Guidance or Help to Do Company Tax Returns

yjun355 on 24/09/2022 - 08:32

Background
Me and my friend run a tech platform to help charities do fundraising. We built it for philanthropic reasons. We managed to survive through covid and ready to do a relaunch.

As last step of housekeeping we want to get out taxes in order. Conceptually they are easy where I have spreadsheet and statements to track:

  • expenses (this is mainly developer/contractor salaries, ASIC fees, etc)
  • income (nominal and $0 for most of the years).

I searched and couldn't find any YouTube, Udemy or on Google with someone giving a run down on how to do the returns. For simplicity I've got an old school paper based return from ATO since we need to do a few years.

Just wondering if anyone can provide any guidance or know any source (government hub, blog, YouTube). Basically wouldn't mind seeing one worked example of how returns are done so that can walk through it.

Financial Income Tax Return

Comments

  • bemybubble on 24/09/2022 - 08:46

    Have you ever had income? Might be as simple as a return not necessary

    • bakerindisguise on 24/09/2022 - 12:13

      I don't believe non-individuals can do RNN's on the portal if you have an active ABN.

      • bemybubble on 24/09/2022 - 14:05

        Good point. Come to think of it the RNN we do for clients have no ABN and only a tfn.

  • MrHyde on 24/09/2022 - 08:47
    +3

    If it is a proper company with ACN; suggest that you have an accountant do the annual returns as they will also need to do the Annual Company Statements.

    • yjun355 on 24/09/2022 - 08:51

      Yeah it is. One I enquired typically charge $500 a year. We need to do few years. Unfortunately we don't have that much money in the kitty.

      • bemybubble on 24/09/2022 - 09:06
        +1

        Don’t get me wrong op. Getting a company and not having an accountant do the work is like buying a Ferrari and not affording to fill it up with 98…

        Just find someone to push it through for you if you’ve got nothing to report. If it’s a RNN it takes 2 minutes on the portal

        • yjun355 on 24/09/2022 - 10:33

          noted. Thanks. I'll search through our charity connections to find professional who can help us.

          • Sonnyjimbo on 24/09/2022 - 11:32
            +1

            @yjun355: Ok I might be a minority in this discussion, but I would say give it a go.

            I looked at your previous post on individual returns - the comment from FairDeal is spot on imo. It's no different to learning how to do your own personal tax - you don't need to train as a tax agent to do that and neither do you need it for a company return. You only need to learn how to present YOUR company's activities on a tax return.

            Your company appears to generate no taxable profit, perhaps even a loss. The ATO aren't going to punish you for stuffing up if you lodge a return with errors. You can even talk with them as much as you need to resolve your misunderstandings and get it processed successfully.

            If, after all that you still can't do it THEN resort to a tax agent for help. All their software does is speed up the data-entry process and check for errors that the ATO would find later after lodgement. Be aware of lodgement due dates and communicate with the ATO if you need more time.

            Have you also downloaded the instructions? https://www.ato.gov.au/Forms/Company-tax-return-instructions…

            Crash courses in double-entry accounting (bookkeepers) and tax generally aren't helpful here. If you understand crypto then you will have little problem understanding enough to fill out these forms. You don't need to learn from resources that budding bookkeepers use.

            ** Focus on the ASIC compliance - these always need to be lodged/paid by the due dates to avoid substantial late fees and any changes to ownership or addresses need to be relayed to them quickly.

      • thatonethere on 24/09/2022 - 10:00

        I guess one way to look at it - if you don't spend $500 you could be up for a lot more than that if ATO take you out back.

      • iTzTeFish on 24/09/2022 - 10:05
        +1

        $500 is cheap for a company return. I'd go with them

      • freefall101 on 28/09/2022 - 00:51

        Tried airtasker? I am a CA but sometimes need a third party accountant. A lot of accountants seem to run a side business through there.

        If you explain what you need in clear terms it’s often pretty quick and easy. Let them bid for the work.

        • yjun355 on 28/09/2022 - 05:32

          Great suggestion

  • 87percent on 24/09/2022 - 09:01
    +6

    Hire an accountant.. No point pissing around with stuff you don’t understand

  • silenthillrocks on 24/09/2022 - 09:30
    +3

    Accountant

  • AndyC1 on 24/09/2022 - 10:10
    +1

    See an accountant.

  • Crow K on 24/09/2022 - 11:07

    The first link on the page that lets you download the blank company return is the return itself.
    The second link on the page are the literal instructions on how to fill it out.

    e.g. https://www.ato.gov.au/Forms/Company-tax-return-2022/

    There's one for each year you have to do. Print off and read the instructions. You can do this!

    • yjun355 on 27/09/2022 - 14:28

      Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.

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