Key Points
- You can save time and avoid mistakes by waiting for the ATO to pre-fill some data in your tax return before lodging.
- Using a tax agent when lodging does not mean a bigger refund but can help ensure tax compliance and make the process easier.
- Check for rebates and support options you may be eligible for through a Tax Clinic or the Tax Help program.
Based on your tax return, the form which tracks your income tax against deductions you can claim, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) will determine any amount of refund you are entitled to or debt you are liable for.
ATO Assistant Commissioner Robert Thomson, reminds taxpayers they have time until 31 October to lodge their tax return, or even longer if they do it through a tax agent.
While you can lodge from 1 July, it is advisable to wait until the end of the month so that the ATO can automatically pre-fill some of your financial information. This includes your employment payment summary, interest income and private health insurance data.
Even for data that is automatically pre-filled in your tax return, it is best practice to crosscheck with your records and confirm it is correct Credit: adamkaz/Getty Images
“And that information is available whether they're lodging themselves or using a tax agent.”
Pre-filled information includes any welfare payments you have received.
“At about middle of July, we're going to make a Centrelink payment summary available for you if you're one of our customers,” Justin Bott, Community Information Officer for Services Australia, says.
If you have received a Family Tax Benefit or Childcare Subsidy, at the end of the financial year by comparing your declared income estimate with your actual income.
Based on the ATO’s notice of assessment of your tax return, you may need to pay back or receive money to match the payments you were entitled to. If your income estimate matched your actual income, no adjustment will be needed.
“Let us know if either you or your partner don't need to lodge a tax return for the financial year. Because we don't get that information automatically. Once we've got that information in, then we can take care of balancing,” Mr Bott says.
Newcomers in Australia should check if they need to lodge a tax return for the past financial year.
If not, they still need to submit a non-lodgement advice form to the ATO.
In Australia, taxpayers are entitled to the tax-free threshold. It means you can earn up to $18,200 each year without paying tax. Credit: jeangill/Getty Images
ATO’s Mr Thomson says there are three key things to remember before claiming:
- You must have paid for the expense yourself and not been reimbursed.
- That expense must directly relate to the income you're earning.
- You need to have a record, usually in the form of a receipt, to show proof of the expense.
Working from home
If working from home, you can c using either a fixed amount per hour worked from home (fixed rate method) or your actual expenses (actual cost method).
In either case, you need to keep a record of the hours you've worked from home for the entire year.
“On the ATO website, we actually have that can help people to understand what they can and cannot claim for their specific type of job and what records they need to keep.”
If working from home, you need to keep records to substantiate any claims for tax deductions on expenses incurred. Credit: MoMo Productions/Getty Images
Available support
Earners of under $60,000 a year may be eligible for support in lodging their tax return through the .
There is also the , a federally funded program that over 15 clinics across the country run independently from the ATO, providing free advice to those eligible in collaboration with registered tax agents.
Ann Kayis-Kumar is an Associate Professor in Tax Law at the University of New South Wales and founding director of the UNSW Tax and Business Advisory Clinic.
She explains that from a client-facing perspective, the service helps people who are in financial hardship and distress.
“They are referred to us from the community sector, mostly through financial counsellors, legal services, Lifeline, and other community support,” she says.
Using a tax agent
Many Australians opt to pay for tax agent services to lodge their tax returns. In fact, .
A co-led by Prof Kayis-Kumar shows using a tax agent does not lead to significant tax refund gains compared to lodging on your own, unless you have an annual income of at least $180,000.
“With co-authors, Chris Evans and Youngdeok Lim, we looked at the sample of over five million Australian tax returns over four years. We found that the real benefit that people get from using a tax advisor – unless you have high levels of supplementary income, like business and rental income or money from partnerships and trusts – is convenience and certainty.”
If using a tax agent to file your tax return, make sure that you’ve registered with them by 31 October and that they’ve notified the ATO. Credit: Edwin Tan /Getty Images
“The tax practitioners’ board is your first port of call, but typically you'll see that someone will have their accreditation displayed and you can search that they're a registered tax agent.”
And remember to always be vigilant against ATO impersonation scams.
Mr Thomson highlights a 60 per cent increase in scammers contacting taxpayers in 2023 to obtain personal identifying information.
These include details that could enable a scammer to impersonate you, such as your name, address, myGov ID, Tax File Number, or credit card details.
“Ask yourself if the message or the call that you've got could be fake and never click on hyperlinks to your MyGov account. Always go and type the MyGov or the ATO details into your browser,” Mr Thomson warns.
“And contact us as soon as possible if you think something's wrong or you've noticed suspicious activity on your ATO account.”
Some Services Australia payments, like those relating to flooding and natural disasters are taxable and you need to add them manually on your tax return. Source: Moment RF / Songsak rohprasit/Getty Images
- For tax-related topics on Centrelink payments and services, you can find information in your language or call the Centrelink multilingual phone service on 131 202.
- if you got Family Tax Benefit or Child Care Subsidy in the past financial year.
- If you paid tax in another country for the past financial year, you may be able to claim in Australia a foreign income tax offset. Check the eligibility criteria .
- is a free record-keeping tool in the ATO app
- Find out about the Tax Clinic Program .
- If you earn $60,000 or less, you may be eligible for help to lodge your tax return through ATO’s Tax Help program. Learn more .
- Information for tax-related topics is available in different languages on the ATO website. Visit
