CATS4TAX – Tax Tip #11
Be prepared for your tax appointment
Bring relevant information with you. You may wish to categorize your expenses and total them so you have a summary of your deductions or you may wish for your accountant to do this.
Your accountant can access your income through the ATO Tax Agent’s Portal, but this information must be verified by the taxpayer.
Single Touch Payroll (STP)
STP works by sending tax and super information from your employer’s payroll and accounting software to the ATO. Tax Agents have encountered teething problems with the Single Touch Payroll system; where income statements remained unfinalized after 31 July; taxpayers also disagreed with the income amounts stated. These issues can delay processing of a tax return, as your employer is required to amend incorrect information.
If information does not match the information held by the ATO, it is up to the employer to amend or ultimately the taxpayer to prove their income. For example: provide a statutory declaration with supporting evidence final pay docket/bank statements to support income.
Where there is a mis-match of information between a tax return and the information on the taxpayer’s ATO account, the Tax Office will examine the taxpayer’s return in closer detail.
Ask Questions
Don’t be afraid to ask questions, or highlight areas where you need more information. Your accountant is there to answer questions and prepare you for keeping future records.
If you have information to chase up, do it promptly. Sometimes you may get homework from your accountant. Accountants service many clients a week. It takes time to get reacquainted with the particulars of a tax return, since many other returns have been processed. This is not a productive use of time and requires rework.
Final Steps
Once the tax return is complete and sent to the taxpayer for review and signature, sign, return the authorisations to your accountant and pay your tax fees promptly. The taxpayer will then be informed of the date of lodgement.
Paying invoices in a timely manner is the best way to support small businesses, which in turn assists them to meet their own obligations on time.
Lodgement Program
The Tax Office monitors the performance of tax agents using the lodgement program. Statistics are held for each practice on the tax agent portal. It tracks the percentage of completed returns. Dealing with your tax matters promptly assists the agent to comply with their lodgement program.
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Get in touch with CATS4TAX:
0404 483 685
