Trying to get your head around tax? Our top titles to make tax time a breeze

Yikes! It’s that time of year, the 30th of June is looming and Australians everywhere are scrambling to get their documents together…but we have a few titles that can help you approach tax time in a cool, calm and collected manner…and a few more to help you get in better shape for next year.

The Australian Tax Handbook by Robert Deutch

Okay, so this one may not end up on your Christmas Wish List but it will help you if you are tackling your tax solo or if you’re an accountant. Covering the full spectrum of income tax law and related taxes this book features clear overviews, concise explanations and worked examples to make the tax system easier to understand and apply in practice. The Australian Tax Handbook 2017 highlights all the important changes over the last 12 months.

101 Ways to Save Money On Your Tax Legally by Adrian Raftery

This insightful guide sheds light on how you can increase your tax return by maximising your deductions. This practical guide explores how individual, family, property, education, employment, small business, investment property, shares, superannuation, medical expenses, levies, and other deductions can be leveraged to ensure that you receive the tax return you deserve, and that you do not overpay the government. You’ll also get advice regarding tax-effective investments, tax planning, and the best way to go about finding a great accountant.

The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape

There’s a reason that this book has been on our most clicked list for most of the year…it’s seriously good. There is a growing number of people all over the country pulling out an orange debit card with ‘Splurge’ scrawled on it in black sharpie…and they are all excited – you’ll have to read it to find out why. This book claims to be the only money guide you’ll ever need. That’s a bold claim, given there are already thousands of finance books on the shelves. So what makes this one different? Well, you won’t be overwhelmed with a bunch of ‘tips’ … or a strict budget (that you won’t follow). You’ll get a step-by-step formula: open this account, then do this; call this person, and say this; invest money here, and not there. All with a glass of wine in your hand. This book will show you how to create an entire financial plan that is so simple you can sketch it on the back of a serviette … and you’ll be able to manage your money in 10 minutes a week. This book is full of stories from everyday Aussies — single people, young families, empty nesters, retirees — who have applied the simple steps in this book and achieved amazing, life-changing results.

And if it’s all too late this year, here’s a few titles that will help for next year…

The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss

Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, this book is the blueprint. This new updated and expanded edition includes more than 50 practical tips and case studies from readers (including families) who have doubled their income, overcome common sticking points, and reinvented themselves using the original book as a starting point, real world templates you can copy for eliminating email, negotiating with bosses and clients, how lifestyle design principles can be suited to unpredictable economic times and the latest tools and tricks, as well as high-tech shortcuts, for living like a diplomat or millionaire without being either.

You Are A Badass At Making Money by Jen Sincero

This is the book you need if you’ve spent too much time watching money land in your bank account and then roll through your fingers. Jen Sincero went from living in a converted garage to traveling the world in 5-star luxury in a matter of years, and knows all too well the layers of B**S*** one can get wrapped up in around money, as well as what it takes to dig your way out. In this funny, fascinating and practical book she goes in-depth on how powerful our thoughts are and how our bank accounts are mirrors for our beliefs about money. Dinero combines laugh out loud comedy with life changing concepts, all boiled down into manageable, bite-sized tips so that you can put them into practice and get life changing results.

Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry

27-year-old personal finance expert Erin Lowry is the cash savvy friend every 20- and 30-something needs. Instead of complicated tax strategies and jargon filled debt advice, her hilarious, easy-to-understand guide is the perfect way for financial management newbies to get their money in order or elevate their personal finance know-how. Broke Millennial includes essential lessons in tricky money matters to take you from in debt and overwhelmed to informed and financially empowered, such as managing student loan and credit card debts, budgeting and reaching financial benchmarks, negotiating an entry level salary, splitting the bill with cash strapped friends and navigating financial issues in serious relationships. Broke Millennial is a fresh roadmap to financial literacy for a new generation.

Enjoy!