Packing for the accountant: 2023 Tax Time Checklist

1) Download your Tax Time Checklist.

First thing’s first. It’s time to get packing for you visit to the accountant!

Download our handy Tax Time Checklist for a comprehensive list of what to bring to your appointment.

2) Get your tax deductions sorted.

This year, it could be worth giving a bit of extra attention to the timing of your business expenses. Specifically, incurring some expenses prior to June 30 might increase your allowable deductions. 

To help businesses push through this tricky period, the Australian government has introduced a special tax incentive called “Temporary Full Expensing” (TFE) to help businesses invest in new assets and keep money moving in our economy.

With TFE, businesses are able to deduct the entire cost of eligible capital assets from their annual profits, rather than spreading the deduction over several years. 

What’s a capital asset I hear you say? Things like: office furnishings, fixtures and fittings, technology like laptops and security equipment, tools and equipment, motor vehicles (no…. nice try… no luxury cars) and solar systems.

This Temporary Full Expensing incentive started on October 6, 2020, and is set to end on June 30, 2023. So now’s the time to get your ducks in a row.

As always, the devil is in the details, and you’ll need to meet certain criteria to be eligible. So, make sure you chat with your accountant well before 30 June.

2) Get your paperwork in order.

Boring, but necessary. We’re talkin’ expenses, ESS documentation and previous tax returns, activity statements and employee superannuation guarantee contributions among other things. Yep, this is the part where we say, ‘hopefully you’ve kept up to date with paperwork through the year’. Not only will it make the process quicker, you’ll also be less likely to overlook claimable expenses and deductions if you keep organised as and when things happen. 

Time is literally money here, so note to self: next financial year, invest small amounts of time through the year to your finance admin. And, if you’re a bit of a tech head, have a look at a few of these apps which can help you stay organised.

For the full list of what you should bring to your tax appointment, download our 2023 Tax Time Checklist here.

3) Consider writing off bad debts.

Alexa, play Taylor Swift’s ‘We are Never Getting Back Together’. Some debts will go bad, and you won’t be able to recover them. We reckon that’s as certain as death and taxes and something that business owners need to be just a little bit comfortable with. 

Moreover, as we all feel the collective need to tighten our belts a bit, there’s no doubt that keeping an eye on your bad debts is going to be an important exercise. You might have some recourse though. 

It’s worth looking at your aged debtors before tax time, because you could be entitled to claim a portion of the amount you can’t reclaim for your customers. The rules around this are complex, so you’ll need to chat this through with your trusted adviser (ahem, we might know one or two). 

4) Time your employee super payments.

Remember, super contributions are only tax-deductible when they are paid. So you might want to consider paying the Super Guarantee amount on your employees’ wages in late June instead of waiting until July.

Chat with your accountant about whether it’s worth chalking up this tax deduction in this financial year or next.

5) Be mindful of due dates.

Any adviser worth their salt(ed margarita, we’re on holidays here!) will be all over this for you. But it’s worth keeping an eye on upcoming deadlines every quarter. Tax penalties and late lodgement headaches are not the kind of holiday hangover we welcome here. Only the too-many-fruity-cocktails kind, thank you.