June 30th

With June 30 on its way, most people will be keen to lodge their tax returns as soon as they can.  But the ATO has made one thing clear: don’t lodge your tax return too early.  If you don’t have all the information relating to your income, it’s not the right time to lodge your tax return.  With the introduction of single touch payroll, income statements have replaced payment summaries, meaning that all income information is lodged digitally to the ATO.  Taxpayers can view these income statements through their MyGov account – from this time, both yourself and your tax agent will be able to access the information.  These income statements show year-to-date salary and wages, PAYG withholding tax and any employer super contributions, but employers have until July 14 to finalise this information.  When this is done, the income statement will be marked as ‘tax ready’.  You can then lodge your return.

Early lodgement can also result in missed interest income on bank accounts, dividend income from companies, and distribution income from managed funds. It is common for early lodgers to receive letters from the ATO at a later date indicating that income was not declared in their tax returns.  This is because their tax returns were lodged prior to the banks, companies, managed funds, and other organisations sending their information to the ATO, and the taxpayers have not recorded this income in their tax returns.  If you are lodging early, make sure the information provided is complete, accurate, and up to date to avoid delays or a debt later on.