Tax Time is like Christmas

It might sound far-fetched, but I often compare tax time to Christmas. We all know it’s coming, yet every year there are people rushing around at the last minute trying to get everything organised. If we’re going to enjoy the festive season, planning ahead is pivotal, and tax time is no different.

As a Chartered Accountant, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt is that tax time is rarely stressful because of the tax return itself. What’s most stressful is spending weeks searching for receipts, invoices and important documents.

The clients who have the smoothest tax seasons are the ones with simple systems. It might be a photo album on their phone dedicated to receipts and screenshots, a folder in their files where they save work-related documents, or setting aside one hour on the same day each month to tidy up their paper trail.

These small habits save an enormous amount of time and frustration when tax time rolls around.

Booking your appointment well in advance, keeping documents organised and reflecting on what challenges arose this year can make next year’s experience significantly easier.

Once your return is lodged, you’ve got another 12 months before doing it all again. Let’s use that time wisely, refine your systems and make the next tax time smoother sailing. Your future self will thank you for it.

By Theresa Atlee