Benalla calls itself the Rose City, sits on the Broken River where the Midland Highway crosses the Hume corridor, and runs on a mix of farming, manufacturing, health and community services, and a surprising amount of art and aviation. SMT Accounting works with Benalla households and businesses as a registered tax agent, almost entirely by phone, WhatsApp and video.
How a Benalla client works with us
We do not have premises in Benalla and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Our office is at 53 Mootwingee Crescent, Shepparton North, and the drive from Benalla along the Midland Highway takes a little under an hour, so an in-person meeting is realistic when you want one. Day to day, though, the relationship runs on your phone. You send documents as photos or uploads over WhatsApp, we ask our questions by message or on a short call, we send the return for electronic signature, and you keep a copy of everything. Video works well for the longer conversations, such as the first meeting for a new business or a structure review. Sohail Yasin (CPA, registered tax agent) and Syed Shah (IPA member, registered tax agent) do the work personally, so the person you message is the person who prepared your return.
Benalla's economy and the people we see
Benalla is the administrative centre of its Rural City and a service town for the grazing and cropping country around it, so agricultural supply, contracting and transport businesses are a steady part of the local economy, alongside manufacturing plants on the edge of town and the retail, health, education and trades that serve a population of roughly ten thousand. Two things set Benalla apart from its neighbours. The Benalla Art Gallery, in its modernist building beside Lake Benalla, is one of Australia's leading regional galleries and draws more than 75,000 exhibition visitors a year, and the street-art trail and its annual festival bring more. At the airfield, the Gliding Club of Victoria describes itself as the largest gliding club in the country and attracts pilots from overseas for the region's flying conditions. Both feed a visitor economy of accommodation, cafés, event suppliers and guides.
The Benalla clients we typically work with are:
- Graziers, croppers and farm contractors who need primary production returns, fuel tax credits, machinery depreciation and seasonal payroll. Our agriculture page sets out the rules in detail.
- Manufacturing and plant employees on shifts, with protective clothing, laundry, union fees and phone claims to substantiate.
- Tradespeople and subcontractors working on housing and farm infrastructure, running as sole traders or small companies with utes, tools and BAS.
- Accommodation, hospitality and tourism operators with seasonal peaks around festivals and the gliding calendar, casual staff and GST on everything they sell.
- Nurses, teachers, council and community-service staff whose returns are simple in principle but often leave money unclaimed.
- Artists, instructors and side-business owners deciding when a hobby has become a business, and what that means for an ABN and GST.
Services Benalla clients ask for
- Individual tax returns, with the deductions checked against the ATO's occupation guides rather than guessed.
- Sole trader tax returns for contractors, instructors and owner-drivers.
- Business and company tax, including advice on whether a company or trust now makes sense.
- BAS, GST and IAS each quarter, with fuel tax credits where the use qualifies.
- Bookkeeping and payroll with Single Touch Payroll for businesses with staff, including the Payday Super rules that apply from 1 July 2026.
What to send us
- Photo ID and your tax file number, because registered agents must verify who they act for.
- If you are an employee: your income statement is available to us once you nominate us, so what we need from you is receipts, a vehicle logbook or kilometre record, and any hours worked from home.
- If you run a business: bank feed access or statements, sales and purchase records, payroll details, the asset list and last year's financial statements and return.
- If you own a rental, shares or crypto: the annual statements and trade history. Our tax return checklist lists everything by category.
Frequently asked
Does SMT Accounting have an office in Benalla?
No. Our only office is at 53 Mootwingee Crescent, Shepparton North, open by appointment and a little under an hour from Benalla along the Midland Highway. Most Benalla clients never need to make the trip, because returns, BAS and bookkeeping are all handled by phone, WhatsApp, email and video.
I run a small business from a shed in Benalla. Can you do the bookkeeping as well as the tax?
Yes. We set up cloud bookkeeping with bank feeds so your invoices, bills and receipts are coded through the year, then prepare the BAS each quarter and the return at year end from the same file. You see the figures at any time without waiting for us.
I'm a casual at a Benalla plant and also drive for a delivery app. How is that taxed?
Your wages come through as an employee income statement, while the delivery income is business income that you report separately with its own expenses. The two are combined in one return. If the delivery work grows, we check whether an ABN, GST registration or PAYG instalments become relevant.
I'm moving to Benalla for work. Can I keep using my current accountant?
You can choose any registered tax agent, wherever you live. If you would like to move to us, nominate SMT Accounting through ATO online services (we walk you through it) and we can collect what we need from the ATO, so you don't have to chase your previous accountant for records.