Covid-19 Claims

1. If you have worked from home due to Covid-19, then the government has announced that it will let taxpayers claim 80c per hour to cover costs of home office expenses, based on documented records of the hours you worked from home. However, if you do not think that this will adequately compensate for what it has actually cost you to work from home, you can choose to assess via a one-month diary establishing your percentage of expenses – mobile phone, home computers, printers, internet and any other costs related to working from home.

Individuals 

1. Account for all your sources of income during the year, particularly if your have had several jobs or received Centrelink benefits for part of the year.
2. Make sure you have receipts for all your work related deductions. Some expenses like union fees can be taken straight from your annual PAYG Summary, but most require their own receipt.
3. If you have made tax deductible donations during the year, you will need receipts for these.
4. If you use your car for work make sure you have a calculation of how many km you have travelled and if you require a log book make sure it is up to date.
5. Any other work related travel expenses will require diarised notes of where and when you travelled, the purpose of the travel and receipts for fares, accommodation and any other expenses.
6. Did you purchase any uniform or protective clothing for work purposes?
7. Did you undertake any study that was directly related to your work activities?
8. If you studied or worked from home, how many hours per week?
9. If you were required to use your personal internet or mobile phone, have you made an effort to establish the percentage usage for work?
10. You will need details of any earnings from bank interest, share dividends and managed funds.
11. If you sold any investments you will need both purchase and sales details if there is a capital gains calculation to be completed.
12. Have you checked your insurances to see if they include tax deductible income protection premiums?

Small Business Owners

1. Many of the hints for individuals are transferrable to small business owners. However, there are some specific reminders that may apply to business owners.
2. Have you reviewed your debtors to see if there are any bad debts to be written off?
3. Do you have any obsolete stock or equipment that can be written off prior to 30 June?
4. Are all your staff obligations for PAYG Tax and Superannuation up to date?
5. Have you disposed of any capital equipment or bought any new equipment?
6. Is any of the new equipment worth less than $150,000 and available for immediate write-off?
7. Have you sat down and completed a tax planning exercise to in the past quarter?

Investment Property Owners

1. Ask for an annual statement of income and expenses from your rental property manager
2. Account for all the expenses paid directly by you in relation to the property – usually rates, water, body corp, insurance and some repairs.
3. Have you checked whether you have a current depreciation schedule for the property.