During tax season, have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are scavenging for little pieces of paper called receipts in your office or home drawers in order to find one more thing that you can claim for a tax deduction?
Or maybe during the same dreaded season, you found yourself taking every piece of advice, silly or sensible that came your way only to reduce the amount of tax being deducted from your hard-earned income?
If so, then you reading the right post because further below, we are, straight from the office of a certified tax agent in Nunawading, going to list 10 such small things that you never imagined could ever save your money.
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- Laundry: If you are supposed to wear a uniform to work each day, then you can claim the laundry expenses on keeping that uniform clean and presentable. You can claim 1$ per load which covers dry cleaning costs too. Only claims above 300$ require receipts for proof of that expense otherwise not.
- Entertainment: Did you know that creating a recreational space for your employees can actually lend you 2 benefits. One is a pleasing and fun work environment to keep employees motivated and energetic. We know this. What’s new is that the amount spent on employee engagement activities like games, pool games is tax-deductible. Now that’s some good news!
- Charity Donation: Be benevolent and serve mankind. Now you can help yourself too because any donations given to local charities and non-profit organizations are tax-deductible. Just keep the receipts and claim at the end of the tax year.
- Sun Protection: Occupations that genuinely require you to work outdoors in the harsh Australian sun come under ATO tax deduction by occupation by enabling such employees to claim the cost of sun protection they bought. Could you have imagined that? !! Check this with your accountant in Nunawading and accordingly claim it.
- Working from Home Expenses: Pandemic has introduced a work-from-home culture everywhere. Setting up a home office clearly incur a cost for internet access, electricity, home office equipment and much more. ATO has provisioned to claim these expenses.
- Four-legged employee: Does this means that dogs too can be claimed for a tax deduction? That’s crazy! Well, there is a catch to it. If you are buying a dog for serious security purposes or if they are needed on a farm, then expenses incurred on their upkeep like food, vet bills and other necessary equipment can be claimed.
- Seminars and courses: Continuous upskilling is necessary to keep up with the changing market trends irrespective of which industry you work for. There are many online or offline courses, seminars and webinars for self-education of you or your employees. Fees paid to attend these can be claimed from ATO. Hire a tax agent in Nunawading to help you understand tax rules around this point.
- Cleaners: If you are paying someone to clean your office or workplace, the expenses can be claimed for a tax deduction. The cost of cleaning tools is also covered in this claim. Make sure all the receipts are kept safe to be produced later at the time of filing tax.
- Your income: Premiums paid on the income protection insurance are claimable under ATO tax guidelines. So, keep all the documents ready to claim them when the tax day comes.
- Subscriptions: If the subscriptions that you took are all work-related, they too can be claimed for a tax deduction. For example, newspaper subscriptions, work-related magazines subscriptions or TV subscriptions for people working in the media industry.
Conclusion
Filing your taxes flawlessly is not as easy as it may sound, but if the right professional help is taken at the right time, you can sail through this tax season smoothly without coming under ATO’s radar. So contact an expert accountant in Nunawading who can give you these valuable insights into taxation and help you save your hard-earned money in the right way and honest way.
Wired General 