{"id":2591,"date":"2024-06-28T04:34:35","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T04:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/?p=2591"},"modified":"2024-06-28T04:34:36","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T04:34:36","slug":"tax-tips-ahead-of-june-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/tax-tips-ahead-of-june-30\/","title":{"rendered":"TAX TIPS AHEAD OF JUNE 30"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As we head towards the end of the financial year, now is the time to take steps to get your tax affairs in order and look at any last-minute planning to maximise your return. Here are H&R Block\u2019s<\/a> tips for a happy tax time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check your <\/strong>paperwork<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to make a claim for work-related expenses, you need to follow the three golden rules:\u2022 The expense must relate to your work\u2022 You mustn\u2019t have been reimbursed by your employer\u2022 You must be able to prove that you spent the money. That means that you must keep receipts, invoices or statements to demonstrate that you actually incurred the expense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My tip is to keep electronic copies of all documentation relating to expenses. Paper receipts get lost or fade, so keeping everything together on your phone or computer will save time and effort when you come to complete your tax return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take some time out to gather together all the information you will need to help you prepare your tax returns, including invoices and receipts for work-related expenses and any bank\/credit card statements that contain items of work-related expenses that you no longer have (or never had) receipts or invoices for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re not sure if it\u2019s claimable, collect together the receipt or invoice anyway and discuss it with your tax agent. If you don\u2019t have the paperwork, you can\u2019t claim a deduction so it makes sense to set aside this time in advance of the end of the financial year to spare yourself a stressful document hunt whilst you\u2019re actually in the process of getting your return prepared!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, if you\u2019re claiming any expenses that have a work-related element and a private element (such as for the use of a personal mobile phone) set some time aside to work out what a reasonable apportionment is for the work-related bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do some last minute <\/strong>planning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve not yet reached the end of the financial year, it\u2019s not too late to generate some additional tax deductions this tax year:\u2022 If you have any professional subscriptions or union fees due, pay by 30 June and you can claim the deduction for the whole amount this year. \u2022 Charitable donations are tax deductible \u2013 anything over $2, with a receipt, paid to a charity registered as a deductible gift recipient (which covers most major charities) will be deductible. \u2022 If you use a bag for work, to carry papers or a laptop perhaps, you can claim a tax deduction for the cost. That could include a briefcase, a backpack or a handbag, whichever suits your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure you claim for working from home!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you work from home, either occasionally or all the time, you are entitled to deductions for costs arising from working at home. The expenses that you can claim include:\u25cf heating, cooling and lighting\u25cf cleaning costs\u25cf decline in value (depreciation) of home office furniture and fittings, office equipment and computers (for items over $300)\u25cf computer consumables, stationery, telephone and internet costs \u25cf items of capital equipment (for eg furniture, computers and associated hardware and software) which cost less than $300 can be written off in full immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t claim for things like tea, coffee and toilet paper, which would be provided if you work in an office, but are actually private expenses when bought for home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can claim actual costs but you\u2019ll need copies of all invoices plus a reasonable estimate of the percentage split between work-use and private-use. Or, alternatively, use the ATO fixed rate of 67 cents per hour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t forget, to claim the fixed rate, you must be able to prove the number of hours that you worked from home during the entire<\/strong> tax year, so you\u2019ll need a diary, copies of timesheets or rosters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Important:<\/strong> you can\u2019t make a separate claim for mobile phone use if you have claimed the fixed rate method for working from home. Mobile phone calls \u2013 wherever they are made \u2013 are included in the 67 cents per hour rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABOUT H&R BLOCK<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Established in 1971, H&R Block Australia is the leading tax preparation firm in Australia, handling over 700,000 returns annually. Headquartered in Sydney, the company serves the\u00a0 taxpaying public in more than 450 offices. Our tax consultants use the latest in computerised\u00a0 processing and up-to-date electronic filing technology to prepare all types of returns, including\u00a0 personal, investment, small\u00a0business\u00a0and corporate returns. As Australia\u2019s number one\u00a0 preparer of personal income tax returns, H&R Block also offers a range of services to small\u00a0 business clients, including bookkeeping and accounting services.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022\u00a0Website:\u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/www.hrblock.com.au\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022\u00a0Instagram:\u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/hrblockau\/?hl=en<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we head towards the end of the financial year, now is the time to take steps to get your tax affairs in order and look at any last-minute planning to maximise your return. Here are H&R Block\u2019s tips for a happy tax time: Check your paperwork If you want to make a claim for work-related expenses, you need to… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stuff-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2591"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2593,"href":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591\/revisions\/2593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dadsstuff.com.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}