Tax Claims On Retail Assistant Occupation- Accountant Help!

ladolcevita on 30/07/2017 - 16:13

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions in relation to what can be claim back in taxes for a Retail Assistant.

A family member works in a retail store that sells Lebanese CD's,DVD's, Books and merchandise.

She has paid for a yearly subscription to receive Lebanon Magazine. Although the magazine talks about culture, food, travel, buying houses etc it doesn't have any material on Lebanese music of movies. The magazine keeps her informed about current events in Lebanon and it acts as informative material to assist her make Facebook posts on the business Facebook page, and then relates it back to the items she sells within the store. Can she claim this magazine subscription?

She has also paid for a yearly membership to a cinema that hosts a Lebanon Film festival and the movies shown allows her to then order these movies from the overseas supplier…as many of these movies have won awards etc. Can she claim this membership at the movies?

Can she also claim back any items she purchases herself instore like DVD's (so she can sell to customers) music and books?

She also uses her own mobile phone to contact boss.

big thank you in advance :)

Financial

Comments

  • Settero on 30/07/2017 - 16:19
    +2

    talk to an accountant ?…
    most of those you can swing it as a yes , but an accountant will be able to tell you specifically which and how much, a yes does not mean 100% can be claimed.

  • MrHyde on 30/07/2017 - 16:30
    +1

    I am not an accountant and everything I say may be completely wrong.

    My view.
    - The magazine subscription - YES
    - The movie subscription - YES
    - The movies to onsell, YES; but then have to also declare the income she gets from selling them.
    - The phone - a proportion YES. She will need records that show how much is used to call the boss and how much is used for personal use and then claim that proportion. For example, if she makes 100 calls a month, and 5 were to the boss; then she can claim 20% of her phone costs.

    My view, all of these things should probably be paid for by the retail store owner if it is helping the retail store run its business. Remember, that way, 100% is paid by someone else. A tax deduction only returns a small percentage back based on your income level. Say, you get 30% back, it still means you spent 70% of the cost out of your own pocket.

    • ladolcevita on 30/07/2017 - 16:49

      Hello Mr. Hyde thank you for your advice.

      The DVD's she purchases to onsell creates profit for her boss not for herself. She buys them so she can view them so it's easier for her to sell to customers when she has seen the movies.

      The retail owner is a tight a** and doesn't pay for anything!

      • MrHyde on 30/07/2017 - 18:28
        +1

        This does not sound like it would be tax deductible. This would fall under the "entertainment" where if she got personal benefit as well, it is not tax deductible. It includes things like movie tickets, tickets to events, dinner meetings, etc.

  • chumlee on 30/07/2017 - 19:26
    +3

    I would say no to all of them.

    Why doesn't her employer cover the cost??

  • djkelly69 on 30/07/2017 - 22:27
    +1

    I genuinely applaud the effort she goes to in order to be a good employee.

    I am not an accountant so not really sure where these things would sit - they are certainly related to her work, but not sure they are necessary to earn the income.

    Phone calls will likely depend on the purpose for which she is calling her boss.

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