End of Financial Year (EOFY) is another great opportunity to get in front of your clients, to check in and talk strategy. Given most clients are looking to minimise tax, their interest levels are high and they are open to having a pro-active conversations that will put them in a good position for the year ahead.
Clients are looking for transparency, and open and honest communication on their tax challenges and successes can be a great break through moment in terms of money habits.
Here are five tax conversation starters to have with your clients at EOFY:
1. How important is tax minimisation to you compared to income and investment growth? This is a great way of gauging your client’s key areas of focus for the year ahead and reminding them of the trade-offs that exist when choosing one investment strategy over another. Be sure to remind your clients that while minimising tax is on everyone’s checklist, how you invest and when will impact the success of this strategy.
2. What did you do with your tax refund last year? This is a great reminder to your client on how they benefited from astute tax planning last year. There is also the opportunity of providing some other investment options other than the holiday and new gold clubs they splurged on. Of course, if your client had a hefty tax bill, it can also work in your favour – to remind them of how you are going to help them avoid/minimise that situation this year.
3. What are your plans with super this year? Super is the most tax-effective form of investing so knowing what your clients plans are over the coming 12 months will significantly impact their cash flow. Triggers such as a cash bonus, an interest rate change or a change in employment status can influence how much your client will be contributing to super in any one year.
4. Have you borrowed to invest? You would think that as an adviser, you would know this information about your client, but unless you have been supplied with the loan documentation, chances are no. Interest payments on geared investments are tax deductible, so very worthwhile to ask the question.
5. Did you hear about all the tax concessions in the Budget for small businesses? If your client has a small business, you can explore these with them and what it means financially for their year ahead. If they don’t have a small business, perhaps they have a family member who does and may need some help?
Source: BT Financial Group
