When is the best time to get my tax done?

When is the best time to get my tax done?

If you are an individual and expecting a refund, although it’s tempting to rush to your accountant on the 1st of July each year, you are better off waiting until mid-August to get your tax done. By mid-August, most reporting, such as payment summaries, interest income, dividends, managed funds distributions, etc have been lodged with the ATO and will come through on the ATO’s prefill. The last thing you want to do is get a fabulous refund early in July, and then later down the track find out that the ATO’s data matching has picked up that you have not reported all of your income, and that they want to claw back some of the refund you have already spent.

And did you know that the ATO don’t even begin to process tax returns until approximately the 7th of July each year, with the first refunds only being released from about 2 weeks later?

If you are an individual and expecting an amount payable, think about engaging a Registered Tax Agent. If you are on their lodgement register before 31 October each year, your payment date could be extended to mid-March, or even early June, depending on circumstances, and if prior year lodgements were on time. Why pay the ATO any earlier than you need to?

If you have business, and engage a Registered Tax Agent before 31 October you may be able to access extended lodgement and payment dates between 1 December and 15 May. This doesn’t mean you can leave it until 1st May to provide your information to your agent. The earlier you get your information in, the earlier your agent can advise you of amounts payable (and relevant dates) so you can budget/plan, and your agent is not running around like a mad thing at the last minute trying to do yours and other clients’ work.

So, don’t rush in on the 1st July. Hold off and gather all of your information, engage a Registered Tax Agent and take a measured approach to your tax this year.