Record Keeping (CGT / Estate) - Shares / LICs / ETFs ...

Started having a discussion on this elsewhere but thought it might be worthwhile having a separate thread on it.

I’m about to convert all our hard copy records for online storage.

I have all transactions in spreadsheets but I’m wondering what supporting documentation needs to be kept by law and to help beneficiaries of the Estate.

Some questions:
1. Does each single contract note need to be stored or just a summary provided by broker?
2. Do Chess Holding Statements need to be kept? They only show the movement in share holdings (not price) but I read that ATO might require these (if queried / audited) if one wants to sell a “specific lot” of shares?
3. File / naming conventions for contract notes etc (CBA yyyymmdd Buy)?
4. Cloud vs hard drive (or both) storage?
5. Scan vs photo?
6. Free Spreadsheets and design ideas?
7. Anything else you can think of?

I’m not looking forward to this time consuming laborious task so any thoughts / suggestions that could save time and make it easier would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

Didn't know that about CHESS Holding Statements. Registered title of ownership?

 

dividend statement and buy and sell contracts is all you need

 

When you sell you would need to prove purchase price, brokerage and other costs that haven\'t been claimed - interest etc.

If you pass these shares on after your death, the beneficiaries will need this information when they sell to work out their tax. So make sure they have access to the information somehow - passwords, location etc.

 

They may not be needed but this from the ATO had me wondering?:

 

Thanks.

I realise that but wondering how much supporting info is required:
1. Contract note vs
2. Broker contract note summary?

3. Do Chess Holding Statements need to be kept?

I can download the Contract Note summary in table form (which is used as a data feed to SMSF software etc) but does this suffice? In theory this could be edited if in CSV format etc?

 

Over very long periods do we only need an Asset Register (eg spreadsheet)?

From ATO, not sure of the detail / ruling or if still relevant:

 

Well the buy and sell statement has all the info ATO or anyone needs for tax purpose
how much you bought it for, at what price and how many share and the day the contracted made/settle and what name it under etc...same goes for the sell contracts

and dividend statement prove your income from the holding

all this info should also be available online in electronic form for about 5-6 years from your broker for buy and sell contracts and share registry for dividend statement.

What I do is I have cloud folder and I create one financial year per folder eg FY1617 FY1718
then anything to do that year I download the electronic statement and name it something like this and chuck it in, I also have software that tracks all my buy sell, dividend records and measure performance so at any time I can trace up any transaction and able to retrieve the info I need

do this as you go it takes less than a few minutes a day as soon as you buy and sell stuff else it snowball into a massive pile you hate to be doing it at tax time, I made hundreds of trades and options and stuff every year to do this at the end of the year is a nightmare

2017-12-20-XYZ-Sell-CXXXXXX number
2017-12-20-XYZ-Buy-CXXXXX Number
2017-12-20-XYZ-Dividend-Half-Year
2017-12-20-XYZ-Dividend-Full-Year

 

Found it. Maybe my tax accountant can certify my spreadsheet records. But at what cost:

 

Best done in software and have searchable records and it keep it for eternity and tax time takes 5 minutes report and print from the software

Topshare Portfolio Manager | A desktop portfolio management program for Australian share investors

 

We keep it all. The beauty of online storage is that it is easy to keep and retain.

When we do crisis management plans you go through the history of the world part 1 and make sure you have evidence to prove ownership and cost.

I would prefer something more complete than a broker csv file of trades.

 

And a shoutout for:
Stock Portfolio Tracker | Sharesight

 

Dont think you can use csv trades list, well you can for your own purpose of looking at a wider picture but the buy and sell contract is the required paperwork, it is a legal document

 

Thanks, sounds wise.

But to save me work I could get existing asset registers certified and file the hard copies away. It’s not a lot compared to property records. Then I could start storing everything in electronic format from the start of next financial year?

 

Why do you have manual paperwork? everything is electronic now with shares

Buy and Sell contract electronically generate when your instruction is execute
Opt-in electronic dividend statement and it always available on your share registry account.
The day the dividend is paid and they email to let you know money is deposited and statement available

all you have to do is collect them and store them on a cloud folder some where according
to financial year

 

I currently keep records in Reckon Personal Plus. Trouble is with Software it can disappear. Happened to me with Microsoft money.

One just has to hope the data in the old software can be transferred to the new! Usually ok but some conversion issues can occur at times.

Plus I don’t want my beneficiaries to be having to learn how to use specific software. Reckon would be quite difficult. Simple spreadsheets are much easier to understand and likely to be around forever.

 

Just force of habit. I’ve been investing for a very long time so got set in my ways. Or could be age and senility.

I keep excellent records and update when transactions occur. Always ready for tax time. Just was stupid in not storing the “supporting docs” in electronic format.

But I’m changing now. Better late than never.

 

I use excel to record all transactions. One spreadsheet for each entity, with a separate tab for each holding and a ‘total/summary tab.
For each transaction I just hyperlink the back up file.

Using this format I can search either a specific time period, or find a specific transaction (with back up linked).
I have also detailed which acct the funds came from.

Blacky

 

The requirements are onerous

 

The requirements are quite simple. Contract notes. Broker acct stmts. Loan stmts. Summaries. Keep until 5 yr after sale.

Cloud or other storage is free or cheap.

For serious trade volumes we have software. Some of its automatic. Direct data feed and profit and loss is automated. Your adviser may suggest easy ways. I hate calculations and prefer to help guide than to do the calcs. Depends if a trader vs a cgt issue.

Some brokers do all the reporting and others like commsec suck. They dont report cgt ...cheaper for a reason