Best Beginner Preparing Your Tax Return Tips

Having just got my NRAS tax certificate (yay!) I sat down to prepare my tax papers to give to my accountant and discovered a few unnecessary hassles.

1. Check that your employer(s) have actually issued you an ATO payment summary. I'll be chasing this up on Monday.
2. Ask your bank to issue statements consistently on a monthly/quarterly/six monthly/annual cycle that aligns with the end of the financial year instead of random unhelpful dates like the 22nd of each month. NAB was very helpful in fixing this for future years.
3. Scan thermally printed receipts when received - don't leave it for a few months (they fade) and don't keep them in plastic sleeves (they stick).

Any other good tips?

 

Both banks I use enable free eofy statements. I log in and print to PDF. Easy

 

Treat your IPs as a business. No business I know of sits down in July with a box of bits of paper.

Keep a spreadsheet of expenses and update regularly.

Know when paperwork is due. Employers must issue payment summaries within a certain time (?? days after EOFY).
Marg

 

I know that's sound advice but I haven't ever done it.

I need to start a spreadsheet saved on Dropbox....
I think I need a kid or a robot do all that boring admin stuff for me!

 

NAB has this feature in internet banking i.e. select all transactions or select transactions in the current or previous financial year. It just doesn't work....

 

As your portfolio grows, use bigger shoe boxes to store records.

Don't compress them in with your feet as some poor tax agent will have to handle them whilst eating lunch.

Can't find big enough shoe boxes? Then use Aldi shopping bags (only 15 cents each).

 

You should have got that by now. They should be issued by July 14. It's either gone missing or your employer is a tad dodgy.

 

I suspect the former and that there has been a problem with our payroll system - all of my previous ATO summaries are there. My employer works in a big building on capital hill so I'm pretty confident they don't fall into the tad dodgy category.

This was a somewhat light-hearted (amuse-bouche) post but others have taken it a bit more seriously than I intended.

The only showbox being used in my office is the one to get my monitor up to a better height.

I knew very much the value of good record keeping when I brought my first IP in 1997 - I had a mate who would turn up to my accountant with the shoebox of receipts vs my excel file etc etc and he paid around 3 times what I did.

 

I took the question to be a genuine request for advice.

Sorry if I told you things you already knew.

How was I supposed to know not to take it seriously???
Marg

 

Good record keeping starts on 1st July of each year. Scan everything. No paper. Decent summaries win everytime....ie excel.

One of the most common missing details is a complete CGT record for each property. Dates, costs, events and specific issues all need to be captured. The use of a property can change. Tax laws can change etc Anyone who has (may) ever move back into a property they once called their home will likely not retain information on their third element costs eg - Mortgage interest, insurance, rates etc for the time they actually live in the property. They think the property is exempt and it is BUT....These costs can reduce the total profit subject to apportioning.

 

So if I live in my PPOR and intend to turn it into an IP in a few years time; I should be keeping a record of all expenses (Mortgage Interest, Water Rates, Insurance etc.) as well as capital expenses whilst I'm still holding it as a PPOR? I was of the belief that when I'm ready to lease the property out, I would need to get it re-valued so the exempt CGT portion could be determined.

 

Tip - Make sure all your records are backed up to dropbox or similar. Makes it much easier when your house is broken into and MacBook stolen

 

Frosty, Not always. If it has been your home continually since acquisition the answer is no. Otherwise if ANYTHING affects you claiming a 100% main residence exemption since acquisition the answer is yes. Examples of issues:
- Has previously been rented out and you moved back
- You lived in partners home at anytime while owning this one
- Has been used in part to conduct a business
- You changed residency (subject to advice)

 

Ok thanks.
In my case, I had lived in the property since acquisition for a period of 2 years. After this time, it was leased out for 3 years, before moving back in and making it a PPOR again.
I'm assuming that since it was previously leased for less than 6 years, this won't be an issue.

 

No. The cost base would be reset when it becomes income producing

 

s118-192 says the cost base is reset only the FIRST TIME a main residence becomes income producing. Thereafter changed use creates a pro-rata CGT issue from that date onwards

 

a few years ago we had someone turn up to the office with 5 moving boxes on a trolley with material for a number of returns of returns for various entities. you can guess the response.

 

$20K. Fork it or walk it?