End of Financial Year Tips and Tools
2023 GUIDE
"What can I claim on tax?"
You’re not alone in wondering, “What can I claim on tax?”. Here, we’ll provide you with insights and strategies from a leading Australian Accountant to help you make smart decisions at the end of this financial year.
REMINDER:
Tax time cut-offs
When lodging your ATO returns, here’s the dates to be aware of:
Lodgement from: 1 July, 2023
Your tax return covers the income year from 1 July to 30 June.
Due date: Tuesday, 31 October, 2023
If you choose to use the services of a registered tax agent, they will generally have special lodgement schedules and can lodge returns for clients later than 31 October. If you are using a registered tax agent, you need to engage them before 31 October.
Tax bill due: 21 November, 2023
If you lodge your own tax return and it results in a tax bill, payment is due by 21 November.
Preparing yourself or your business for the EOFY in Australia
Nikki Douglass, Owner and Managing Director of
First Class Accounts Canberra Central.
Nikki Douglass is the Owner and Managing Director of First Class Accounts Canberra Central. As an accountant with over 20 years experience, Nikki specialises in accounting setup, bookkeeping, BAS, GST and payroll.
Nikki is also an avid credit card ‘points chaser’, having just returned from a business class trip to Alaska, paid on points. Given that, she strongly recommends her clients to use Sniip for paying their business and personal bills.
Tax Time Tips for EOFY
"What can I claim on tax?"
DON’T put your head in the sand this End of Financial Year (EOFY), because the ATO can see your derriere dancing in the air!
We picked the brains of tax expert Nikki Douglass, Owner and Managing Director of First Class Accounts Canberra Central and this is her #1 takeaway for tax time (in our own words, not the words of the eloquent Ms Douglass).
The phones are ringing off the hook in her Canberra office as we dial in for our interview. “Hi! Can I phone you back in 10 minutes?,” she says down the line. “I always wanted to be popular, but not this popular,” she laughed.
Given that we’re 15 days out from 30 June, so EOFY and tax is top of mind for businesses and individuals alike as we aim to all ensure we’re getting our maximum deductions.
“The metaphor of eating an elephant one mouthful at a time really applies to your books and tax. Therefore, it should be treated as a year-long process, not just looked at in June/July,” Ms Douglass said.
“Ideally, just take little bites at it and don’t think you need to reinvent the wheel. Basically it’s a year long process – by April and May you want to have confidence in your data and your books. Moreover, in June, we want to be prepared ahead of lodgement.”
This leads to her second tip. Whether you’re running a business or you’re an employee/contractor, your time is value and the laws are complex. In reality, it’s often better not to do your business bookkeeping or tax lodgements yourself.
“One of our mantras is, it's much better for your accountant to do tax advice than be your personal assistant and hunt down your paperwork at their hourly rates. You need your books to be clean, correct and accurate,”
– Nikki Douglas
“Utilise the knowledge and experience of the experts. In this case, employ the professionals, period. Doing the financial paperwork is not of value to most (if any) businesses. In brief, give it to someone who is an expert.
“We like to see business owners do what they are experts in. For the most part, DIY is not always the best solution for your financial operations, payroll and tax work.
“You can’t be an expert in everything, but you can make sure you have a team of experts in your back pocket,” she said.
Ms Douglass said whether you’re a business or individual, your time is money.
“It’s much cheaper to engage someone to do the work than risk getting it wrong. Evidently, it can really cost businesses and individuals and I see that everyday.”
It’s important to know what you can claim on tax. As an illustration, getting it wrong doesn’t just mean missing deductions, it can be very costly if you over-claim deductions or GST credits.
“The rules change all the time, it’s impossible for someone to stay abreast. But as qualified professionals, you’re spending many hours undergoing further training and upskills each month to keep across any and all changes,” she said.
“Without this expertise, you can put something in that isn’t allowed and people can over claim. As a result, they have to give the money back to the ATO and can result in additional interest fees and penalties.
If you’re wondering, “What can I claim on tax?”, it’s probably worth speaking to a professional directly about your personal or business situation.
“That’s probably occurring more frequently than people under-claiming. But the ATO is really cracking down – they’re very focused on debt collection at the moment.”
Nikki's Top 3 Business Tax Time Tips
"What can I claim on tax?"
1. Set-up processes in your business
“The biggest mistakes are because people don’t have sound processes. In that case, bills get missed which impacts on their cash flow further down the track. Not having a good process to pick up all the bills and check-up the statements becomes a nightmare at tax time. Evidently, utilising technology and apps such as Sniip can help automate processes in your business.”
2. Use tax time as an opportunity to review your outgoings
“Businesses are often not aware of their overheads and checking their outgoings. Are we getting them all? Do we need to revisit our phone accounts and insurances? People just pay things blindly – End of Financial Year is a great time to review expenditure and revisit outgoings,” she said.
3. Watch your drawings
“We often see businesses, particularly small businesses not often understanding drawings and how taking personal money out of the business works. For this reason, you should get advice on the best way to pay yourself from your business. Doing it incorrectly can have a negative impact and may not be beneficial from a tax point of view.”
BONUS TIP:
Claim the Sniip processing fee!
“If you’re registered for GST, the GST on the processing fee can be claimed back on your next BAS. Additionally, the non-GST component of your processing fee is a tax deduction for your business. And use Sniip’s tax-time export feature and the description/nickname of the bill to assist with tax deductions.”
what can I claim on tax
Nikki's Top 3 Personal Tax Time Tips
"What can I claim on tax?"
1. A word on work from home
“A focus area this year is working from home. What are the long-term impacts of working from home? Talk to an expert to ensure you’re claiming the most you can within the legal framework.”
2. Hire a professional
“Even if you think the world is simple, hire a good professional. After all, they’re trained and they’re experts. I don’t want my electrician fixing my plumbing. I’m a big believer in paying a professional. You can’t be an expert in everything.”
3. Delicate with the deductions
“Individuals go wild with deductions and can easily put something in that isn’t allowed and we regularly see people over claim. Then they have to give the money back to the ATO.”
what can I claim on tax
Nikki's Key Tax Time Takeaways
When it comes to your business accounts and your tax, it helps to leave it to the experts.
Treat your tax as an annual process (not just July’s job).
Watch your deductions (it’s easy to over-claim).
BONUS TIP: Bookkeepers and accountants fees (just like Sniip processing fees), are all tax deductible.
Disclaimer: The above information is provided as general information only. It should not be taken as constituting professional advice. You should seek independent financial, taxation or other advice specific to your circumstances.
what can I claim on tax
Exporting your Sniip Receipts for tax reconciliation
Exporting an individual receipt
- Log into your Sniip Account.
- Tap ‘Receipts’ in the bottom right corner.
- Select the receipt you wish to export to the email inbox linked to your Sniip account.
- Tap the mail icon in the top right corner.
- All done!
Exporting all receipts
- Log into your Sniip Account.
- Tap ‘Receipts’ in the bottom right corner.
- Select the upload icon in the top right corner (next to the blue plus circle).
- Select ‘Yes, please’ to confirm the export of all your receipts.
- All done!
Sniip Processing Times
- American Express: Thursday, June 29 by 6pm AEST
- Visa/Mastercard debit: Thursday, June 29 6pm AEST
- Visa/Mastercard credit: Thursday, June 29 11:59pm AEST