Although many taxpayers still prepare their own returns, the more complex people’s financial affairs become, the more likely it is that at some stage in their working life. http://www.msitaylor.com.au

1. Tax Accountants Do More than
Lodge Tax Returns
Although many taxpayers still prepare their own returns, the more complex people’s financial affairs
become, the more likely it is that at some stage in their working life, they will turn to Tax Accountants to
assist. As the affluence of the wage and salary earner increased over time, opportunities presented
themselves for this group to dip their toes into the investment pool, and often they started with an
investment property. This meant keeping records of rental incomes and expenses, understanding capital
gain, and tracking other incentives and deductions that came and went, depending on the political
climate at the time.
This trend has continued over the years, so that many average people have quite substantial and
complex needs when reporting their tax status to the Australian Tax Office. There are generally quite a
few reasons why taxpayers consult a tax Brisbane professional, apart from the need to lodge a tax
return, and the question of who to choose is the first decision to be made.
There are several ways to choose the right tax accountants, the obvious one being to use search engines
or older methods such as phone directories to make a list of firms close to home, then make contact.
However, one tried and true method that many people don’t consider is to get referrals from friends,
work colleagues, family etc. which helps to weed out problems.
Another crucial step is to decide what services are required from the tax accountant. Typically the main
reason people hand this function over to someone else is simply lack of time to do it properly and
following on from that, to make sure they are paying the legal amount of tax and no more. The taxation
laws are very complex and change almost every year, so it is impossible for the lay person to keep up.
For this reason, many accountants find it makes more business sense to specialize in specific areas of tax
law so they can provide their clients with the most up-to-date advice.
An area of interest to many people who have small-scale investments such as a rental property or two
and perhaps some shares, is tax minimization i.e. ways of structuring their finances to reduce their
taxable income and increase the legitimate tax deductions that can be claimed. This is an area where a
CPA Brisbane can specialize, and the yearly preparation of the client’s tax return is only one of the
services that would be provided.
Having tax returns prepared by tax accountants can certainly remove much of the anxiety for tax
reporting for the client. However, with almost everyone these days looking for a way to improve their

2. financial situation, a visit to an accountant can open up alternatives the client wouldn't be aware of.
http://www.msitaylor.com.au