But did you have everything in order when it came time to make an appointment with your accountant? Or did you drop a shoebox full of receipts on the table and hope for the best?
Dropping off a shoe box might sound a little far fetched, but my accountant assures me that this happens MUCH more than he would like.
My point here is that to save yourself time, money and stress.....make tax an ongoing routine, not a last minute scramble...especially if you have more than one rental property.
Here are some of the things that I do over the course of a year to keep myself organized:
1. Have a file folder for each rental property's yearly expenses.
2. Create an excel spreadsheet for each rental - It helps to create headings that mirror those required by the Canada Revenue Agency.
3. Enter receipts every week or two to keep things up to date along with notes.
That's it. No magic involved.
Make this a routine and you will save yourself the headaches of putting everything together at year-end....not to mention the money you will save on accounting fees.
Below is an example of the chart I use to stay organized. What do you use? :)
| Description | Mortgage | Ads | Insurance | Office | Fees | Prop tax | Utilities | Travel | Tools | R&M | |
| Date | |||||||||||
| May-01 | Mortgage | $1,224.00 | |||||||||
| May-04 | Bi-annual | $345.21 | |||||||||
| May-08 | Printer ink | $24.56 | |||||||||
| May-15 | Gas Bill | $45.00 | |||||||||
| May-21 | Sander | $39.45 | |||||||||
| May-23 | Kijiji Ad | $4.00 | |||||||||
| May-25 | Prop Tax | $345.00 | |||||||||
| May-31 | Bank fee | $3.95 | |||||||||
| Totals | $1,224.00 | $4.00 | $345.21 | $24.56 | $3.95 | $345.00 | $45.00 | $0.00 | $39.45 | $0.00 |
