PLANNING AHEAD FOR FINANCIAL YEAR END

The financial year end can come in a rush.

Now is a good time to ensure that you are well planned for when June 30 arrives. More than just tax time, EOFY can be a smart time to review your personal financial situation.

This will ensure you maximise your current position and start the next financial year with a bang.

Here are some of the issues you should be thinking about:

Tax Planning

Talk to your accountant. There are tax related matters that are based on a cash basis of accounting that cannot be completed post year end. Be sure to review and communicate your activities since July 1 last year and know exactly what tax deductions you can claim.

You can help your accountant by being pro-active and gathering all of the documents they will need to prepare your tax returns on a cost effective and timely basis.

Superannuation & Investments

Ensure you are taking advantage of the opportunities that may be relevant for you across superannuation or other investments. Especially with markets bouncing all over the place at the moment.

Each year there are tax changes that you need to be aware of if they impact these decisions, including the sale or purchase of investments.

Review & Prepare

Review your "P&L" for the year. Verify your total income and check expenditure (there are now many on-line tools to help you do this easily). It is a great time to review the results, change your habits and create a budget and/or financial goals for the following year.

Review your Mortgage & Insurances

This is an excellent time to review your current mortgage and personal insurances. Make sure that they are still suitable for your needs, especially with interest rates at all time lows. If you are looking to pay interest in advance, you had better get organised now.

Business Owners

For those operating a business there are additional considerations too, including the current tax incentives for asset acquisitions. The time is also now (not July) for looking strategically at your business goals and areas for improvement for the year ahead.

For your P&L Review, make sure you allocate some budget to pay yourself too. Setting up direct debits from your business to mortgage repayments, investments or superannuation are all good ways to use your funds effectively.

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