It’s nearly that time of the year again – TAX TIME – and hard to believe that a year has passed already. You are probably looking at your PAYG payment summary and wondering “where has all that money gone?”  So to help you get started here are some “tax tips”

  • Make sure that you declare all interest and other investment income. The tax office has a data matching system that tracks interest, managed funds and dividends so it doesn’t matter how small they are.
  • Investments should be in the name of the family member who pays the least amount of tax. Even better would to be use a family Trust so that there is true asset protection and income sharing
  • As we approach June 30 if you have made a capital gain and have an investment that is making a loss consider selling that investment to help reduce any gain and tax liability.
  • Make sure you have all rental property details in order such as rental statements, repairs and maintenance, rates, insurance, travel logs for inspections/collection of rent (logbook or invoices of travel), capital improvements, interest on loans and all details on any refinanced loans (loan contracts and statements). This will enable you to have the correct borrowing costs claimed against the property.
  • Do you have a Quantity Surveyors Report? These reports allow you to claim the construction costs and fixtures of the property as a tax deduction over the life of the property.
  • Prepay the interest on your investment property loan so that you can claim the deduction now. Talk to your bank first to make sure your loan has this facility.
  • Do you have audit protection insurance? With the ATO always increasing audit activity it is only a matter of time before you get an audit. This cover is tax deductable and covers you for the costs of your Accountant/Lawyer to complete the audit.
  • Superannuation provides great tax savings. Salary sacrificing and contributing to your low income earning spouse’s fund can give great tax benefits
  • Income protection insurance is a tax deduction however life insurance is not. However if you have your superannuation fund pay the policy then it becomes a deduction for the fund. If you are self employed then you can contribute to super and get the tax deduction while paying for your life insurance. Or if you fall into the co contribution you can effectively have the government pay for the insurance policy.
  • Being prepared not only saves you time, but more importantly money.
  • Don’t prepare your own tax return…….you WILL miss opportunities to claim deductions

Please visit our resources section as we have more information and checklists that will assist you with your tax.

If you wish to take the stress out of preparing your tax return or just need some professional advice call the team at ATOM Accounting & Taxation on 07 5452 7205