How much for a good accountant who deals lots in property

As paul says its the value. Now for most returns it isnt the number crunching and making sure everything is there which is important but can be similar after the first year as things stay constant.

However i have found most clients have various questions at some point in time. Home office and cgt. Selling a property and main residence exemption. Small business concessions. Cgt calculations. Refinancing and interest deductibility.

Most cheapie accountants get it horribly wrong and you end up paying when the audit is finalised.

Just had a client who was told cgt doesnt apply to a home office which has the character of a place of business if you dont claim the expenses. Tax act and law says differently. Free advice from a friends accountant who charges them $110 a year. Cost a lot on penalties and interest as the advice was incorrect. Accountant refuses to answer email showing facts and legislation to support the oppossing view.

You cant do a masters of tax which costs tens of thousands or the ntaa courses which cost in the thousands when you make $50k per annum. Those people dont do much training at all. Some none.

Seen cases where cheapie busy accountant says redraw from offset its deductible if for an investment. Offset attached to home loan. Wrong. Client suffers. Returns have to be amended. Thousands lost.

Look at the recent ato audits on borrowing costs. A reason they did that audit.

So who got real value.

 

Yep...You get what you pay for in life. And the complexities in property add a layer of difficulty. Its hard to identify if someone knows their stuff. I would argue those who post on PC know their stuff.

I find the following four questions sort the property tax peeps from those who don't know property. Each question should be capable of an immediate answer. No checking. No getting back to you.


1. What is my cost base for my home bought back in 1999 if I now want to rent it out ?? (A : - Market value OR it may be eligible for the 6 year absence rule, a trick question. No discussion of what you actually paid, improvements etc. Bonus points if they suggest a QS report and talk about the original loan)

2. If I build a new home on a block I own and I plan to move in for a week or two maybe even a month when its complete and quickly sell its CGT exempt isn't it ?? (A : No...They must explain the three month rule)

3. If I was a resident taxpayer and left Australian in 2008 and have been non-resident since then. I returned in Jun 2015. I have just sold one of my IPs for $1m. It cost me around $450K with duty etc in the costs....How much CGT would I pay ??
(A : They should mention issues that affect the cost base. But the trick to this question is that they MUST mention getting a valuer to give a value of the property at 8th May 2012. Without it your CGT problem could well be doubled. (ie non-residents wont get the 50% discount without a valuation)

4. I've been thinking since I bought my home of subdividing my large home site and selling off the back lot and using the profit to extinguish my bank debt. The sale is exempt from CGT isn't it ? (A : No. They should not even suggest it might be exempt. They should also raise the possibility of GST applying to the sale and suggest a way to minimise the GST. Bonus points if they suggest a valuer may need to split the original cost into two parcels)

 

Its the free or cheapest advice which costs the most.

 

Thats heavy.
But so true!

 

Does anyone recommend a good accountant for property investment Melbourne NE area?

 

Yes. Are they good ?

The location isnt important. These days a person can be in one city and you another. That said who wants a cheap outsourced person in say the Phillipines or India ? Or Frankston if they cant communicate.

 

Oh an expert. Probably one of the worst way to evaluate a skill is to assume. Anyone can buy property. Association by mutuality is how most scams and fraud occurs. Spruikers use this all the time.

32% of Australians are tax experts then ?

 

I'm using David Wilder a partner in this accounting firm. I didn't just pick anyone from the phone book.
http://www.wmcaccounting.com.au/who_we_are/partners___staff

 

New property accountant I used this year, $650+ GST for tax return including 1 hour meeting and $120 + GST for amendment of last years tax return (fixed up last accountants mistakes and made me back an extra 3k).

 

Ok so not being an accountant myself how does the average person like me know that the accountant is performing.

 

I would like to know this too actually!

Anyone?

 

Sounds great. Sydney?

 

My metric:

When it's an absolute pleasure to pay for the results

 

We were paying between $1500 and 2k per year for 2 returns, payg, 2 ip's plus partners business (p & l done elsewhere), then we started to get tax bills, centrelink debts, it was a nightmare. Now I pay between $170 -$250 each, and get some great advice along the way, so far, now delayed debts or nasty audits from the ato.

 

Just a quick question.

I'm on an average income at the moment with fairly simple tax matters (pretty much just one salary), and about to purchase my first IP (first property in general). Is it important to get a good accountant that knows about IPs this early? And how much should I be looking at for one? I've never used an accountant before so I'm not familiar with costs.