The ATO makes it clear this year that you’re approximately twice as likely to make a mistake when you’re in a rush to lodge your tax returns on 1 July. This stems from a statement released by Rob Thomson, the assistant commissioner for the ATO, when he mentions that they’ve been seeing far more mistakes from early lodgers who often have multiple different sources of income versus those who take their time.
He notes that some of the more common issues are forgetting to include:
- Any payments you’ve received from government agencies
- Dividend income
- Private health insurance details
- Interest from banks
Furthermore, Thomson reminds taxpayers that all the relevant details from banks, health funds, employers, and government agencies will be loaded into the tax returns automatically at the end of July—which is why it’s generally advised that you wait until then to lodge.
It’s obviously fairly tempting to try and get your tax returns out the way as quickly as possible, but he doubles down by stating it’s “not a race” and how you’ll be far more likely to miss crucial details if you’ve opted for lodging right at the start of the month.
Nobody wants to sit on their hands and wait until the end of the month to get started, though, so Thomson recommends you spend this time collecting all the relevant records you need and double-checking that they’re up-to-date.
Aside from this, the ATO has also cautioned people claiming their work-from-home expenses incorrectly, as well as landlords who are inflating claims for their rental deductions – rental deductions, in particular, being under scrutiny once they deduced that 90% of rental property owners are lodging incorrectly (the main issue being incorrect claims regarding maintenance and repairs).
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We understand how time consuming and stressful tax season can be as a business owner, so rather than rushing to lodge and facing scrutiny or audits from the ATO, allow our team of seasoned accountants to handle it for you – contact us today at 02 6324 5888 to get the ball rolling.
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