1. Prevention is Better than a Cure

We all know it is better to prevent an ailment, than it is to cure a disease. The same reasoning applies to your finances and your tax obligations. It is a fact of life that you are required to pay tax, and with some clever planning, you may be able to minimise your tax burden.

Get in touch with us early to discuss ways to structure and plan your financial affairs. As tax professionals, we may provide restructuring advice to business owners, international tax advice to migrants and expats, or give you tips on how to maintain your administration in relation to work related expenses, such as what type of logbooks or professional use schedules you may need.

When you’re well prepared, we have, as tax professionals, a lot more material to work with, and may even during the tax preparation process identify allowable deductions which may have come up throughout the year. Fees paid to a registered tax professional for tax advice and tax preparation are deductible against your income as well.

2. Be Organised

Being organised throughout the year will make the whole tax preparation process a lot less burdensome. If you would simply store all your source docs in a cloud file and share this with your tax professional, or if you categorise the various expenses in different folders and document them in a spreadsheet even, our tax professionals will be able to quickly identify what is what, and work through your matter quicker.

3. Use Tech

Technology continues to evolve and change the way we work. The same goes for helping you stay organised personally. There are apps you can use on your mobile phone to stay organised, such as the myDeductions tool by the ATO. If you’re a business owner, you should use accounting software to keep your books neat. As a firm, we love working with Xero which has many add on app integrations for a smooth and seamless experience. As it is cloud based, you can log in from anywhere, and we can work on your books remotely.

You can also download Google Drive or Dropbox on your phone and create folders in which you upload images (photos or scans) or receipts. You will be able to live update these while on the go, and can share access with your tax practitioner. When you take photos of your receipts and invoices, make sure you don’t use a small format. The image must be clear to read by the tax practitioner. Small formats usually result in blurry images, and the tax practitioner may refuse the deductions if he/she cannot read the image.

4. Find a Specialist Practitioner

When your situation is a little more complex than your standard employment and bank interest tax return, you should consider finding a specialist practitioner. Particularly important to do so if you’ve newly arrived in Australia as an expat or migrant, have recently departed Australia, or have a HECS debt as an Australian expat. At Taxably, we have many years experience in advising on international tax matters.

Business owners or investment owners will benefit from seeking specialist advice well before a tax return is due. This may reduce a reduction in withholding tax under tax treaty, or to facilitate proper registration of international businesses in Australia.

5. Build a Relationship with your Tax Practitioner

When you continue to use the services of a family doctor, the health professional will know your background and will be able to provide you better service as he/she understands the underlying issues. The same reasoning applies to tax professionals. When you build a relationship with us, we will be familiar with your situation and will be able to provide you with tailored advice. We always love seeing our clients return in subsequent years. We will already have most of your basic information on file, and can streamline the service delivery to you.

When you invest in a long-standing relationship with us, we can help you throughout the year in identifying tax or financial issues, particularly if these are in relation to a part-year migration, or to the running of your business. When you have a question, you can always email us or fill out our contact form.