Do you do your own tax?

Discussion in 'Wealth Creation & Management' started by petey, Oct 2, 2013.

  1. SilverDJ

    SilverDJ Well-Known Member

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    I hear some people who use accoutants boast about how they claimed part of their home phone bill for business or *insert of trivial thing here* and the make it sound like the greatest thing since sliced break because they found a $20 deduction :rolleyes:
     
  2. Chubbsng

    Chubbsng Member Silver Stacker

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    I definitely use an accountant however I am the director of companies and have businesses so its not straight forward. Even still, tax minimisation is a vital part of investment. If you are Payg then that's still your investment. You need an accounting plan a structure and how to implement it.

    Im not sure what the average price for a payg earners tax return costs however for the less than $1,000(if not $250) or whatever it costs, having a relationship with an accountant and better educating yourself each year on these things will make you better off in the long term.

    Tax is a big picture thing
     
  3. GRETZKY427

    GRETZKY427 Active Member Silver Stacker

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    If you dont have much to claim, etc just use ETAX...its free and easy to use and you get your estimate return straight away after everything is submitted :)

    Cheers, HAPPY STACKING :)
     
  4. FortySeven

    FortySeven Member

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    I pay no income tax, do my own tax returns, and get a refund every year!
     
  5. raven

    raven Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    What the fcuk is a tax return ?

    :)
     
  6. RichardAL

    RichardAL Active Member Silver Stacker

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    Yeah, I do my own mainly because I have a problem with the fact that if you pay an accountant to do it and they mess it up, they're not liable - you are! What a joke....how is it that an accountant can charge a fee to do a job, mess that job up and have no liability? In effect accountants are just the government's tax collectors
     
  7. Chubbsng

    Chubbsng Member Silver Stacker

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    They are not liable because they can only crunch numbers based on the information you have provided them. They can be liable if they get the numbers you have sent them wrong.
     
  8. rjimlad

    rjimlad Member

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    I don't do my own law and I don't do my own tax. Agree totally that you should have a good lawyer and a good accountant. My accountant has mystical properties that astound me. He made my HECS debt disappear, gets me returns I couldn't imagine getting myself and keeps me on the straight and narrow with the ATO. Worth every cent.
     
  9. Golightly

    Golightly Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    I'm on my 3rd accountant in 2 years, Everything from registering the wrong business name to the pay software we used not working for 2 months. I can do my own myself but business I cant. From the stories I hear from others as well most accountants are completely inept
     
  10. petey

    petey Active Member Silver Stacker

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    Very true, but find the right one and stick with them!
     
  11. hiho

    hiho Active Member Silver Stacker

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    quadruple tautology :D
     
  12. hiho

    hiho Active Member Silver Stacker

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    did mine first time this year and its been 25 days and no return yet :(
     
  13. Askari

    Askari Active Member Silver Stacker

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    For those who do their own returns, do you know whether I can take an immediate deduction for the bullion locker or can I only include it in the cost base once I sell?

    Ironically, I just sat the CA tax exam. I think I failed...
     
  14. RichardAL

    RichardAL Active Member Silver Stacker

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    Glad to hear that they can be liable.

    Even so, every year there are grabs in the paper based on some intrepid reporter sending exactly the same information to a number of different accounting firms and each firm coming up with a different figure - large differences. They don't produce the same result, despite being fed identical input and their get out of jail clause is that the actual taxpayer is liable and the ATO goes with that.

    The real problem is that it's very difficult to find an accountant that will work for the client as opposed to their own self-interest!!! Same goes for everyone I guess.
     
  15. Goldhamster

    Goldhamster New Member

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    Talking about inept accountants , my ex got confused and couldn't correctly convert ounces to kilograms since my name is Troy.
     
  16. SilverTounge15

    SilverTounge15 Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Just do your own tax until your in business and have many investments, it should pay to have a tax agent, if they cant pay for themselves and bring you a better return than you would yourself then its time to find a new agent...
     
  17. SilverDJ

    SilverDJ Well-Known Member

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    It's trivial to do your own business return if you are a sole trader, because it's all on your personal return.
    Gets much harder and messier if you become a Pty Ltd, at which point you should get an accountant to do it. Not because of the money they can save you (they often can't save you much if anything extra over doing it yourself, unless you are absolutely clueless), it's because they will simply take care of all the messy stuff you'd otherwise have to learn and spend many many hours on.

    Also, if you have your own business don't forget about the $299 "gift voucher" you can buy your employees (i.e. you), up to half a dozen times a year my accountant advises is reasonable.
    And this includes physical shiny metal gifts, and also gifts to metal accounts like the Perth mint.

    Pre-tax metal is shinier than regular metal :D
     
  18. SilverTounge15

    SilverTounge15 Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Indeed it is ;)
     
  19. mmm....shiney!

    mmm....shiney! Administrator Staff Member Silver Stacker

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    Care to elaborate?
     
  20. SilverDJ

    SilverDJ Well-Known Member

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    I think I've detailed this in another thread somewhere I believe, but it's called the Minor Benefits Exemption:
    https://www.ato.gov.au/general/frin...ons-and-concessions/minor-benefits-exemption/

    My accountant advises that up to half a dozen times per year per employee for events like birthdays, holidays, new years, FY year, milestones etc is "reasonable". But it could be more, ask your accountant.
    And if they are "gift certificates" then it's guaranteed to be exempt, but it can be almost anything.
    One metal dealer on this forum even offered $299 gift vouchers in the previous thread :D
    But my accountant has a said Perth Mint depository gift deposit is ok too.

    The company claims the git as a business deduction, and any GST back, and the employee pays no tax on it because it's not income. It's a win-win.

    I'm not sure if this works for sole trader companies.

    http://www.jimsbookkeeping.com.au/gifts-to-employees-associates/

    [​IMG]
     
    mmm....shiney! likes this.

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