How Good Bookkeeping in Edmonton can Help You Avoid CRA Tax Audits

For business owners and private individuals alike, few things can quite match the fear and horror of seeing the words CRA audit in the mail. Sometimes, even the most detail-oriented worker could slip up on his tax returns. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take, beginning with hiring the services of an efficient Edmonton bookkeeping service, to help you make sure that your bases are covered, should you ever again be called for an audit one day.Do a Self-Audit

Sure, reliable bookkeeping firms like On-Core Bookkeeping Services might have your back, but it’s also important that you learn how to read and check the details of your own tax returns. As with every aspect that concerns your personal and professional life, you need to be proactive about your affairs if only for that sense of assurance you get when you are aware of what’s happening around you. Check your papers for mathematical and informational accuracy and documentation requirements.

Consistency

Dummies.com advises that you should also be consistent with your expenses:

“Claims for expense deductions must be reasonable, and the expenses must be incurred to earn income. This means that claiming your personal expenses not only is a bad idea — it’s not allowed under our tax law. If you own your own business, make sure your expenses are consistent from year to year.

Keep Learning

Since mistakes are unavoidable, the next best thing one can do is to learn from them and make sure such mistakes are never encountered twice. If you’ve been audited before, make sure that your subsequent returns will not stumble on that same spot that the CRA had flagged the last time.

If you hire an efficient Edmonton bookkeeping service, you can, at least, have the assurance that your financial records are well taken care of and kept in check for the rest of the year. When the time comes to file your tax return, you would then enjoy some peace of mind knowing that you’ve dotted the “I’s” and crossed the “T’s” and that everything in your list had been clearly accounted for.

(Source: Ten Ways to Reduce the Risk of a Canadian Tax Audit, Dummies.com)