Hi, I am wanting to get the most our of my tax. I have noticed in the last 2 years since I did a little research before I went to the accountant, I was able to get more back.... So I was wondering what you all would suggest I claim for the following... 2 kids one in school and one in day care part time - private school 1 investment property which is neg geared at present only 6 months old (home) working partime about 36K p/y has income and TPD and life insurance uniforms for work are supplied wash at home have to have court shoes or covered in shoes private health cover what else can I claim for which would increase my return???? not sure what I can and what I should claim... wanting to get as much as I can get back legally.... My Accountant is not so forthcoming with what I can how much I can claim etc. Any help from any professionals out there would be appricated!! Thank you
Hi Vlina, That's not very helpful of them. Perhaps you should go shopping for a new accountant? To see what you can legally claim you can check out the ATOs "Deduction Essentials" here Error 500 Good luck and let us know how you go. Cheers, Dan
If the link doesn't work you can go to Australian Taxation Office Homepage -> Individuals -> What do you want to do? -> Work out your tax -> What you can claim -> Deduction essentials Cheers, Dan
Thanks Dan, I did change and the last accountant was a bit the same... small town everyone is the same... I just hear and see so many other people getting so much back I want to do the same... I wish I just had a little book to tell you what you can and can't claim to the max if that makes sense?? Thanks for your time though Vlina
Are you claiming depreciation on your IP? That's one thing that is often missed by property investors. Travel costs for inspections and maintenance you might do for your property is also deductible. The big question is - what are those other people doing to get so much tax back? Do they have large negatively-geared property holdings, or huge pre-paid margin loans, or invest in "tax effective" investments? You need to understand the bigger picture - getting a lot of tax back does not necessarily mean you are getting ahead financially! Don't forget that tax refunds only give back some of the money you've already spent on valid expenses - you have to spend $1 to get somewhere between 30c and 50c back in tax. In general you are actually better off not spending the money in the first place!
