When is the best time to visit your tax agent?
Sunday, July 1st, 2007You decide to get your tax done by a tax agent. Is there a best time to make an appointment?
The best time is obviously the time that suits you best. If you have a big return coming or you need the money, for example, it’s better that money gets into your pocket sooner rather than later. If you don’t have these sort of constraints, however, and you understand how a tax agent’s office works, you can see that there are certain times in the season which are more ideal.
First up, I am talking tax agents here, those companies who specialise in tax and open sub-offices during the tax period. I do not mean the small accounting firms you would go to for general accounting as well as tax, although some of what I have to say about busy periods will be applicable.
Some things to note about these tax agencies:
- Their busiest period is from July to to October each year
- They bring on extra staff to cope with the load
- They open extra offices to cope with demand. These offices are closed for the other nine months of the year
- Some of these staff have had 30 years experience doing tax. For others it’s their first time
- The average office will have one experienced senior consultant running it, as many experienced staff as they can get who are available, and one or more newbies
- There will always be newbies. How many people can afford to work only four months of the year? Not many. Hence there are always new people being trained up.
A typical tax season will work something like the following.
The first two weeks of July
The ATO does not start processing returns until the 10 July. Employers haven’t yet handed out their payment summaries, bank interest and other statements are still being mailed out.
At the tax agent’s office it’s pretty quiet. Experienced office staff are familiarising themselves with system changes that were implemented since they last worked. The senior tax consultant is training the newbies. It’s a steep learning curve. These people have been learning about tax since February, but it’s all theory so far and banking and end-of-day procedures and things like that were mentioned only briefly. Not only that, they have to face clients for the first time. That’s a whole lot different to practising.
People ring to make appointments, but they haven’t got the paperwork yet, so they make it for later in the month.
Mid-July to end of August
It’s all hands to the pump here.
This is hectic. By now most of the paperwork has come through and lots of people what their tax done. The office is open nights, and as many staff as there are desks are rostered on.
The busiest times are nights and weekends. They book out first.
The newbie staff have confidence doing simple returns by now, and have the procedures down well. It’s sink or swim for them, really. If they can’t cope they’ll be rostered on less and less.
September
This is a good time to get your tax done. It’s not so busy, and new staff are not as green. If you have any questions about general tax, staff can take the time to answer.
Unfortunately, because it is quieter, the office is not open so many nights, so if you can’t make it in office hours you still need to book early.
October
Another rush as those people who put off doing their tax realise they don’t have long to go. This is a bad time to have a tricky return.
November-May
Many people do not realise that if they went through an accredited agent last year they can ask that lodging their return be deferred until May of the following year. This is good if you run out of time, but the one big thing to be aware of here is that you don’t get to choose where to do your return. All the sub-agencies have closed. You must go to the branch office to lodge it.
So we have established that September is probably a good month to visit your tax agent, but what day of the week and what time of day should you go? What else do you need to consider?
Different offices have different peak times but in general:
- Weekends and nights are busier than regular Monday to Friday office hours
- Inexperienced tax preparers do not, generally, work alone. This means they work at the busiest times, with a senior consultant on hand to oversee what they are doing. At quieter times a single person mans the office, and they are generally second years, or more.
So if you wish to visit a tax consultant early in the season, book early and go during office hours if you can. September is a better month all round; and if you think you are going to have a difficult tax return, don’t leave it until October.