Anyone can do their own tax return but whether they should is the real question. It’s a bit like that 1980’s advert where two over-sized mice are debating whether they can get the cheese out of a giant mousetrap by themselves. In true kiwi style they decide it’s “worth a crack” and sadly, with a slam of the trap, it’s all over for poor Nigel the mouse.  Having a crack at your own tax return is just the same except you won’t see the traps.  The traps only become visible when you’re audited and by then it’s too late. 

Like all DIY disasters, you “don’t know what you don’t know”.  Oh how I love that saying.  There’s also an extended version which goes something like “the less you know the easier it seems and the more you know the harder it gets”.  It reminds me of those dumb kids at school who ran out of exams gloating about how easy the exam was while the geeks were nervous uptight wrecks worrying about how tough it was (and yes, I was one of the quivering geeks).  You really don’t want to be one of the dumb kids, when it comes to doing your tax return, because the cost of getting it wrong can easily double your tax bill.

What most people don’t realise is the IRD isn’t like a school teacher.  They don’t mark every return you send them so not hearing from them doesn’t mean you got it right. The IRD has seven years to audit your return and during that time the cost of any errors you’ve made grows exponentially.

Frankly, we’ve never seen anyone get it right but we sure have met a lot of people that think they’re doing it right!

You’ve done it your way.  Now get a professional in!

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