Last year, 142,000 people who lodged in the first two weeks of July had to lodge amendments or had their returns investigated and amended by the ATO to fix inaccuracies in their tax return; for example, income that had not been declared properly.
ATO assistant commissioner Rob Thomson said that waiting until late July allowed for the ATO to pre-fill information in your tax return.
‘‘We pre-fill information from your employer, banks, government agencies and health funds into your tax return to help you get it right the first time — regardless of whether you use a registered tax agent or lodge yourself,’’ he said.
Waiting for this information to be pre-filled reduces the likelihood of mistakes or omissions, which can often result in taxpayers having to submit an amendment, which can cause issues and delays for taxpayers.
While you wait, make sure you have all the necessary records, ensure your personal information and bank details are up-to-date and check the ATO occupation guides to see what deductions you may be able to claim.
The ATO is also encouraging taxpayers to download the ATO app and set up a strong digital identity to protect themselves this tax time to ensure your interactions online are safe and secure.
Once your employer has finalised your income statement, it will be marked as ‘tax ready’.
Taxpayers can check if their income statement is ‘tax ready’, as well as if pre-fill is available, in myTax before lodging or in the ATO app.
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