Tax returns made simple
If submitting your tax return has been stressful (again) this year, now is the perfect time to get organized and start the year with a clean slate.
Here are our top tips to making next year’s tax return a breeze:
- Develop a system – A little bit of organization can really make a huge difference when it comes to your taxes. You’ve just been through the process, so by now you should know what you need to do to get organized. Have your tax related paper work in a designated place and do yourself a favour and invest in a simple filing system that divides your receipts and paper work.
- Sort your paper work into categories - Whether it is months, weeks or areas of expenditure, label your files individually and file things in the correct place as you go. This simple organization tool will save you hours of sorting though paper work next year.
- Understand what you can claim from the get go – What you can claim largely depends on the type of job you have, so make sure you are clear about what you can and cannot claim. If you do your research before the year begins you won’t waste time saving receipts you don’t need. You can find most of this information on the ATO website or by speaking with your accountant. Who knows, you may come across some new deductions you didn’t already know about!
- Keep a plastic zip lock bag handy for loose receipts – It could be on your desk at work, in your car or stuck to your fridge at home but keep this bag on hand for loose receipts. This will help to minimize lost receipts and save you time searching high and low for missing ones when tax time creeps up on you.
- Enter your deductions into a spreadsheet monthly– If you can delegate 30 minutes a month to tally up your expenses, at the end of the financial year it will be a much more simple process to calculate the year’s expenses.
- Ask your accountant for advice– Chances are you’ve scheduled (or are about to schedule) a time to meet with your accountant to go through this year’s paper work. Whilst you’re there why not ask your accountant if he has any recommendations for how to categorize your documents or simplify your taxes for next year.
- Develop a storage system for your old receipts – Don’t forget if you claim more than $300 in deductions you will need to hang onto your receipts for at least 5 years. Whether you put them in storage or shove them in a cardboard box under the bed you must keep them in case you get audited, so develop a storage system that works for you.
- Use ATO’s E-Tax online system - If you do your own tax you may find it easier to use the ATO’s online lodgement system. The system allows you to enter your data and immediately tells you what your tax will be or how much you can expect from a refund. It also has an extensive help section that makes the whole process much easier.
- Book a meeting with one of our Financial Planners to discuss the best way to structure your assets and debts. Simple changes may mean that you are able to write off debt interest charges against your tax bill.
- Book a meeting with one of our friendly Member Services Staff to see how we might be able to structure your accounts to better help you organise your finances and save for that tax bill.
So there you have it, our top 10 tips for getting yourself organized for next year. If you implement a couple of these straightforward procedures you could save yourself a lot of time and take the stress out of next year’s tax return.
