Alright, rule numero uno: keep track of your spending for the entire financial year (July 1 – June 30th). I know, I know, it’s a bit of a lost cause if you haven’t been holding onto receipts and documents this year because the ’19-’20 financial year is officially complete, but there’s no point looking back, so just keep it in mind from now on.
The thing is, the Australian Taxation Office has a limit on how much you can claim without proper documentation. For instance, you can claim up to 5,000 kilometres worth of petrol (at 72 cents per kilometre) without the receipts or a logbook, but anything over that and you’re going to need to start showing some proof – see other handy tax time tips.
Mr Taxman himself, aka Adrian Raftery, recommends logging every work-related receipt with the ATO’s myDeductions app, which is “an easy way to diligently record your receipts for year-end by simply taking a pic with your mobile device at the time that you incur the expense.”
Once you get into the habit of recording all of your expenses, you’ll be able to claim far more back come tax time than you would without the proof.