Jason Driscole covered plenty of ground in his presentation on accounting and filing a tax return for self-employed translators and interpreters on 12 April.

This webinar was well presented and well received, thanks both to the relevant topic and the professionalism of Jason. For just over an hour, we learnt about the different types of income language professional can have, how to account for it and what expenses can be considered as tax deductible. He also discussed what GST is and when to register for GST, as well as how to claim it back. His talk covered payment options and software for record keeping and tax payments.

Travel expenses are particularly relevant for interpreters and many of the interpreters present asked questions to ensure they could take full advantage of the current tax legislation. How to claim home office expenses was also a hot topic — not just due to the nature of our profession but also due to two years of a global pandemic. Many of us can lower the amount of tax we pay by claiming the expenses related to the part of our home normally used as a working space.

Jason offered clear examples of how to apply accounting concepts to our professional practice and gave business-savvy suggestions. One of the insights that got our PD committee excited was the tax-deductible status of the professional development courses and events offered by NZSTI. The PD committee will be organising more events to help us all deal with financials and tax, so that’s just one more good reason to attend.

And there are plenty of free online resources to help you at tax time too, including:

Business Govt - Working multiple jobs

Business Govt - How to make tax time easier

IRD - Self employed

Govt - How to pay tax

Article by: Alessandra Di Marco