For your business tax return, your accountant needs a complete picture of the year’s finances: your financial records or accounting software access, your income and expense records, your business bank statements, your BAS and GST records if you are registered, your payroll and super records if you have staff, and details of any assets you bought or sold. If money moved between you and the business, they need that too. The more complete and reconciled your records, the faster and cheaper the return, and the lower the chance of an ATO query. The lists below set out what to have ready, whatever structure you run.
Your financial records
The foundation is a clear record of the year’s trading. Ideally that is your profit and loss statement and balance sheet for the year, or access to your accounting software such as Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks. If your books are kept in software and reconciled, your accountant can often work straight from that. If you use spreadsheets or paper, bring the summaries and the source records behind them. Well-kept bookkeeping through the year is what makes this step painless.
Income records
Your accountant needs every source of business income:
total sales or revenue for the year
invoices you issued
cash income, if any
other income, such as interest earned in the business, government grants, or insurance payouts
Bring the records that back the totals, not just the totals, so anything unusual can be checked.
Expense records
This is where deductions are won, so bring everything:
purchase invoices and receipts for business expenses
your expense categories, or a coded transaction list from your software
motor vehicle logbook and running costs, if the business uses a vehicle
home office costs, if you run the business from home
interest on business loans
subscriptions, tools, software, insurance, and professional fees
If you are unsure whether something is deductible, include it and ask, rather than leaving a legitimate claim out.
GST and BAS records
If your business is registered for GST, your accountant needs the business activity statements you lodged during the year, your GST records reconciled to your accounts, and any adjustments made along the way. The return and the year’s BAS need to reconcile, so complete BAS records save real time. Our GST and taxation page explains how this fits together.
Payroll and super, if you have staff
If you employ anyone, add your total wages paid for the year, your PAYG withholding records, the superannuation you paid and any still owing, and your Single Touch Payroll finalisation. Accurate payroll records matter here, because unpaid or late super is not deductible and is closely watched by the ATO.
Assets bought and sold
Assets change your return through depreciation and capital gains, so bring details of assets you bought, with dates and amounts, for depreciation or the instant asset write-off, your asset register if you keep one, and details of any assets you sold or disposed of during the year. Getting the purchase records right is what lets your accountant claim the deduction and work out any gain correctly.
Loans, and money you drew from the business
This is the part business owners most often overlook. Bring your business loan statements and the interest paid, records of any money you drew from the business during the year, and, for a company, any loans to directors or shareholders. Documenting money taken out is essential, because for a company, undocumented drawings can be treated as an unfranked dividend and taxed under Division 7A. Your accountant needs to see these to handle them correctly rather than have them surface later.
What changes by structure
The core records are similar, but the return differs by structure. A sole trader reports business income in their personal return. A partnership lodges a partnership return, then each partner reports their share. A company lodges its own return and deals with dividends and franking. A trust lodges a trust return and distributes income to beneficiaries. Whatever the structure, the records above are what your accountant works from, and our business advisers can also review whether your current structure still suits you.
Good records through the year make this easy
The single biggest thing that makes a business return fast and cheap is records kept well through the year, not scrambled together in July. Reconciled software, captured receipts, and lodged BAS mean your accountant can move straight to preparing and reviewing the return, rather than rebuilding your year first. If your books are behind, it is worth catching up before the appointment, or asking your accountant to help you do it.
