With tax season in full swing and many people attending appointments to see their accountant, we break down what you need to bring with you to complete your return.
Tax time can be stressful as you scramble to find all your important documents from the previous financial year. Where’s that receipt for the donation I made? Did I record my home office diary correctly?
We aim to simplify the process with some handy hints about what to bring to an appointment, and how it is never a bad time to get more organised for next year.
Understanding what you can claim
Our job is to help you understand what items you can claim, based on your work, industry and specific circumstances. It’s important you disclose all of your income through the year. This could be from a job, shares, rental properties or inheritance. In order for us to claim any expenses, we must have the full picture of your situation.
Paperwork trail
Gather up all your important documents that will help us gain the maximum return for you. There must be proof of any expenses you have incurred. During your appointment, the accountants will look over what you have provided and make sure they have everything to start work on your return.
We may require your hard copies to scan in, which will be returned to you after they have been processed. If there is any missing information your return will be processed once these have been supplied.
Top tip: The tax return process is sped up if you’re able to provide all your information at once. To understand exactly what we require, you can refer to our handy document checklist for individuals here. If you run a business, we’ve produced this checklist.
ID
We must be able to identify who you are and require 100 points of ID. We will also require your tax file number, if it is not already on file.
While some people prefer to see an accountant in-person, you can also send all your documents to us via email/mail. For our basic returns in particular, in-person appointments are not always required.
If you’ve scrambled this year to gather all your documents before meeting with your accountant or sending them all your information, we have a few top tips to stay on top of your paperwork for next year.
Folder management
We recommend having both a physical folder and an email folder where you collect documents. Everything you purchase something that could be claimed at tax time, move it to this folder. You’ll thank us next year when all your receipts can only be in two places – your printed and digital folders! For business owners we recommend Hubdoc. This is a program that will capture all your receipts via email or photos and keep records of everything. This integrates with Xero where you can view the file, and never have to search for a lost receipt again!
Maintain records monthly
We are all for monthly finance dates with yourself! We encourage you to set a monthly reminder to gather any receipts or expenses for the past 30 days. This will help at tax time when your memory suddenly doesn’t stretch back 11 months to remember exactly where you filed that donation receipt!
Home office diary
In order to be able to claim home expenses, there must be a record of when you worked. We recommend filling out the home office diary every time you work from home. We have developed a handy recording sheet, which will tally your hours for the year. Setting a simple weekly reminder could make a big difference to your next tax return.
If you need help with your next tax return, we are here to help. For more information visit our resources page or email us on office@ultimate-tax.com.au
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