Manage your receipts and boost your tax refund!

When it comes to tax time, do you ever find yourself searching all over the place for deduction receipts from months earlier? You are not alone!

A recent study conducted by the Commonwealth Bank found that lost receipts are costing one in two Australians an average $1000 in tax rebates every year. Can you afford to miss out on $1000 of extra deductions this year just because you didn’t manage your receipts throughout the year?

In addition to money missing from your pocket, the study also noted taxpayers spend on average 2.2 hours looking for receipts to support the items entered in their tax return.

Now we know you’ve all got better things to do than spend hours looking for receipts and that’s why we’ve come up with an easy plan to help you manger your receipts. This will will save you time, and boost your tax refund!

Prepare Now

• Go out and grab ten folders. Use manila, accordion files, manila envelopes – whichever you prefer. (Don’t use plastic sleeves because the ink on receipts can stick to them which is a nightmare later on).
• Label your folders – one for 2018, 2019 all the way to 2024. (Remember the ATO requires you to keep records for at least five years).
• Put this year’s folder somewhere visible. Don’t hide it in a filing cabinet where you will forget about it; have it close on hand so you can put your receipts in as soon as you get them.

Easy Tips to help manage your receipts

Try following these three simple tips manage your receipts and we bet you’ll see an increase in your tax refund:

1. Collect and keep every relevant receipt

• When you pay for anything work related, keep your receipt and put it in your tax folder.
• If you work from home (even only occasionally), keep your invoices for the telephone, power, water, internet and office supplies. And, be sure to keep a diary about how much time you spend working at home.
• Do you have expenses relating to an investment property? Keep your receipts.
• Donated to a charity? Put the receipts into the folder.
• Driving for work purposes (not including to-and-from home), write down your dates and mileage in a logbook or diary.

2. If you aren’t sure whether a receipt is deductible, keep it!

Later, at tax time, ask your Etax accountant for advice. It’s better to just keep all of your records now than to miss out on valuable, tax saving deductions later.

3. Don’t use a highlighter on your receipts:

The ink used on some receipts soon disappears if a highlighter is used on it. If you can’t read your receipt, then you can’t use it as part of your deduction claims.

Now, when tax time arrives, you simply open your tax folder for this year and all of the deductions that will boost your tax refund are in one easy place. Simple!

What do you think? Do you have any other tips or tricks you use to manage your receipts? Leave us a message over on Facebook or send us a message on [email protected].