Tax Tips

[VrWagz1]

Well i dont really have any.... But do you.

Well its tax time and theres all those little things you can claim and ways of getting a better return. Anyone like to share there (legal) tax tips to help maximise peoples returns. Being a student again i can claim all my stationary items, plus my laptop. Would be interesting to know if i could claim my net connection as i do stuff online at home too. I will also be claiming laundry powder for washing my cloths too as where i work now wont wash and fold my uniform.

[Rossbx]

I used to have an income protection policy with my personal superanuation which was tax deductable. I would get $100 back just from that. You can also claim your uniforms as long as they have the company logo on them. You will of course have to have paid for the uniforms yourself to claim for them though. If you work out doors, you can claim for sunglasses and sunscreen and a hat. Keep all receipts for work related items/expenses as you may be able to claim those as well. I hope this helps

[Tsunamix]

I always ignore the Tax free threshold, and pay tax as if it was my second job. That means i pay more ptax per pay packet, but I always get a return every year, instead of a bill.

The Tax Free Threshold is that first 7 grand you earn, that you pay no tax on

[vnkid]

claim work related expenses, with proof preferably, but sometimes up to approx $300 can be claimed without receipts, except if u deliberately try to claim $290 on "cleaning your work uniforms".
my grandfather, a retired accountant once said that because im a shareholder, any money i spent on train tickets getting to a shareholder meeting (AGM) i could claim.
Union/association fees are deductable i think??

[danja]

Tax tips? Bring Vaseline

[mrhotdog]

Well i dont really have any.... But do you.

Well its tax time and theres all those little things you can claim and ways of getting a better return. Anyone like to share there (legal) tax tips to help maximise peoples returns. Being a student again i can claim all my stationary items, plus my laptop. Would be interesting to know if i could claim my net connection as i do stuff online at home too. I will also be claiming laundry powder for washing my cloths too as where i work now wont wash and fold my uniform.

i didnt know you could clam that sort of stuff, can u claim textbooks?

[VrWagz1]

i didnt know you could clam that sort of stuff, can u claim textbooks?

certainly can

lol @ danja

and yess union dues are tax deductable too, dont forget them. Your relevant union will usually send you a form with the relevant amount you can claim.

[pow3rslave]

i bought an eee (netbook) laptop in oct last year and have the receipt.
i was a full time student at the time, didn't study first semester this year, but am going back this (2nd) semester.
all i need is the receipt, or do i have to prove i need/used it for uni?

[eaton v8]

boilermakers are the only trade that can claim just about unlimited sox.

[minux]

Well i dont really have any.... But do you.

Well its tax time and theres all those little things you can claim and ways of getting a better return. Anyone like to share there (legal) tax tips to help maximise peoples returns. Being a student again i can claim all my stationary items, plus my laptop. Would be interesting to know if i could claim my net connection as i do stuff online at home too. I will also be claiming laundry powder for washing my cloths too as where i work now wont wash and fold my uniform.

i bought an eee (netbook) laptop in oct last year and have the receipt.
i was a full time student at the time, didn't study first semester this year, but am going back this (2nd) semester.
all i need is the receipt, or do i have to prove i need/used it for uni?

I would check that you can claim a laptop etc as a student. It is not used to generate income so how exactly could it be a deduction?

[pow3rslave]

I would check that you can claim a laptop etc as a student. It is not used to generate income so how exactly could it be a deduction?

i was just going by what the other dude said.
that said, textbooks aren't used to earn an income, more to train to earn an income.
but yeah, i'm not about to claim something on tax without doublechecking it's legal

[Maci]

If you have kids, you can claim a notebook/computer, and your internet because they pretty much these days need it for schoolwork, up to something like $1500 per child, so with 2 kids you could claim the years internet and a new notebook.

I know my mum is claiming the household internet connection because my little brother and sister have to use it for assessments and assignments etc.

when i worked for maccas i had to have a pen, so i claimed stationary.

If you drive anywhere during work hours for work if you document reason and kms you can claim them (eg: going to someones house to set up a set top box at 4 in the afternoon) claim kms to and from the location.

umm... travel, so if you drive to sydney from canberra for a trade expo work said you should attend, claim the kms and if you stay over in a hotel claim that too, oh and food while youre there.

claim shoes/workboots if you have to buy them but uniform besides that is provided, you have to wear shoes to work.

most importantly.... KEEP RECIEPTS! without them you can only claim what might be a small percentage of what you actually paid. this year im keeping a notebook in the car and writing everything i do down.

and after all that, if you doubt being able to claim something, get an accoutnant to do your tax, then next year you can claim what he cost to do your tax return! lol.

