Our super-organised readers probably associate 30 June with preparing your tax return, so here are a few tips to help you out. While the exact nature of whether an expense is tax deductible is on a case by base basis, the following is a guide as to what you may be able to. For most deductions you must:
- have record of the expense
- have paid the money yourself
- not have been reimbursed for the cost
- incurred the cost in the process of producing assessable income.
There are many areas of tax deductible expenses and here are a few to get you started.
Work from Home
If you work from home, the ATO have changed the way that expenses can be claimed. For every hour worked at home, you can claim $0.67 in expenses on your tax return for FY2023-23 – this includes your phone, internet, power, and stationary costs. Other expenses (such as deprecation on work-related assets like computers) must be claimed separately. You’ll need to provide evidence of your hours worked from home, such as a timesheet or diary and you no longer need to have a dedicated home office to be eligible to claim. This is a much simpler approach and will work out much better for many tax payers.
Financial Advice & Accounting fees
Where the cost for financial advice relates to producing assessable income, be sure you include your advice fee as a deduction. But not all fees for financial advice are tax deductible.
For example, if you pay a fee for financial advice that relates to a superannuation (including SMSF) or pension account, this is unlikely to be tax deductible to you personally as the advice does not relate to you receiving taxable income. On the other hand, if you pay a fee for financial advice that relates to a personally held investment portfolio, then this is likely to be tax deductible.
Fees paid to an accountant are generally deductible.
Gifts and Donations
Gifts or donations can generally be claimed providing the organisation you donated to is a Deductible Gift Recipients (DGR). Keep receipts of donations made.
If you are unsure about what you can claim it is best to get advice from a qualified accountant.
If have any questions or would like help to get started on your tax return, please call or email me.
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Disclaimer: This post has been prepared for general information purposes only. It is not specific advice to any particular person. You should consult an authorised Align Financial adviser before making financial decisions. Align Financial | Financial Planner Northern Beaches | Servicing North Narrabeen, Narrabeen, Mona Vale, Elanora Heights, Newport, Avalon, Palm Beach | Enquire with us online