Top Tips To Boost Your Tax Refunds

Here are a few simple ways to get more tax refunds. 

Claim All Allowed Tax Deductions  

The first step to increasing your tax refunds is to claim a legal deduction of all expenses you are entitled to. This is especially important if you often pay for things/services related to your line of work. The rule of thumb here is to keep a diary and/or a receipt of the purchase. The diary will come in handy should you have to prove when and where you made the purchase or what the project was about. Keeping the receipt safe can also help your tax accountant determine if you can claim a tax refund for the same or not. 

Although you might know this already, it would be advisable to keep all your receipts to be able to claim everything. It’s also worth noting that you can only claim a tax refund for things your employer hasn’t reimbursed you, items with proof of purchase – a receipt in this case. 

Good Records and Recipes = Decent Tax Refunds 

Many of us aren’t good at keeping records, leave alone receipts. Failure to keep your records and receipts properly can cost you a lot of time and money (in tax refunds) in the long run. Thousands of Australians miss out on thousands of dollars in tax refunds simply because they forgot to keep a record of their purchases alongside receipts. Here are several other reasons you should make a habit of keeping records. 

- Good record-keeping helps you and your accountant or tax adviser. 
- It provides tangible evidence of your expenses and income
- Makes preparing your tax returns easier
- It makes it easier to claim everything entitled to you
- It is proof of information provided in your returns
- Minimizes the risk of tax adjustments and audits
- Better communication with us
- Makes resolving disputes (adjustments and assessments) easier
- Limits the risk of penalties
  
Good record-keeping provides an efficient way for your tax advisor to sort through everything quickly and efficiently. This can help keep the cost of managing tax affairs to a minimum. 

Boost Your Tax Refunds by Sweating the Small Stuff

Involving yourself in charities, such as donating a $10 textbook or even $20 to the cause, can help boost your tax refunds in the long run. Think of the many times you’ll have made such donations within a year or even more. Keep a record of all these and see your refunds grow. The key here is to be organized even when sweating the small stuff. 

Hire A Tax Agent

Unless you are a certified accountant and tax agent yourself, you are better off hiring Perth Tax People than doing the returns by yourself. Working with a tax agent can also keep you on the clear and even boost your tax refunds without getting in ATO trouble. Keep in mind the ATO’s job is to collect taxes, not to help boost your tax refunds. 

More than 70% of Australians file their tax returns with the help of a tax agent; you should too. A tax agent is better placed to identify discrepancies with your records and advise you on the best way to have these fixed to avoid penalties. Although you may be spoiled for choice for tax agents, you want to be keen to hire only the best you can afford. The last thing you want is for your returns to be filed by a data entry worker who understands nothing about tax bills and returns.