[tivoom]

boilermakers are the only trade that can claim just about unlimited sox.

Bahahaha so true



As for my tax tips never rip of the goverment they will rape you back but a mate of a mate of a mate has a group of mates all in the same trade and they pool there tax receipts and each of them clam each others tools ect one year they got 6k + each

[minux]

notebooks can be claimed for tax time as a student, but i think its only the "depreciation" of your notebook, so you might get like $100.

Since when? Sure a student won a case to deduct stationary due to receiving austudy or whatever the heck it is, as a rule though, unless the course you are doing is related to your employment(most students are not employed int he field they are studying), you cannot deduct a thing or depreciate a laptop...

[Grennan]

You can claim materials as a student like text books etc up to I think its 200 dollars without a receipt. Dunno if you would be able to claim a laptop though, spose you could if it was used ONLY for school work.

[Maci]

you cannot deduct a thing or depreciate a laptop...

could by why i wrote i THINK , apologies for the mistake and ill correct it now......

EDIT: its just dawned on me when mum claimed her notebook she works in aged care and she was doing some aged care certificates for work, therefore work related.

[VrWagz1]

well Minux most students i know of (ie appretices) are all employed in the relative field they are studying, which seems fairly obvious.
Having been a student before you can absolutely most definatly claim books and stationary very legally and depreciation on your computer and by the sounds of it i may be able to claim my net connection too. You can also claim you travel to tafe aswell, not sure on what the details were but my agent aways used to claim that for me and i will be doing so this year too.

[Julie]

If you have kids, you can claim a notebook/computer, and your internet because they pretty much these days need it for schoolwork, up to something like $1500 per child, so with 2 kids you could claim the years internet and a new notebook.

I know my mum is claiming the household internet connection because my little brother and sister have to use it for assessments and assignments etc.

Just a note guys be careful on this, not all families are eligible, I think you need to be receiving family tax benefit part a or some stupid shit like that, it is definately means tested, I know because I was pissed when I read we are ineligible, thats labor 4 ya!

[danja]

When I was studying full time and working in a related field, I was paying my uni fees up-front, and was able to claim them as a work-related education expense, which ended up scoring me about $1,500 extra on my tax return.

I got a stern letter from the tax office after that to the effect of "we're watching you!", but I got my money

The key thing is really to go through the ENTIRE eTax system step-by-step, and read each part to see if it applies to you. It is a very long and dull thing to do, but once you've done it the first time it becomes quicker next time. The built-in help in eTax is also quite good, and with perseverance you'll usually be able to figure out what the hell they're on about.

[vnkid]

i thought the education expense tax deduction was for primary and secondary only? and in relation to work-related education, would that only apply to if you are self-employed with your own ABN?

[arrow224]

I thought you could only claim your textbooks if those textbooks directly lead to an increase in income.

See here for the self-education eligibility test.

[danja]

i thought the education expense tax deduction was for primary and secondary only? and in relation to work-related education, would that only apply to if you are self-employed with your own ABN?

My memory is a little hazy, by IIRC there was a clause along the lines of: "you can claim the cost of education, if obtaining that education will directly result in you gaining employment, or is likely to result in a promotion."

Don't take my word for the specifics however, like I said working your way through eTax and reading all the help is the way to go.

[MasterOfReality]

There isn't much you can do as a student, or a salaried employee.

When I went back as a student for a PhD, I claimed all the books I had to buy, the annual fee at the uni, the kilometres I had to drive out to site, portable hardrives, monitors, basically anything I had to fork out for that had to do with my degree.

I started working before I properly finished, so I purchased a laptop and depreciated the entire cost of it over 3 years, I recently bought wireless internet and because I still have contact and involvement with the uni regarding my research, that will get claimed as well, but probably only 50%. I'm even considering trying to claim the cost of the flights that I had to fork out for to attend graduation but my accountant doesn't like that idea hehe.

Danja's statement above nails it. If its an expense incurred in furthering your own education and employment prospects in your current field then you can claim it. So obviously as a mining/geotech engineer, I wouldn't have been able to do a masters in arts and claim it.

[mrhotdog]

well on the student/textbook topic, i rang the ato today to get clarification on this, you cant claim it for tertiary expenses, and the parents have to claim it on their tax, i got told my mum could only claim for 6months for me as i finished high school last yr

[Reaper]

Top Tax Tip: Run all these deductions by a good accountant that knows your entire situation before you claim them.

I haven't read all of the above but most of it has an element of truth but as always the devil is in the detail that will exclude most. Nobody can make a propper assessment of what is or isn't claimable without knowing the entire situation.

Reaper