Anyone in the business in the West Auckland who is not integrated into a limited company should complete a tax return of their financial affairs every year. For years, the particular tax return to be completed by everyone self employed was the self employed tax return in West Auckland.

The new self employed tax return in West Auckland was introduced quite late in the reporting process being published around the end of the financial year. This shouldn’t be an issue to those familiar with the previous small business tax return as the format is similar and presented in an easier way to alleviate better understanding and precise completion.

Self employed businesses are not necessary to keep formal accounts of the years financial transactions but should keep enough financial records to justify and support the financial entries made on tax returns. While formal financial accounts might not be important necessities an organized system of record keeping, using accounting or bookkeeping software is highly desirable to maintain financial control.

The accounting system used can be easy lists of financial records supported by purchase invoices, sales invoices and where applicable bank or cash records. The necessary support to all bookkeeping procedure are third party documents issued or received to offer a complete and fair financial account of the business.

There are various rules to be considered whether the complete version of the tax return should be completed or whether the short version applicable. Usually, most small businesses with an annual turnover of thousands of dollars would complete the short tax return; nonetheless there are particular exclusions where the complete return should be completed.

The self employed tax return in West Auckland should be completed when the following conditions apply and the self employment tax return is necessary where the conditions don’t apply:

1. Sales turnover surpasses thousands of dollars during the financial year or surpasses an average cost per month if trading for less than a full financial year.
2. The accounting date to which accounts are made has changed in the last financial year.
3. The financial accounts have been declared in the previous tax return.
4. The basis on which the accounts have been prepared has changed from cash accounts on an accrual basis.
5. The self employment includes the provision of contracts that continue in the next financial year.
6. Business is conducted beyond New Zealand
7. Industrial or agricultural buildings capital allowances are being claimed.
8. Overlap tax relief is claimed.
9. Averaging profit is claimed by a market gardener, farmer or creator of art works or literary.
10. Practicing barrister or advocate in New Zealand.

If none of the above conditions are applicable for the self employed business, then the self employment short tax return might be completed.

The short tax return is a simplified version of the complete tax return. The main decision point is the limit at which a complete return is necessary which is also the vat threshold for the financial year. 

The short tax return also has a choice to declare complete expenses in respect to listing expenses under the expenditure type categories where the business income is less in the financial year. It might be changed every year in line with movements in the vat threshold.

Ultimately, if the self employed person has more than a single small business, a separate tax return should be completed for every business. It is therefore appropriate for separate accounting records to be maintained for every small business to simplify the completion of the tax returns every year.