You may be on the brink of lodging your income tax return and wondering, am I missing anything? Chances are that if you are doing your own taxes, you probably have missed something. Having a Tax Accountant do your taxes may be something you have never considered, but understanding what they do may make hiring one make a little more sense.

Knowing Your Deductions

It is very hard to know what deductions you are eligible for and how to use them. In fact, you may not even know that there are tax deductions that will help to reduce your taxable income. Your tax accountant can advise you on:

• Work related expenses
• Educational expenses
• Donations
• Even on deductions for paying an accountant

Tax Offsets

Tax offsets are completely different to tax deductions and are used to reduce the amount of taxes you pay after your taxes have been calculated in the form of rebates. An accountant can advise you if:

• You are a low income earner
• Have a dependant relative
• A pensioner or a senior
• Have a superannuation income stream
• Have net medical expenses that may be considered

Tax Planning

Using a tax planning strategy will help you see the big picture in order to take advantage of the deductions and other tax advice on which you are missing out. A Tax accountant knows the ins and outs of personal tax returns and will help you address your earnings, potential deductions you should be using and ways of becoming eligible for more deductions. This would include reviewing tax effective investment plans as well as retirement planning.

Tax Advisors

Tax advisors are perfect if you are self-employed, encounter a lot of business expenses in your job, and work from home and any other situation in which you are working under special conditions. A tax advisor can help you keep up on the latest tax laws and how they affect you.