The ATO will target sales representatives, sales and marketing managers, truck drivers and electricians this year. If you fit into these categories, what can you do to help your situation if they come along for an audit (apart form locking your door and putting the hose on them).

Don’t put your records through a shredder just yet! Many people bin their records in July each year, but the ATO may still need those documents for quite a while. The best bet is to keep them for at least 5 years for individuals, and 7 for a company structure.

Things like depreciation records and dividend reinvestment information may need to be kept until a number of years after the asset is sold, so CGT can be calculated properly. These are the things that should be kept for an audit are:

* Payments received, including salary, pensions, share dividends or bank interest.
* Expenses related to income received, such as work-related expenses or repairs made to a rental property.
* Buying or selling assets such as shares or a rental property paperwork.
* Tax-deductible gifts or donation receipts.
* Medical expense receipts.

Car expenses are one of the most common tax deductions, and the ATO says record keeping is vital. If you travel at all for work, make sure you keep a log book. Even if you don’t completely fill it in ALL the time, it doesn’t really matter. As long as you’ve got one. Especially if you have recently bought a new car.

Do you have any other things that the ATO has given you a hard time on this year? I would love to hear about it.

PD