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

An oldish thread but still a valid one I think.

Had a light-bulb or in this modern day an LED moment. Can also be considered a moment of madness. Feel free to make your mind up about that.

My folder structure for personal tax matters is reasonably simple, eg Tax Returns with sub-folder by tax year, eg 2018-2019. I've been lumping in all transactions relating to that year. All well and good. Reasonably easy for me.

However, the other day I decided to refine it to Tax Returns 2017-2018 with two sub-folders; Income and Deductions. Was easy to do and Google Drive did it's job. Only did it because I'm like that.

 

SK I do wonder about you at times.

So simple is our personal holdings now I have just two subfolders under a given years parent folder being Dividends and Bank Statements. The rest which is bugger all goes in the parent folder. But generally splitting doco into Income and Deductions makes sense. That’s what I do for our Summary spreadsheet which also has very little in it. It resides in the parent directory.

As well as other folders relating to our Estate I’ve created a folder and subdirectories for Home Contents containing receipts, manuals and photos of main possessions for insurance records.

 

Hehe, yeah I overdo it sometimes. In this case however it ain't really for me. Sort of a morbid preparation for what happens but may not know when.

 

OMG! SK you’ve got a reputation to uphold here. One for the record:



On a more serious note these sorts of things are just as important for younger folk. **** can happen unfortunately at any age.

 

@Nodrog , every days a Sunday

 

True regarding ****. Have experienced it. Wrong thread so I wont go further but to say it would be good if people thought about this aspect and then DID something about using the services of an appropriately qualified person.

 

No mate. Every day is a Monday because you're working and he's not.

 

Another night. Just wish I could stay awake till the end of a movie.

 

Is the following way of record keeping (paper vs electronic) allowable, in order to meet ATO requirements for 'number of years of records required to be kept' (especially for a SMSF), while trying to avoid a whole room devoted to folders of forms and CHESS statements/invoices etc......

1. When paper records arrive eg. CHESS holding statements, invoices for costs e.g.. insurance for IPs and personal insurances etc, scan the relevant page(s) that you'd like to have kept in an electronic form (saved based on the date and type of record it is, and file it accordingly), then
2. if this new paper-based statement is an update, such as a share holdings change due to the acquisition of more shares through a DRP/SPP, or an annual insurance premium notice for an IP or life insurance, only keep the most up-to-date version in paper form, and then shred the previous one (knowing that the previous years' records will be already stored in electronic format).

This way, you're not storing years worth of paper-based files for each investment (which can take up a lot of physical space) - only the single most recent one. That way, if something such as an electronic armageddon takes places and all digital records are wiped off the face of the earth, you've got at least something in writing that shows the necessary, recent details of the investment.

Thoughts? Allowed? Does anyone already do this?

 

The CGT rules do require records be maintained and retained until a long time AFTER selling. That doesnt mean paper !!

I personally would stop retaining paper at all (except a cheque ) and scan all records. And file them systematically in date order. A record of all buy / sells etc in excel will help point you to each document. eg Purchased in 2015, sold in 2018. Never delete anything. If the ATO ask a question there is nothing wrong with having too much unnecessary info.

All PDFs and electronic files should also be filed in a cloud filing system (as a backup at a minimum) so it cant be lost if the PC dies, house burns down etc

 

Thanks @Paul@PFI - that's what I was hoping to hear. I've been wanting to get rid of the paper records for awhile - just wasn't sure if I could. Given your line of work - if you're saying it's allowable, then I'll go ahead with it.

It's so darned hot in Brisbane right now, that spending a day inside, in the a/c, scanning paperwork is actually not a bad way to spend the day......

 

Probably not the correct thread but here goes anyway.

With the Annual Tax Statements from ETFs, I place them in the tax year in which the income was accrued.

However, as AMIT is now involved should these statements also be kept in Folders, eg VGS Folder, along with any Buy contracts? I know AMIT is dealt with in the relevant personal tax return but I am just wondering about this aspect.

 

Good question. To be on the safe side I’ll file in both folders from now on. Alternatively you could adjust the cost base in your spreadsheet / records but still having the annual statement there as supporting documentation would be wise.

@dunno (sorry tagging you again) I recall you asking about AMIT cost base adjustment quite some time ago for personal records. What did you end up doing? Thanks.

PITA, don’t have these complexities with LICs. Glad I only have two ETFs.

 

I'll do it anyway. First because I don't know any better and second it's minimal effort - no more than a couple of minutes even for previous years.

I won't bother with spreadsheets as I don't use the one I have that purpose.

 

Yes same here. Minimal effort being the key criteria. Imagine if one had a lot of ETFs with dozens of purchases each year and did what Blackrock’s ETF tax booklet recommends. Cruelty to retirees in my view:

 

I recall cheques being used all the time, even paying for fuel at the servo etc; hardly see one nowadays

 

I recall when they were called Bills of Exchange. So cop that young fella!

 

Only for those who bother to read them. I'm not paid to deal with them. I fling the stuff to the accountants and let them handle it. And I pay them.

 

I suspect this quote may involve the answer to some extent.

May as well retain them in respective folders on a "just in case" basis.

 

Are these the type of things you normally think about first thing of the morning?

Yeah another reason to keep the annual statements with Property Trusts being the main culprit in regard to deferred income from memory. No interest in these areas of tax.

Actually thanks for the reminder I forgot to move a copy of the annual tax statement to my contract note / spreadsheet folder for each Entity / ETF. Will do later today.