What documents do I need to provide to my accountant?

The ATO expects you to keep certain documents (or more seriously, “written evidence”) of many transactions which you are involved with as a tax payer. Your accountant will ask for these when you engage their services to prepare your tax return.

It is a lot easier, for both yourself and the accountant, if you keep these documents organised and easily accessible. Many accountants charge their clients based on time (and chasing up documents can add $$$ to your invoice).

If you’re an individual, these documents are always a must to keep and provide to your accountant:

1.PAYG Payment Summaries:

If you are an employee, by law, you need to be provided with this document by any employers you engaged with during the tax year. This will detail the payments made to you, as well as any PAYG-Withheld. The ATO should already have this information, but it’s still expected you keep these for tax purposes and to ensure the right information is held by the ATO.

2.Private Health Insurance Annual Statements:

This document is used to confirm whether you are liable to pay the Medicare Levy Surcharge, or if you had sufficient private health insurance throughout the whole income tax year. Again, the ATO has access to this information, but it’s still expected you keep this for tax purposes.

3.Receipts & Invoices of Deductible Purchases:

The ATO allows for you to claim up to $300 in work related deductions without needing written evidence to be kept. However, this is not a standard deduction. If your work-related expenses total over $300, you will need to show proof these purchases occurred and, in some cases, how they relate to your work. Common examples of these include: