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The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is reminding taxpayers that the deadline for individual tax returns is approaching.
The deadline is October 31. As of September 22, the ATO said it had received over 7.9 million income tax returns from individuals for the 2024 financial year.
Over four million individuals self-lodged their income tax return while 3.8 million used a registered tax agent.
ATO Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson wants those yet to finalise their returns or engage with a registered agent to act now and avoid potential penalties.
“If you’re lodging your own tax return, the due date to lodge is October 31,” he says.
“If you’re using a tax agent, you need to be on their books before then.”
To check if they are a registered tax agent, you can search the Tax Practitioners Board’s Public Register at tpb.gov.au, he says.
“If you believe you may have difficulty meeting your tax obligations, contact the ATO prior to the deadline to lodge so that we can take your circumstances into account,” Thomson says.
“It is your choice if you lodge yourself or use a registered tax agent. For taxpayers with simple tax affairs, lodging online through myTax is easy as most of the information you need is already pre-filled.
“You simply need to check your details, add any additional income, and claim the deductions you’re entitled to.
“For those with more complex affairs, you may want to consider engaging a registered tax agent.”
The ATO is also reminding people to make sure their claims for work-related expenses are accurate – don’t just copy and paste claims from last year.
“If your circumstances have changed then so will your deductions,” Thomson says.
“We see a lot of people changing jobs but not their claims. Remember, the job that you do affects the deductions you can claim …”
“We want people to get their deductions right on the first go and claim what they are entitled to – nothing more, nothing less.”
