How to lodge a tax return

For many people, lodging a personal tax return can be stressful. Whether you flinch at possibly paying additional taxes to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or you find the process of collating the necessary information overwhelming, a lot of people put off the process. But like most things in life, simply deferring the task doesn’t make it go away.

If you’re an Australian resident and you earn a salary or an income, you’ll need to lodge a tax return even if your employer withholds taxes from your pay.

And while you must declare all your income when you lodge a tax return, you may also be entitled to get some money back.  There are three different ways we can file your tax return: Online tax return, In office with our tax agent or Over the phone.

WHAT IS A TAX RETURN?

A tax return covers any income and expenses through the financial year, starting on July 1 and ending 30 June the following year. At the end of the financial year, you have a limited window to lodge your individual tax return. Generally speaking, if you’re lodging your tax return, the deadline is the 31st October.

If you earn an income, you’ll usually have to pay tax on that income. As a salaried employee, your employer will deduct tax from each pay and transfer it to the ATO on your behalf. This is known as Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding. If you’re a self-employed contractor and use an Australian Business Number (ABN), you’ll need to pay your tax and super.

When you complete your tax return, the ATO will assess your income, expenses and deductions to determine if you’ll get a tax refund or have to pay additional taxes.

WHAT INFORMATION DO I NEED TO FILE A TAX RETURN?

The more organised you are, the easier it is to lodge your taxes. In addition to income and bank statements, here’s the additional information you’ll need to gather:

• PAYG payment summary which is usually supplied by your employer
• Your Tax File Number (TFN) which can be found on your previous notice of assessment or your payment summary
• Your bank account details; The ATO no longer send refund cheques so any refund will need to be deposited directly into your account
• Details of any additional income such as rental income or investments 
• Bank account interest accumulated
• Details of any other tax offset information, like your partner’s income details
• Medicare and private health care statements
• Details of any occupation specific deductions you wish to claim
• Details of any Centrelink payments received

If you plan to claim more than $300 in work-related expenses you’re also going to need:

• Copies of invoices or receipts, which can be paper or electronic
• Credit card statements
• Travel logbook
• Home office logbook

Our tax return checklist What do I need to bring to my appointment- Culburra Beach Accounting & Tax.docx has all the information and documents you may need to determine which information may be applicable for your tax return.

LODGING YOUR INDIVIDUAL TAX RETURN

With all your information at the ready, it’s time to lodge your tax return. No matter how simple your tax return, income tax is complicated and, at times, confusing. The simplest mistake could see you miss out on a refund or even having to pay a fine. If you want to maximise your refund and take some of the stress out of tax time, consider using a registered tax agent. Here are some ways you could lodge a tax return:

LODGE USING A TAX AGENT

Culburra Beach Accounting & tax understands the ins and outs of occupation-specific deductions and will know what questions to ask to help you make the most of your tax. Best of all, the fee you are charged is tax deductible on next year's tax return.

We can walk you through the tax refund process with ease. We offer expert and personal service year-round through over the phone appointments, in person or over email.

With access to all this from the convenience of your home or office and a 1-2 week turnaround on tax refunds, we take the stress out of tax time.