How To Lodge Tax Return in Australia
Lodging tax return and paying your taxes can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you through the process to lodging tax return in Australia:
Gather all the necessary information:
Before you start to lodge tax return, make sure you have all the necessary information such as your income details, expenses, and receipts.
Choose a lodgement option:
You can choose from the following options to lodge your tax return:
- Lodging your tax return online with myTax: Prepare and lodging your own tax return online. It is the quick, safe and secure way to lodge, most process in 2 weeks.
- Lodging your tax return with a registered tax agent: Use a registered tax agent to prepare and lodge your tax return, they are the only people that can charge a fee.
- Lodging a paper tax return: You can use the paper tax return to lodge your tax return by mail, most refund issue within 50 business days.
Prepare your tax return:
Tax return is a form you complete online, on paper or get a tax agent or our Tax Help program to help you with. Your tax return tells us how much money (income) you earn if you are claiming any deductions. ATO will use this information to check if you have paid enough tax or too much, need to pay the Medicare levy or surcharge, and can get any tax offsets (for example, the low income tax offset). If you pay more tax than you need to, ATO will refund the extra amount to you (this is known as a tax refund). If you don’t pay enough tax then you may receive a tax bill. Your tax return covers the income year from 1 July to 30 June. If you need to complete a tax return you must lodge it or engage with a tax agent, by 31 October.
Lodge your tax return:
Once you have prepared tax return, you can lodge it using one of the lodgement options mentioned above.
Pay your tax:
If you have a tax bill, you can pay it using one of the following methods:
BPAY: You can pay your tax bill using BPAY. The payment details, including your payment reference number, will be shown in your online services account, if you lodge online, or printed activity statement, if you lodge by mail.
Credit card or debit card: You can also pay your tax bill using a credit card or debit card.
It’s important to note that the deadline for lodging your tax return is October 31st. If you need more information, you can visit the Australian Taxation Office website for more details.
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