Tax Time

[romana]

It's Tax time here in the US and it's my least favorite thing to do. I am such a procrastinator when it comes to the taxes but the deadline is quickly approaching so I had to start this weekend. I was up last night untill 4 am and all day today. I was a little overwhelmed with paperwork. Do you do your own taxes. What helps you stay organized and stay on track? I run my own business out of home and that makes it more complicated.

[Naomi]

Our tax time (in Aus) is after the end of the financial year, 30 June. I think tax is *meant* to be done by 30 October ... my husband has just (last week!) done his tax from last year :blink: He uses an accountant because he has education costs and other non-standard things so it's easier to get someone else to do it.

[Alexa]

I do my own on line with the ATO, I only ever have one group certicate and a few expenses, quick and easy, get a return in around 10 to 14 days.

[Patricia]

Yes, like Alexa I do ours online...quick and easy ...well as easy as tax can be I guess..:hehe:

[Jeda]

Romana - We're at that horrible tax time here in Aus too. April is always busy with the end of the Financial Year looming up on June 30. First of all, i admire you for doing your own taxes!! Me, no way. I leave it all up to my accountant. Our biggest dilemma this year is deciding whose Acct to go to!

My DH and i have only been married 3 years (second for both of us) and we both had separate accountants. But now we have joint investments and back accts we thought it'd be more beneficial to have just one. (And less costly!) We had to toss a coin - and his won! Re motivating yourself to complete your tax - Just think, the sooner you get your tax done, the sooner you'll get a tax return!!!!

Good luck!

[romana]

I do my own on line with the ATO, I only ever have one group certicate and a few expenses, quick and easy, get a return in around 10 to 14 days.

We purchased a program this year called TurboTax - it may be similar to the ATO, I heard it's pretty easy to use. We shall see. I got all the numbers ready and my DH will be plugging it in. I did consider an accountant but I wasn't organized enough to have everything ready in time.

Romana - We're at that horrible tax time here in Aus too. April is always busy with the end of the Financial Year looming up on June 30. First of all, i admire you for doing your own taxes!! Me, no way. I leave it all up to my accountant. Our biggest dilemma this year is deciding whose Acct to go to!

My DH and i have only been married 3 years (second for both of us) and we both had separate accountants. But now we have joint investments and back accts we thought it'd be more beneficial to have just one. (And less costly!) We had to toss a coin - and his won! Re motivating yourself to complete your tax - Just think, the sooner you get your tax done, the sooner you'll get a tax return!!!!

Good luck!

Thanks Jeda. I did consider hiring an accountant, but they are pretty costly here, so I thought I'd try it on my own with the help of a software program (Turbo Tax). Do you retain your accountant the entire year? I thought about it - it would probably help me with my business.

Yes, the tax return is nice and this year we are getting a bigger allowance for the children. The government is trying to boost the US economy by giving us more money back, hoping that the consumer spending will increase. We are planning to put it toward loans, I think that most peolple will do that, so I don't think we'll contribute to the consumer spending much. :D

[Jeda]

Romana-Yep, we keep the same accountant all year and have all the tax notices addressed to him, so he manages everything for us.

The cost of the Accountant can be declared as business expense and thus a tax deduction.

We do try to keep everything simple though, and in specific order ie have group certs ready, private medical tax assesments for medical claimed and for cost paid into scheme, all cheque statements in order and any income from other sources laid out clearly ie Property management statements, any tax invoices for items bought for the property or business and any dividends from shares etc

That way we're not paying him to file etc. Accountants keep up to date with new deductions and can often save you money.

[romana]

Romana-Yep, we keep the same accountant all year and have all the tax notices addressed to him, so he manages everything for us.

The cost of the Accountant can be declared as business expense and thus a tax deduction.

We do try to keep everything simple though, and in specific order ie have group certs ready, private medical tax assesments for medical claimed and for cost paid into scheme, all cheque statements in order and any income from other sources laid out clearly ie Property management statements, any tax invoices for items bought for the property or business and any dividends from shares etc

That way we're not paying him to file etc. Accountants keep up to date with new deductions and can often save you money.



Thanks Jeda. :) I'll try to be more organized this year and I'll be on the lookout for a good accountant.:yes:

[Stormy]

I always do my own tax....as soon as I get my group certificates I send it in so that I can get my refund :y:

[zen]

we have used the same accountant for our taxes for more years than i remember.. he has all our info stored, and we claim his fees the next year. he makes it all easy, and always manages to find a good refund for my husband now that i have stopped working. wouldn't have it any other way.

[Kjoy]

We purchased a program this year called TurboTax - it may be similar to the ATO, I heard it's pretty easy to use. We shall see. I got all the numbers ready and my DH will be plugging it in. I did consider an accountant but I wasn't organized enough to have everything ready in time.



The ATO is not a program. It stands for Australian Tax Office and is the federal government equivilent of your IRS.

It provides a free online program called eTax which enables people to do their taxes online speedily and easily. It also migrates a lot of information from other government departments such as Medicare and Social Security so you dont have to request and input that information separately. Its future plans include the auto migration of bank and shares information too which will simplify the process even further.

eTax was developed in 1999 and I was part of the test group that used it that year before it was introduced across Australia in 2000. I have used it ever since and have found it so simple and fast and my refund is generally in my account within 6-8 days. My return is generally not very complex generally but for the past 2 years I had to do medical costs rebates and thought it would be complicated but it wasnt - it just guides you through it step by step.

PS yes Naomi the tax season is from 1 July to 30 October and self lodgers are suppose to have lodged within that period. However to spread the "busy" season out tax agents and accountants are given lodgement extensions dependant on their practice size and quantity of clients. So some can lodge as late as June 6 the following year.

[Mesmereyes]

would love to know about the online tax thinghy does it cost? is it easy? we go to a account but ours is so simple i think we could do it.

[Patricia]

No it is free...you just download the program to your computer and follow it step by step...couldn't be easier :D