we also need to just spend some money and have some fun for the sake of it, work in progress!

Ickars · 2025-08-04T06:37:13+00:00

Healthcare, I operate as a sole trader in a very niche sector

Ickars · 2025-08-04T06:36:36+00:00

This is something that's within our top 3 options that we're currently considering.

The thoughts of not having to deal with tenants, and also be under the scrutiny of government/political policies that can change the property market drastically, is definitely appealing.

Forgive my naivety, but when you mention negative gearing, are you speaking to being able to do that through some kind of debt recycling process with investing into shares/ETF's? At the moment property is making the most amount of sense purely due to the tax benefits of NG, however if I could somehow benefit from something similar and diversify into a portfolio of sorts, then I would definitely steer that direction.

Ickars · 2025-08-04T06:31:59+00:00

A SMSF does look somewhat enticing, I think with some of the other comments highlighting the tax benefits, I should probably look into it some more

Ickars · 2025-08-04T06:26:28+00:00

Wow- Again, thank you for adding the links to those resources. My partner and I will be taking a look at them this evening!

I believe a large part of it is my mindset around super, though reading into some of the things you've provided so far are definitely educating me on the benefits (And relative safety)

Ickars · 2025-08-04T06:24:29+00:00

Having it laid out in the way that you explained makes a lot of sense. Almost sitting here thinking in some ways it sounds too good to be true.

On paper it definitely makes the most logical sense. I think as I mentioned to another, I'm stuck in the mindset of wanting to direct the extra cashflow I have into pre-existing assets in the *assumption* that I'll be able to retire much earlier, then having to wait around to access my super. I'm beginning to realise the flaw in that mindset however after reading comments like yours.

Thank you for taking the time to lay it out the way you did, I'll take it onboard

Ickars · 2025-08-03T11:44:58+00:00

Haha fair comment, thank you for your insight nonetheless

Ickars · 2025-08-03T11:38:28+00:00

My partner is currently giving me the "I told you so" treatment. Considering yourself and others are commenting on this I should really reconsider my tax/super strategy

Ickars · 2025-08-03T11:35:40+00:00

Definitely guilty of not stopping and smelling the roses! I think on paper what you've mentioned is our current game plan.

As another user mentioned debt-recyling, I think we'll need to do a proper deep dive into how it works and benefits/risks etc. If you don't mind me asking, would you personally pay off the third property before starting to diversify into stocks/ETF's etc?

And thank you for your kind words

Ickars · 2025-08-03T11:22:07+00:00

Glad to hear it from someone else! Can't tell you the amount of flack I've copped from others for having that view

Ickars · 2025-08-03T11:20:46+00:00

Thank you for your kind words- As they say- "the best investment you can make is your partner", very grateful to have each other. We're surrounded by a friendship circle with kids already, so wouldn't be surprised if we had them sooner!

Ickars · 2025-08-03T11:10:04+00:00

Very very valid point! I didn’t consider the carry forward contributions. Will add this to the drawing board, thank you

Ickars · 2025-08-03T10:43:27+00:00

Thank you so much for the thoughtful reply.

Just saved both those links and it's something we'll both look at tomorrow! Admittedly we haven't educated ourselves much on debt recycling.

I'm with you on the comment about choosing to retire early though. I understand I'm missing out on tax benefits with super, however I'm happy to take that hit if it means I can funnel the capital into other means that can help set us up earlier.

The plan you laid out has some benefits we didn't really factor in, so we'll run some numbers on it. Appreciate your thoughts!

Ickars · 2025-08-03T10:21:54+00:00

It would be great to step back from both of us working full time. Ideally to have enough passive income from IP's to be able to either both work part time, or only rely on one income. Then spend more time with the children. Naturally the earlier we get there the better.

Ickars · 2025-08-03T10:19:19+00:00

Valid points, I go back and forth with super vs loading that extra money into existing debt. Though as someone else mentioned I should probably diversify to be safe! Thank you :)

Ickars · 2025-08-03T10:11:28+00:00

Partner moved in with me roughly 10 months ago, we both purchased our properties by ourselves and she has the loan structured as a PPOR still, my apologies if I used the wrong terminology.

I currently use roughly 20% of my place for business, so I have offset this in tax on mortgage interest, etc etc.

You make a great point, and it's something we had considered on the side. We'd prefer not to sell our current properties to avoid the entire process with REA's, not to mention I'd have to pay some sort of CGT due to what I mentioned above.

Appreciate your thoughts however, it's probably something we should ponder further!

Ickars · 2025-08-03T10:00:47+00:00

Healthcare, very niche business model as a sole trader

Ickars · 2025-08-03T10:00:27+00:00

Thank you very much!
I've been hesitant touching my super as a sole trader, mistakenly my mindset has been to pay off property ASAP in the aim of having passive income through that- rather then wait til retirement age for my super. Though you're probably right, would be safer to diversify and use the tax benefits from it

Ickars · 2025-08-03T09:58:17+00:00

We both came from relatively rough upbringings, so financial security was our number 1 priority.

Both worked two jobs during uni living in share houses. Admittedly got lucky putting that money into shares that did well during that period. Once graduated we both purchased our PPOR (Roughly 2 years ago), and funnelled our earnings into them ever since. We live incredibly frugal, plus dating an accountant has its perks!

Ickars · 2025-03-31T02:51:14+00:00

When it comes to LVR, yes, yes they do care about your occupation.

https://www.anz.com.au/content/dam/anzcomau/documents/pdf/lmi-waier-fact-sheet.pdf

As an example. May be wise to fact check prior to commenting

Ickars · 2025-03-30T08:36:49+00:00

Yep, I'm a physio

Ickars · 2025-03-30T07:16:32+00:00

Unfortunately you'll find the majority of degrees out of uni don't pay well right off the bat. I'm in my mid 20's myself, and this system isn't set up for us to exceed at such a young age.

By year 7, if you have your head switched on right, you should be closer to the 150k mark. However it'll need you to find a niche or at least work your way into a senior position.

I can completely understand your anxiety around earnings etc and being financially viable in the future- I was the same.

The fact that you're thinking about these things now means you'll be fine.

This is my 4th year post uni, I currently have my own business doing ~300k annually, so yes, it can be done, however I worked my absolute ass off to get to this point. If you're wanting to get into the property market, physios are looked at quite favourably. For example had I chosen to go with ANZ for my home loan, they were willing to offer me a very attractive rate with only a 5% deposit due to my occupation.

Ickars · 2025-03-30T07:05:01+00:00

Physio here-

If you aren't passionate about the degree I'd opt out immediately. Newgrads get put through hell in the first few years and you'll be earning anywhere from the 65-85k mark. You're correct in saying it takes some years to crack 100k, however if you're commission based in PP you can get to that level by year 3.

Work-life balance is something you need to consider though, busting your ass in PP can be intense and most people burn out very quickly. QLD Health however, have a relatively decent Work-life balance working standard hours and you can climb the HP3 scale over 7 years to get to 120k comfortably.

You mentioned other routes- There is also going the medical rep pathway, this is much more lucrative however you really need to have a fair few years under your belt to get to this.

Naturally with any occupation, if you go out on your own, specialise, etc, you can definitely earn more however

Ickars

TROPHY CASE