Tomorrow is 31 October, the spookiest day of the year. And it’ll be even scarier if you forget to submit your tax return, as its also the last day you can lodge or be registered with a tax agent if you want to avoid late penalties.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is warning anyone who hasn’t yet lodged their income tax return to either submit the forms, or get officially registered with tax a practitioner, before 31 October, to avoid potential penalties.
The ATO says over 9.4 million returns have already been lodged, leaving around 1.5 million self-reporting taxpayers still to lodge this year.
Rob Thomson, ATO assistant commissioner, says there has been a flurry of lodgement activity in the final days
“The ATO is receiving a spike of lodgements, with an average of almost 60 thousand individuals lodging each day in October as the deadline approaches,” he says.
“In fact, we’ve had over one million lodgements so far this month alone.”
What happens if I don’t lodge my tax return by 31 October?
If you’re late submitting your return, you may be hit with a Failure to Lodge (FTL) penalty of one penalty unit (currently $313) for every 28-day period your return is late, up to a maximum of five penalty units. Meaning the maximum penalty for late lodgement is $1565.
Mr Thomson says many people correctly wait until information from their employer is submitted to the ATO before submitting, but those people need to submit your tax forms online now.
“Those who’ve done the right thing and deliberately held off finalising their tax return until pre-filled information is available, now’s the time to log back into the App or myTax, finalise and press lodge,” he says.
“The ATO has now pre-filled tax returns with information from most banks, employers, government agencies and private health insurers – all you need to do is check it and add anything that’s missing.”
But there are also bound to be many who haven’t even given it a thought yet. If this sounds like you, Mr Thomson says the straightforward, easy-to-use online interface will take you through the process step by step.
“For those who haven’t yet started, it’s not scary or complicated,” he says.
“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.”
As mentioned, there are longer submission periods available for people who lodge their return through a registered tax agent.
“If you’re going to engage a registered tax professional and you’re not already on their books, you should do this before 31 October,” Mr Thomson says.
Tax lodgement tips
Make sure you’re claiming everything you’re entitled to. If you’re still working, you can claim travel expenses as well as part of your electricity bill if you work from home.
If you rent out a property, remember you can claim any expenses incurred in the handling and upkeep of your property for the year.
You can find more specific information in the 40 occupation and industry specific guidelines on the ATO website.
But Mr Thomson says if you’re going to claim something, you need to have the receipts to prove it.
“When you claim a deduction, you need to have a record to prove it, usually a receipt,” he says.
“Remember that a credit card or bank statement usually isn’t enough on its own. The ATO app is a good way to keep all your receipts in one place.”
Have you lodged your tax return yet? Do you have much you can claim this year? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: What you need to know about your taxes in retirement
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