1.5 million Australians have one week to lodge their tax returns or face the wrath of the Australian Tax Office (ATO).
ATO Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson said over 9.4 million Australians had already lodged, with a further 1.5 million self-preparer taxpayers expected to need to lodge this year.
Mr Thomson said Australians who had not yet lodged their income tax returns needed to do so, or get on the books with a registered tax practitioner, before October 31, to avoid potential penalties.
“The ATO is receiving a spike of lodgments, with an average of almost 60 thousand individuals lodging each day in October as the deadline approaches. In fact, we’ve had over 1 million lodgments so far this month alone.”
He said for those who had deliberately held off finalising their tax return until pre-filled information was available now was the time to “press lodge”.
“For those who haven’t yet started, it’s not scary or complicated. People with simple affairs will find that you should be able to lodge your tax return in the time it takes to cook a frozen pizza,” Mr Thomson said.
“We’re all guilty of sometimes leaving things to the last minute, but taking half an hour this weekend to complete your tax return will save you time and money in the long run, as penalties can apply if you lodge late.”
