Filing Business Taxes: Documents to Bring to Your Accountant
Posted on: 21 April 2017
If you need to file your taxes, going to an accountant is a great option, since they will get it done promptly and answer any questions you have. When meeting with the tax accountant, it is good to be prepared ahead of time by bringing all the important documents. Here are some of the essential ones to gather now.
Financial and Income Documents
The first category of documents you need to bring to your accountant includes anything that shows your income for the previous tax period. If you are a small business owner, you won't have regular paystubs like employees and will instead need to provide another form of document to show what you have earned. This might include your business bank account statements and a collection of invoices. If you earned any other type of income, like rental income for renting out a room in your home, unemployment benefits, spousal support, child support, or other related income, you need those documents as well.
Documents For Your Deductions
If you are going to do itemized deductions when filling your business taxes, you will need any documents that prove these deductions. It is best to bring them during your first appointment with the accountant in order to save time and get the taxes done quickly. This might include information about your children, who you can usually claim on your taxes, as well as any donations you made in the last tax period, or if you purchased a home that is eligible for a deduction.
Expense Documents
Similar to your deductions are documents that show business-related expenses. These will also be added to your deductions so that you can hopefully pay a little less. For expense documents, this might be invoices that show how much you paid for rent on your office, computer equipment or furniture you purchased for your commercial or home office, marketing and advertising expenses for your business, and utility bills from your home office. You can also ask the accountant before the appointment about other expense documents that might be applicable.
Notices From the Australian Taxation Office
If you are filing your business taxes late, you might have gotten warning notices from the Australian Taxation Office. It is good to save these notices and bring them to your tax accountant. They will be able to reference the notices when filing your taxes, including any additional fines you need to pay when filing.
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