Myself and my husband have our tax appointment tomorrow, can any one tell me what do I need to take with me to claim all the expenses on our investment house? We have had it as an IP since January 2004, before that it was our family home.
When I made my appointment the receptionist told me to bring as much as I can, but what is that??
Do I need to take bank statements showing how much rent is paid into my account, loan papers to show how much in fees we paid when we changed our loan over?
Really confused [glum]
chrisrenee,
Take along any receipts or bills you have related to the property. Teeeeeell me you have a property manager and a RE agent looking after the place for you. They will or should have provided you with a balance sheet, showing all expenses occurred and income received for your IP- a profit and loss statement basically. Also, take along your statements from your bank- showing interest paid and associated mortgage costs.
Basically, as a property investor, become a hoarder and don’t chuck receipts out. If you buy books or property mags, keep receipts. If you travel to see your IP, keep receipts from everything. I read in another post of yours that you’ve been perusing the ATO website, so just look up what deductions you’re entitled to claim, and then hunt down the receipts or records.
You may need to start developing a filing/storage system for your records, so next year, you’ll have it all in one big pilish mess.
kay henry
Thanks for that. I am a bit of a hoarder so I have kept everything but just wasn’t sure whether or not to take all my crap I have collected or not.
This is my first year with an IP so am still in the learning process, after this tax I’ll be more informed for next year.
I manage the property myself not through an agent.
Please dont think i’m being rude,but it’s sounds like you aren’t ready to see an acnt yet!
if your situation is such that your records aren’t in any order,missing stuff,etc, you may be in for a rude shock when the acnt’s bill comes in!
I would suggest you cancel the appoint,unless it’s a freebie,in which case you can just sort out with them what they need,then go sort it out!
Dont just dump it on them,as most charge like wounded bulls.chrisrenee,
Make manila folders your friend. I have a few folders- one for the property (where i keep all statements from the property management- you SURE you don’t want to get a property manager?) and any receipts related to the property, including building and pest reports, QS reports etc. I have a manila folder called “Tax 2003-2004” where I keep all receipts related to any expenses throughout the year that can be linked to work or property- computer, education, flight receipts for travelling to inspect property, hotel room receipts etc… and I have another folder with all my bank stuff in it. So that has all expenses related to my mortgage.
I file all statements by date. On the back of folders, I add in things that might be missing- so I can ask for them to be sent to me. I also write down things like mileage, and bills I have paid for rates and stuff, when I forget to transfer them over to my pm- oops.
I am pretty disorganised, but it is some kind of system.
Re the accountant costs… mine charges me $110 and sees me for about an hour. I also make sure I ask him each year any questions I might have about my investments, and hear his opinions on things. With finances, I am not so great, so I pick his brain about what is best for my situation. So it’s a paperwork session combined with some financial advice, I suppose. It’s the only “formal” time in the year that I get financial advice. You may wish to write down some Q’s to ask him when you see him. Hopefully, he shouldn’t charge you by the minute or whatever.
kay henry
chrisrenee,
On http://www.bantacs.com.au there is a checklist for rental property owners that may help jog your memory.Originally posted by kay henry:I am pretty disorganised
I think of disorganised as being like one of the senior guys at work. He’d travel overseas for a few months on business and when he returned and the company accountant asked for an expense report, he’d just dump a shopping bag full of receipts on his desk.
The accountant was not amused of course, but then it took very little to not amuse him. He was so strict in requiring receipts that you could always tell employees from our company at any business function: we were the ones scrounging through the rubbish bins looking for discarded receipts [
]GP
Thank you every one for your positive and more negative responses.
I keep every last receipt, bill, document for my IP and do have a good filing system, I just didn’t want to show up at my accountant with unnecessary crap that is not required which is why I originally asked the question.
I have done my tax and was very happy with the outcome, and yes I had everything I needed and was all in order.
Don’t want a PM, considering my IP is ten streets away from where I am living in a small town I do all inspections and maintenance myself and am very lucky to have a tenant that pays his rent in advance. If I lived interstate I would have a PM. Don’t really see the point in paying out extra fees and charges when I enjoy doing it for myself, and for free.
What I do is make an excel spreadsheet for each property, and they add up all expenses as they are paid. I then just print out this summary and give that to the accountant. That way he just has to plug the figures into his software and he is done.
Terryw
Discover Home Loans
North Sydney
[email protected]Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
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