With the end of the tax year fast approaching, you might be starting to prepare your tax returns. If you've kept good records it'll be a breeze, whether you do the return yourself or get a tax agent to do it for you. If you haven't made a good job of record keeping it might be difficult putting all the paperwork together. You could also miss out on claiming some expenses.
When's the best time to get a good record-keeping habit? Now is good.
From the beginning of a new tax year, start filing your statements, invoices, GST returns and interest statements. You can use a manual filing system or computer-based program, as long as you keep it in order and up to date, and you can retrieve information easily when you want to. Records you need to keep include:
- receipts or invoices for all claims
- interest and dividend statements
- a record of rental income and expenses
- purchase and sale agreements (for disposal of investment assets).
What you can claim
You can claim most of your business expenses, for example:
- running costs of using a vehicle for work purposes, transport costs and business travel
- rent paid on business premises
- depreciation on items such as your computer and office furniture
- part of any household expenses if you use your home for your business, eg, mortgage interest, telephone and electricity
- interest on borrowing money for the business
- some insurance premiums
- work-related journals and magazines
- membership of professional associations
- work-related mobile phone, stationery and uniforms
- tax agent's fees.
For more information about record keeping and claiming expenses, see IRD guides on:
- Smart business (IR320) guide
- Record keeping (IR323) factsheet
- Record keeping - checklist (IR1008) factsheet