If you’re meeting your accountant soon to discuss your business tax return, please don’t go empty-handed. Preparing for this appointment is not only wise, but saves a lot of time and effort for you and your accountant.

Not only will your accountant love you for it, it also ensures you get to claim the largest tax refund possible.

When using a new accountant, always start with last year’s tax return. It should have your personal details, tax file number, income streams, tax offsets, deductions and other relevant information previously claimed.

If you use a cloud accounting solution, all your data will be available online for your accountant. MYOB accounting software is great for capturing your business transactions. It allows you to record data in real-time and in a format that your accountant understands. Your accountant has access to it 24/7. Together, you can monitor your business performance and be prepared for your tax obligations.

Here’s a checklist of things to prepare for your accountant.

Income records checklist for your tax return

Your accountant will want to see records for all sources of incoming monies. These include things like the following:

Wages or salary

• PAYG summaries from employees
• Personal services income
• Lump sum termination payments

Interest earned

• Bank interest
• Distributions from trusts, partnerships, managed superfunds
• Superannuation lump sum payments
• Dividends
• Capital gains

Allowances

• Car and vehicle allowances
• Travel allowances
• Other allowances, such as entertainment, meals etc.
• Pensions and allowances

Other income

• Foreign income
• Net income/loss from business
• Rental income

Business expenses checklist for your tax return

The other records your accountant will want to see are those related to outgoing money. How much did you and/or your business spend in the past financial year in order to earn an income?

Employees

• Wages and salaries
• Training costs
• Courses, education and seminars
• Superannuation contributions

Car and travel

• Motor vehicle expenses based on business use percentage (include your log book if applicable)
• Travel and accommodation – domestic and overseas

Office

• Home office expenses
• Computer, software and repairs
• Tools and equipment
• Rent/lease payments
• Building or maintenance costs
• Utilities – electricity, gas, water
• Telephone and internet

Banking and insurances

• Income protection insurance
• Dividend deductions
• Bank fees
• Low value pool deductions/depreciation
• Interest

Other expenses

• Work uniforms and other clothing expenses
• Freight and transport costs
• Legal and accounting fees
• Donations
• Details of any asset purchases
• Medical expenses
• Childcare expenses

Keep receipts for all expenses and tax deductions you are claiming for your business. Scan and file them electronically so that they are accessible should you need them for audit purposes.

Accountants also require the following information for review, so scan or photocopy these:

• Bank and credit card statements
• Lease, hire purchase, chattel mortgage or other loan agreements to your business
• Business Activity Statements and Instalment Activity Statements and working papers.
• Stock valuation figure after performing your 30 June stock take.

Your accountant can work through every possible tax deduction available for you and your business.

Don’t forget to ask your accountant what tax incentives are available to you in order to increase your tax deductions too.

You are now prepared to meet your accountant having collated all of the required information above to fulfil your tax obligation. Rest easy — at least for 12 months before you have to go through this process again.

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Information provided in this article is of a general nature and does not consider your personal situation. It does not constitute legal, financial, or other professional advice and should not be relied upon as a statement of law, policy or advice. You should consider whether this information is appropriate to your needs and, if necessary, seek independent advice. This information is only accurate at the time of publication. Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained on this webpage, MYOB disclaims, to the extent permitted by law, all liability for the information contained on this webpage or any loss or damage suffered by any person directly or indirectly through relying on this information.