Finance
It’s Tax Time –
Do You Really
Need A Tax
Accountant?
By Tony Underhill,
Principal Tony Underhill CTA
It depends...
u ONE OF MY FAVOURITE SAYINGS to students when I
taught tax law at a university in the UK was that with ANY question in tax, the answer is always IT DEPENDS!
So, it is that time of year when we are all thinking about completing and lodging our Income Tax Returns. If you are an expatriate working in Australia and deciding whether or not you
should get the help of a Registered Tax Agent, the answer is IT
DEPENDS!
Generally, the Australian Tax Office’s (ATO) online E-Tax service is reasonably user friendly and certainly once you have settled into the Australian system and have lodged a couple of returns, most people should be able to complete and lodge their
own return.
However, a Registered Tax Agent will be able to help identify all of the deductions that you are entitled to, which can be
helpful when lodging your first return, as they can navigate you
through the potential tricky areas of residency, Medicare, and
work-related deductions.
Questions of residency for tax purposes can be quite tricky
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and the ATO will always give you an opinion that is in its favour.
If there is any uncertainty over your tax residency, you should
consult a specialist to advise you.
Medicare is one area that catches out even large employers.
Depending on where you have come from and what your home
country is, you may or may not be liable for the Medicare Levy
and potentially the Medicare Levy Surcharge. Again, there are
potentially hundreds or thousands of dollars at stake, so if there
is any uncertainty, seek advice.
Sometimes there are no deductions that you can claim, but
other times there are lots of potential deductions that are not
always obvious.
If you are worried about the cost of engaging a Registered Tax
Agent, remember their fees are tax deductible and if you prepare
the return yourself you can always ask a tax agent to review your
E-Tax return before you lodge, which costs no more than $50!
Always look for a Registered Tax Agent, as it is against the law
for someone who is not a Registered Tax Agent to charge you to
prepare or lodge a return on your behalf.