Be ‘Tax Ready’ to lodge

THE Australian Taxation Office is reminding taxpayers not to rush lodging their annual income tax return from 1 July. Taxpayers who lodge before their income statement is marked as ‘Tax ready’ and their other pre-fill information has been received run the risk of processing delays and follow-up questions from the ATO if their return is incomplete.

ATO Assistant Commissioner Tim Loh explained that returns lodged in early July are more likely to be changed by the ATO compared to those lodged later.

‘While you can lodge from 1 July, there is a much higher chance that your return will be missing important information if you lodge your return before late July. If you forget to include everything, it will slow down the progress of your return, and you’ll likely end up with more work to do down the track,’ Mr Loh said.

‘No one likes life admin, and we want to help save you some where we can. If you have simple affairs, by waiting a few more weeks until all your information is pre-filled into your tax return, you’ll save yourself extra work and worry by getting it right the first time.

‘If you tried to bake a cake in an oven that wasn’t pre-heated, you’d end up with a halfbaked disaster. Lodging your tax return before everything is ready is similar. Be patient, wait for your data to be pre-filled, and you’ll end up with a perfectly baked tax return!’

From late July, most information from employers, banks, government agencies and health funds will be automatically loaded into tax return, regardless of whether you use a registered tax agent or lodge your own return.

‘Once the information we collect is available, all you need to do is check it and add anything that’s missing. Essentially, all a well baked cake now needs is icing and sprinkles,’ Mr Loh said. The ATO understands people sometimes make mistakes. Taxpayers that realise they have made a mistake can fix errors or omissions in their tax return through the ATO online amendment process. This can be accessed via myGov or by speaking to a registered tax agent.

This year, the ATO expects fewer people to receive a refund, or may receive smaller refunds than they were expecting, and more may have tax debts to manage.

‘If you receive a debt this year that you weren’t expecting or you’re getting behind with your tax, you may be able to set up your own payment plan on the ATO website. If you need additional support, reach out to us or have a chat with your registered tax agent as early as possible so we can find a solution,’ Mr Loh said.

THE ATO is reminding the community that its digital self-help tools are the easiest and quickest way to resolve queries this tax time.

ATO Chief Service Delivery Officer David

Allen said, ‘we get lots of calls from the community about topics that can be easily resolved through our digital self-help tools, so it may be better to not wait in a queue to speak to someone when you can do it yourself, at a time and place that suits you.’

‘Our website has a wealth of information that you can refer to, including specific pages that explain what’s new this tax time for individuals and tax professionals. There is even a virtual assistant called ‘Alex’ that can help you track down the information you need.’

The ATO also provides digital tools, including My Tax, the ATO app, and online services for individuals, businesses, tax agents which can be used to resolve a range of queries and perform specific actions on accounts.

‘The other great resource worth checking out is our ATO CommunityExternal Link – our online peer to peer platform that allows members of the community to ask and share information about tax and super issues with other community members. With more than 117,000 members involved and over 225,000 posts, it’s likely your query has already been answered,’ Mr Allen said.

‘If you use a tax professional, they will also be able to help you with questions you may have.’

The ATO has seen processing volumes increase recently and is prioritising processing outstanding forms and requests from taxpayers. This means there may be longer than usual wait times.

Mr Allen emphasised that processing of tax returns lodged online takes up to 14 days. ‘You can check the progress of your tax return through our app or our online services. Our message this tax time is to go online and avoid waiting on the phone.’