Why It’s Good to Be Prepared for Your Tax Return
You know the drill. You should have a file for all your tax documents. Throughout the year, you should collect all your receipts and any other supporting documents for a tax deduction that you want to claim.
Why’s this so important?
If you’re scrambling to find all your documents at the last minute, you might easily make a mistake. An error could mean missing out on deductions you could’ve claimed. It could also mean underreporting your income, and that can land you in serious trouble.
Tips for Getting Ready
Your first step in getting ready is creating a file for all your tax documents. Ideally, you should categorise and file everything neatly, but at this point, even a shoebox will do.
As we near lodgement time, you must choose if you’re going to lodge your return yourself or hire a Tax agent.
- Lodging yourself: If your return is simple, it’s easy enough to do things yourself. Complete the forms and post them in or submit them online. Online Lodging is fairly simple. The site even provides a basic tax calculator to estimate your liability.
- Lodging with a Tax agent: You will pay a fee, but if your tax matters are more complex or you want advice, it’s worth it. A Tax Agent will help identify any potential legal tax deductions and confirm that your return is accurate with you before Lodging it.
Once you’ve made that decision, get all the paperwork together. The following general documents may be necessary:
- A copy of your last tax return
- Records of purchases or sales of assets like shares and property
- Proof of income, PAYG, Dividends, Rent etc
- Proof of tax paid,including, PAYG, if applicable
- Health insurance details
- Details for your spouse and children
- Proof of interest earned
- Details of any large payouts that you received
From there, it’s a matter of completing and filing the return.
Talk to Perth Mobile Tax Today
Need some help with your tax preparation? Can you claim those moving expenses as a deduction? Set up an appointment today, and we’ll work with you to legally reduce your tax burden. We provide you with a handy checklist of the documents you must give us and then take care of everything else.
