What You Should Do to Help You Get Ready for Tax Day
If tax day is fast approaching, you may be developing a sense of panic. You might not have paid as much attention to bookkeeping as you should have and may now be struggling to bring everything up to date before you can complete the relevant paperwork. But what else should you be doing to ensure you can send in an accurate and comprehensive return and not worry about any blowback?
Claiming Valid Deductions
To lessen your tax bill as much as possible, ensure that you do not miss out on any deductions. Remember to include any one-off bills you may have had to deal with, including the cost of your accountant or professional adviser and those major expense items like rent or utility payments. However, ensure you have paid for the services before the end of the tax year. Just because you have a bill on your desk, it does mean that you can claim it as a tax deduction. You can only do this once you have actually sent off the money to the creditor. Only then will it be related to how you earn your current revenues, and remember, if the ATO asks, you have to show the value to back up that claim.
Focusing on Your Super
Are your superannuation contributions up to date? You can claim a certain amount each tax year for personal contributions, so long as the fund has actually received those contributions by the middle part of the calendar year. You must also inform the superannuation fund that you are going to claim that tax deduction. Don't leave this until the last moment; it may take some time for the fund admin to credit the money to the account.
Making Ongoing Changes
Tax season is also a good excuse to make changes if you need to. So, if you haven't been keeping records as efficiently as you should, now is the time to start. Don't rely on paper records if you don't need to; make digital copies of them instead. The tax authority will accept these as originals but make sure that you keep them online in a safe place. Many people prefer to back them up into the cloud as well, so they always have something to refer to.
Getting Expert Support
It's never a good idea to make assumptions or put too much guesswork into tax returns. Instead, you should work with a tax accountant, and it's not too late to reach out for help today.