Generally, an individual taxpayer must have written evidence to prove their claims if the total claims exceed $300. The records must prove the total amount, not just the amount over $300.The $300 limit does not apply to claims for car expenses, meal allowance, award transport payments allowance, or travel allowance expenses. There are special written evidence rules for substantiating these types of expenses. Refer to the Australian Tax Office website http://www.ato.gov.au/ for further details.
Where an expense is a mix of both work related and private/personal use (i.e. not 100% work related use) then its important to specify the work related use percentage as well as the total cost in the above onlline tax form. For example if mobile phone expenses totalled $100 but the work related use was 20% then specify Total Cost $100 and Work Related Use 20%. The work related deduction will be recorded in the tax return as $100 x 20% work related use = $20 tax deduction amount.
Generally, an individual taxpayer must keep your written evidence for five years from the date you lodge your tax return. The Australian tax system relies on taxpayers self-assessing. This means that you are responsible for working out how much you can declare and claim on your tax return. You also need to be able to show how you arrived at these figures – in some cases you may be required to provide written evidence.
In order to prepare an accurate tax return and support the claims you make, you need to keep careful records. The records you need to keep depend on your personal circumstances. If you are not sure, it is better to keep too many records than not enough. Refer to the Australian Tax Office website http://www.ato.gov.au/ for further details.
Email Duncan Warnock CPA directly at duncan@warnockaccounting.com.au should you need any additional help with this form.
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