Benefits of Utilising a Tax Agent

A friend of mine posed this question after I started AKL Tax – “Why can’t I just lodge my return on MyGov myself?”. Well, you can – if that’s your ideal way of spending a few hours of a weeknight or weekend. But lodging through a tax agent can provide some additional benefits and safeguards compared to just going it alone.

1) You get more time to lodge.

For those who have refunds, they will naturally want to lodge straight away, and we have lodged quite a few of these returns for clients already. But for individuals and businesses who have expected tax payables, lodging through a tax agent can have this payment due date extended from 31 October, to potentially early June the following year. That extra 7 months can be used to put your money to better use rather than handing it earlier to the ATO.

If you’re running late on your taxes (noting that it’s now November), linking with a tax agent might be a prudent play to avoid the ATO chasing you for lodgement.

2) It provides more certainty that you’re including (and claiming) all that you should.

Tax agents get exposed to all sorts of clients from different background and industries. There may be things you have spent money on, that you didn’t even know was deductible until speaking to your tax agent.

3) MyGov is a pain in the proverbial.

Having lodged my own returns through MyGov up until starting AKL Tax, even as a tax person I found the software hard to manoeuvre at times. For those of your who simply hate doing your taxes, using a tax agent means less work for you. Plus paying tax agent fees is tax deductible, meaning you get a portion of it back in the following tax year.

4) Finally, a colleague of mine was told (informally) from the ATO that they have the ability to keep track of changes you make on MyGov prior to lodging.

For example, if you put 1,000 business kilometres down in your return, then change it to 5,000 (meaning a bigger refund), the ATO has the ability to track that change, and potentially ask questions why you suddenly changed your figures. It may be entirely correct and explainable (we’ve all made typos), however no one wants this ATO attention. With a tax agent, it sits safe in a software until it gets lodged and sent to the ATO.

For these reasons, and many more, it might make sense to lodge your tax returns via a registered agent. If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out to the team.

AKL