The new financial year has arrived which comes with it the annual obligation to submit our income tax return by 31 October.  For many of us, the process is as painful as having your teeth pulled but the rewards can be great.  Adrian Raftery, author of 101 Ways to Save Money on Your Tax – Legally! 2012-13 edition shares with us seven common traps to avoid when doing your tax this year:

‘Omitted income – this year the ATO data-match over half a billion transactions and expect to contact 400,000 taxpayers with discrepancies on their interest, dividend, trust and managed fund income.  This process is quite lucrative as almost $330 million in tax revenue was generated last year due to audit investigation by the ATO.  Overseas income and the cash economy are particular areas of focus this year. You can run from the taxman but you can’t hide.

Car log books – if you make a claim for motor vehicles expenses under the log book method then it is obvious that make sure that you actually have a log book prepared in the correct format.  It must be for a continuous 12 week period and prepared within the last five years.  If you have changed your car or your job duties since you did your log book then you must prepare a new one.

Rental properties – the ATO always sees a number of errors with rental property tax returns including initial repairs, interest on loans which include a private component, borrowing costs and claiming depreciation without a quantity surveyor’s report.  I have also seen a number of returns where the taxpayer simply didn’t realise everything that they could claim, particularly land tax and strata levies.  If you have an agent, then ask them for a summary of income and expenses to make the return process easier.

Not lodging – there are a number of slackos out there that simply procrastinate and not only don’t lodge a tax return on time, but have several returns outstanding.  Get them in as you could be costing yourself thousands in unclaimed refunds.  My record was submitting 33 years’ worth of tax returns which netted the lucky person over $70 thousand in refunds!!  If you know that you have to pay then lodge your return to avoid unnecessary late lodgment penalties.  The ATO is always willing to negotiate payment plans.

Medicare levy surcharge – if you have private health cover or a low income earning spouse, then make sure you put in those details to avoid inadvertently getting slugged with the extra 1% Medicare levy surcharge.

Mathematical errors – small errors could result in big mistakes.  A wrong number here or a bad calculation there may cost you thousands.  So if you do your return yourself then make sure you “measure twice” and avoid any unnecessary headaches.  Make sure that you go through all your receipts and graze through every line of all bank account and credit card statements because there are a myriad of deductions that you might be missing out on.  If you have more than $300 worth of total deductions then you must have documentary evidence for the full amount – not just the amounts over $300.

Doing it yourself – just as most people can change a tyre, most of us have the ability to do our tax ourselves but it usually pays to get an expert to look at your tax for you.  The last thing you need is a knock on the door from the taxman because you claimed too much.  A registered tax agent knows where the boundaries are in terms of what you can and more importantly can’t claim.  And their fee is tax deductible too!’

101 Ways to Save Money on your Tax- Legally! is available now.

Note: This information is of a general nature only and does not constitute professional advice. You must seek professional advice in relation to your particular circumstances before acting.

Author of the fascinating new book The Future and Related Nonsense: The Insiders Guide to Where We Are And Where We’re Heading, Antony Funnell, talks to us about it’s a bit scary but very exciting to be living in this digital age:

‘My greatest attribute is my curiosity. People and events fascinate me. I am an inveterate snoop. I love finding out about new things. As a result, one half of my head is crammed full of incredibly useful facts, while the other half is bulked-up with the sort of trivia that makes people’s eyes glaze over at dinner parties (but only after I’ve had a wine or two).

I became a journalist and writer because it seemed the best way to put my love of detail to some sort of useful purpose. And because I also found that I was good at asking questions and making complex ideas and events accessible for others. For the past six years I’ve been focussing, to a great extent, on technology and social change – first as the presenter of ABC Radio National’s Media Report and more recently hosting Future Tense. It’s a dream job. Every week I get to engage with leading international innovators and thinkers – from Oxford Dons to the wonks who develop algorithmic trading systems for Wall Street investment houses.

The Future and #Related Nonsense has given me an opportunity to share the knowledge I’ve accumulated about how society is changing and where we’re heading. There’s just so much going on. The greatest challenge I faced in putting the book together was actually editing it down – making difficult decisions about what not to cover.

The Future and #Related Nonsense was born of a desire to write a book about the future that was both information and idea rich, but which didn’t bog down in technical terms or overwhelm people with new-age jargon and marketing spin. I also wanted to give readers a take on innovation and that was both fun and enjoyable.

We’re blessed to live in interesting times, but as the old Chinese proverb would have it, that can also be a curse. People are better educated than ever before and have access to far more information than at any time in human history, and yet, as I began pulling together the major themes of the book, it became clear to me just how unquestioning we have become of technology and those who own and develop it. From the way social media works to scientific efforts underway to artificially cool the planet, there is a level of passivity in our relationship with technology that doesn’t bode well for the future.

My hope is that The Future and #Related Nonsense will help people who feel intimidated by technology and the way the world is heading to realise that it is actually okay to be sceptical. Being a sceptic doesn’t make you a Luddite. In fact, healthy scepticism keeps the world on an even keel and is more needed than ever in today’s gadget and marketing-driven society. Be curious, be positive, but embrace your inner sceptic! That’s the tag-line for my book.’

The Future and Related Nonsense is available now.