Five common tax time mistakes

The ATO says the top five mistakes made in individual tax returns are:

• leaving out some of their income – maybe forgetting a temporary job or money earned from the sharing economy
• claiming deductions for personal expenses – home to work travel, normal clothes or personal phone calls
• forgetting to keep receipts or records of their expenses
• claiming for something they never paid for – often because they think everyone is entitled to a ‘standard deduction’
• claiming personal expenses for rental properties – either claiming deductions for times when they are using their property themselves or are claiming interest on loans used to buy personal assets like a car or boat.

The Money Edge | Bundaberg