Chartfords Chartered Accountants

Let's talk Superannuation and Tax Time. EMPLOYERS - in order to get a tax deduction for employee superannuation in this financial year, you must pay all outstanding superannuation no later than 30 June 2019. EMPLOYEES - if you're making any voluntary payments of superannuation then this is a tax deduction and you will need to lodge an Intention to Claim Tax Deduction form with your Super Fund before lodging your tax return. Be sure to talk to your Superannuation Fund to get the appropriate forms sent through.

One of the most common topics when I am talking to business owners has to do with receipts, and the management of them. They say... - I am so bad with keeping receipts. I’m always losing them... - Do I really need to keep them? - There has got to be a better way to manage them? Did you know that there are several ways to better manage your receipts! Some cloud based accounting software systems have receipt management tools built in such as Xero and Wave. There are also other free and paid apps out there. Expensify is a great FREE app for individuals and Hubdoc and Receipt Bank for business. What is your method for organizing business receipts?

Over the past couple of months I have been working on a Tax Planning Booklet aimed to help businesses with all things tax. If you would like a copy of this booklet, obligation free, please just PM me. Have a great Tuesday everyone.

Do you know the difference between a tax agent and a good tax agent? A tax agent prepares your tax return from information you provide them, they usually charge around the $99 mark - they are essentially form fillers. A good tax agent asks questions to probe a little deeper - they want to find out if you do anything that a deduction may be available for, they get more info from you because somewhere in there may just be a piece of gold that you may think is immaterial but could mean an extra tax saving for you. A good tax agent interprets tax laws to make sure you claim all the deductions you legally can, do not include income that may not yet be assessable and they manage your risk with regards to properly justifying your claims, in preparation for potential future ATO audits. A good tax agent is therefor not cheap but the benefits far outweigh the costs - which by the way is tax deductible anyway!