Gift Spring Gift Fair magazine, September 2013 | Page 24

Keeping
good
records
for your
business
Customers are required to keep records so their tax position can be easily
determined. Some individuals and businesses are not aware of the records
they need to keep and a small number deliberately avoid keeping accurate
records.
This is the time of year when many of you start filing your tax returns. If
you’ve kept good records during the year it’ll be a breeze, whether you do the
tax return yourself or get a tax agent to do it for you.

You’ll save on fees if you complete your own return, but a tax agent may have
a better knowledge of what you can and can’t claim. Using their expertise
may cover their fees and still get you ahead.
When’s the best time to get a good record-keeping habit? Now is good
There are free and nationwide seminars held to help customers understand
business structures, income tax, expenses you can claim, GST and more.
For more information http://www.ird.govt.nz/contact-us/seminars/

If you haven’t made a good job of record keeping, you might have a stressful
time putting all the paperwork together. You might also miss out on claiming
some expenses because your records were incomplete.
At the beginning of a new tax year, start filing your statements, invoices, GST
returns and interest statements. It doesn’t matter too much what system you
use, but you must keep it in order and up to date. You can use boxes, folders
or computer-based programs, as long as you can retrieve information easily
when you need to.
You must keep:
•receipts for all claims
•interest statements
• ummaries of earnings from each employer
s
•dividend statements
• record of rental income and expenses
a
• urchase and sale agreements (for disposal of investment assets)
p
Individuals who earn taxable income from their business activity may claim
relevant expenses. The expenses listed here can only be claimed as tax
deductible if they were incurred through business activity.
Inland Revenue are exploring several initiatives to help improve this area including:
• ehicle expenses, transport costs and travel for business purposes
v
•rent paid on business premises
• epreciation on items such as a computer and office furniture
d
• art of any household expenses, eg, mortgage interest, telephone
p
and electricity (if you have a home office)
• nterest on borrowing money for the business
i
•some insurance premiums
• ork-related journals and magazines
w
• embership of professional associations
m
•work-related mobile phone
•stationery
•work uniforms
•tax agent’s fees.

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• eveloping clear and up to date industry record keeping standards
d
• orking with industry sectors, tax practitioners and other government
w
agencies to design and update record-keeping publications to promote standards
• mproving customer access to record-keeping information and making
i
it easier for them to comply
• xploring