6th October 2021 | Tax
Lodging tax returns at every financial year can be daunting and stressful. With the 31st October 2021 deadline coming up everyone is in the rush to gather their receipts and bills to make lodgements.
It’s compulsory for everyone with a Tax file number to pay taxes, whether you are an individual or a business owner, free-lancer, start-up or large company.
This year like every year, we all need to pay our taxes regardless of the pandemic. In fact, many people would struggle to pay their taxes now than before. To reduce your taxes it’s best to seek a professional Tax agent than to do it yourself online. The reason being is that they know what you can claim and what you can’t claim. If you were to lodge a tax claim yourself online you would only be getting a minimum portion returned. If a Tax agent lodges your tax return you would have to pay a fee but the return would be greater.
For example:
Judy and Harry both work full time and have the same income salary of $56,000 per annum.
Judy lodges her own Tax return online. So she didn’t have to pay any fees. Her Tax return for 2021 was $1,200.
Harry lodges his tax return through a tax agent. He had to pay a fee of $150. His tax return for 2021 was $2,200.
That means although Harry had to pay a tax fee for lodgement, the money he got back was more than the amount Judy received. The difference is that Harry’s accountant knew exactly what Harry’s salary and expenses were to help him maximise the claim.
To help reduce tax’s here is a list that can help you check what you can claim.
- Off-set, claim your investment expenses and losses from the previous year.
- Use a quantity surveyor to depreciate your rental property.
- Keep a record of all your receipts and store them on software.
- Top up your Super contributions. Note that individuals have a cap of $27,500 per financial year
- Pay your interests rates on time
- Make use of family Trust structures to better manage your assets
- If you have private health you can save on the Medicare levy
- If you have held on to your cryptocurrency for more than a year, a 50% capital gain may be applied to assets.
- Work-related expenses
- Travel to work expenses
- Internetwork expenses
You can find out more on the government ATO website here
Or if you would like assistance from our Tax agent please contact us by calling 03 9995 7261 or send an email