Yes, the financial year is almost over, so it’s time for our annual Tax Week series of posts, looking at how to organise your tax affairs and maximise your returns. Let’s kick off with a perennial topic of interest: which occupations will the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) be paying special attention to this year?
Every year, the ATO picks out selected jobs (typically those which have seen problems with deductions in previous years) and contacts people working in those fields to remind them of the rules for what can and can’t be legitimately claimed. Last year, IT workers and plumbers were reminded to check their claims carefully.
For the 2012/2013 tax year, three groups are under scrutiny: building construction managers, building labourers and sales and marketing managers. The ATO has sent reminder letters to 218,000 people working in those fields.
Not being on the list doesn’t mean the ATO won’t closely scrutinise your return to ensure any deductions claimed are legitimate. (One common error? Claiming a work-related expense that your employer has reimbursed you for.) However, if you do fall into one of those categories, taking extra care would seem wise.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.