The Australian Taxation Office is urging people to start lodging their tax returns after it pre-filled more than 100 million pieces of information.
The information includes data from employers, banks, private health insurers, share registries and government agencies.
ATO Assistant Commissioner Anita Challen said taxpayers with straightforward tax affairs could now review their information and start lodging.
“For those who have been patiently waiting to lodge, most income statements and pre-fill information is now available,” Ms Challen said.
“Be sure to check your pre-fill data is correct, declare all your income and claim deductions you are entitled to. Remember you are making a legal declaration that the information in your tax return is true and correct.”
The Tax Office has provided the following tips to help lodge an accurate tax return.
- Don’t be tempted to overclaim deductions or inflate expenses. The ATO has sophisticated data-matching and analytics that can quickly identify claims that don’t stack up.
- Report all income. This includes income from side hustles, cash jobs, rental properties, and online activities and content creation.
- Don’t act on information from third-party sources such as artificial intelligence platforms, ‘finfluencers’, or advice from family or friends without verifying the information with a registered tax professional or the ATO.
- Don’t claim the newly announced $1000 standard work-related deduction. This does not apply until Tax Time 2027.
“If you have already lodged in early July and realised you’ve made a mistake, for example forgetting to include some income, lodge an amendment,” Ms Challen said.
“Most returns are processed within 12 business days, and the fastest way to check the progress of a return is through the ATO app or ATO online services.”
Taxpayers have until October 31 to lodge their tax return if preparing themselves. Those engaging a tax agent may have longer but should be on their books by 31 October.
