Tax Tips to Ensure You Don’t Feel the Holiday Pinch

Looking for tax tips that help to reduce the year-end stress load? With the holiday season around the corner and tax season also looming, it is all too easy to get stress about tax compliance. Rather than letting stress stand in the way of your holiday, take control over of your admin so that you have everything sorted before your planned leave.

Whether you plan to go away with friends or family this year or you are simply looking forward to taking a week or two off for yourself, these tax tips will have you covered.

Year-End Tax Tips for Peace of Mind

Don’t let the holiday season stand in the way of tax compliance. Stay ahead of your year-end admin with these tax tips that help you enjoy the holidays without any added stresses or worries.

Ensure that your returns are submitted on time.

The first thing to do is make sure that you are fully prepared for your tax returns so that you are ahead of submission deadlines. Although the deadline for manual submission passed in September, the deadline for non-provisional returns submitted electronically is 31 October 2018. Provisional taxpayers have a bit longer, with a deadline for electronically filed returns on 31 January 2018. Make sure that you add these dates to your diary so that you are ready and waiting, and you will be able to enjoy your holidays without any added worries.

Review your financial reports to start planning for the year ahead.

Year-end is also an excellent time to review your reports so that you can get a head start on your financial planning. How did your business do financially over the course of the year? How accurate and up to date are your books? The best way to avoid worrying about taxes over the holiday season is to start preparing now rather than later. Leaving things until the last minute will only end up making it harder to get your returns completed on time. It will also ruin your well-deserved break. One of the simplest ways to ensure that your books are fully up to date is to work with an experienced business accountant to run through all of your reports and ensure that everything is in order. This will save you many headaches down the line and ensure that you are ready for tax season.

Be careful when deducting meals and travel over the holidays.

If you plan to be doing any work-related travel or entertaining over the holidays, be careful about how you deduct any meals and travel expenses. Although you can often deduct this from your income, it becomes more complicated if your travel combines leisure. These expenses are not always able to be fully deducted. Knowing exactly how much can be deducted is essential. It is also important to keep all documentation for anything you aim to claim back as a business expense.

For expert advice and assistance with all tax-related issues, finding the right accountant in Durban and surrounds is key. MJ Chartered Accountants has a team of helpful, friendly tax professionals who are able to assist you with keeping your company tax in tip-top shape all year long!