Tax Return 2021
Article by Laura Cacau, Cope Accountants.
It is tax time and the most frequent questions asked are: How can I get more money back?
To answer that I would like to start with a disclaimer that each process is very unique and that is because different people have different sources of income. So let’s first understand what are the Taxable Income and must be included in your declaration:
- Income from work produced on TFN
- Income from work produced on ABN (including freelancer services)
- Interest from bank account
- Income from investments, such as shares and dividends (including cryptocurrency)
- Income from investment property
With that in mind, the next step on your declaration is to understand the expenses that you can claim and that is what is going to help you to optimize your tax return, however, as I mentioned this is not a “fit all” information and should be discussed with a registered accountant who is often clear of all updates on the legislation.
Depending on your income source, industry, contracts and ways that you delivery your work, some of the expenses you may consider are:
- Uniform expenses
- Phone expenses
- Licenses renew, certificate and courses expenses
- Tolls, equipment, materials and software expenses
- Car expenses
- Home Office expenses (if you work from home)
- Accountant expenses
- Donations
It is important to remember that each year the government is improving more and more their systems to be able to monitor improper claims. Therefore, to avoid any inconvenience with the ATO it is essential to keep all the evidences and records of your expenses, such as bank transactions and accordingly tax receipts.
I am Laura Cacau, I am a consultant for Cope Accountants and I have been working as an accountant in Australia for over 9 years. If you need any further assistance to understand your rights and have benefits on your Tax Return, you can contact me on [email protected].
