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Australia How to Lodge Your Tax Return Guide

lodging your Australian tax return. The guide covers: the myTax lodgement (the "online lodgement through the myGov") — the myTax is the ATO's online lodgement system (the "myTax" available from the 1 July to the 31 October); the taxpayer must have the "myGov account" linked to the ATO (the "ATO online services" through the myGov); the myTax pre-fills the income information from: (a) the "employer" through the "Single Touch Payroll" (the "income statement" showing the salary, the wages, the allowances, the tax withheld), (b) the "bank" and the "financial institution" (the "interest income" and the "dividend income"), (c) the "government agencies" (the "Centrelink payments", the "study and training loans information"); the taxpayer must review the pre-filled data, add the additional income and the deductions and lodge the return electronically; the myTax lodgement is processed within the "14 business days" (the "two weeks" for the full refund; the longer processing for the manual review); the tax agent lodgement (the "registered tax agent") — the taxpayer can appoint the "registered tax agent" (the "tax agent" registered with the "Tax Practitioners Board" — the "TPB") to prepare and lodge the tax return; the agent has the extended lodgement deadline (the "15 May of the following year") under the "tax agent lodgement program"; the agent can: (a) access the "ATO agent portal" to view the client data, (b) use the "Practice Management Software" to prepare the return, (c) lodge the return through the "Standard Business Reporting" or the "Online Services for Agents"; the taxpayer must provide the "authorisation form" (the "Client-Agent Agreement" or the "Lodgement Program Authorisation") to the agent; the paper tax return (the "manual lodgement") — the taxpayer can lodge the paper tax return (the "Tax Return for Individuals — the NAT 2541" form) by the 31 October deadline; the paper return must be completed manually and posted to the ATO; the paper return processing takes the "up to 10 weeks" (the "50 business days").

Before You Lodge — Preparation Checklist

• Pre-lodgement steps: The taxpayer should: (a) wait for the "pre-filled data" to be available in the myTax (the "mid-July" for the STP data, the "late July" for the bank and the dividend data), (b) gather the "deduction records" (the "receipts, the invoices, the bank statements"), (c) check the "income statement" in the myGov (the "former payment summary"), (d) verify the "personal details" (the "name, the address, the bank account for the refund").
• Pre-fill checking: The taxpayer must check the pre-filled data against the own records. The taxpayer must report: (a) the "interest income" from the all bank accounts (even if the amount is below $1), (b) the "dividends" (the "franked and the unfranked dividends" from the shares and the managed funds), (c) the "CGT events" (the "share sales and the property sales"), (d) the "government payments" (the "JobSeeker, the Youth Allowance, the Parenting Payment").
• Lodgement timing: The myTax is available from the "1 July" to the "31 October" for the self-lodgers. The taxpayer should not lodge before the "late July" to allow the pre-filled data to populate fully. The early lodgement may result in the "amendment" if the data changes after the lodgement.

For the deductions and the expenses you can claim, see our Business Expenses Guide →.

Tax Agent Lodgement Benefits

• Extended deadline: The taxpayer who uses the registered tax agent gets the extended lodgement deadline to the "15 May of the following year". The taxpayer must be on the agent's "lodgement program" list before the 31 October deadline. The agent lodges the return on behalf of the taxpayer.
• Tax agent fees: The tax agent fee for the preparation and the lodgement of the individual tax return is the "deductible expense" in the following income year. The fee is claimed as the "cost of the managing the tax affairs" at the "Item D10" in the "Tax Return for Individuals". The typical fee ranges from $150 to $500 for the standard individual return.
• Tax Help program: The ATO offers the "Tax Help program" for the individuals with the simple tax affairs and the income under $60,000. The Tax Help volunteers (the "ATO-trained and the accredited volunteers") provide the free assistance with the tax return lodgement. The Tax Help centres operate from the November to the October.

For the tax return filing procedures and the deadlines, see our Tax Filing Procedures Guide →.