Why Rushing Your Tax Return in Early July Can Lead to Mistakes
It might seem like a good idea to lodge your tax return as soon as the financial year ends. With rising costs of living, you may be hoping for a refund, or you may simply want to tick it off your to-do list for another year. However, the ATO has warned that taxpayers who lodge in early July are twice as likely to make mistakes on their returns.
“Tax time is not a race, and there is a much higher chance that your return will be missing important information if you lodge in early July.”
ATO Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson
While taxpayers can lodge their returns from 1 July, the ATO encourages most people to wait until later in July to ensure their information is complete and accurate.
Why the ATO Recommends Waiting Until Later in July
Lodging your tax return later in July allows time for third-party information to be automatically pre-filled into your return if you lodge via myTax or use a registered tax agent.
Pre-Filled Information Takes Time
Information from employers, banks, health funds and government agencies such as Centrelink is progressively uploaded to the ATO. Although pre-fill data starts appearing from 1 July, most information is not finalised until the end of July.
Some information, such as partnership or trust distributions, may not be available until even later, increasing the risk of omissions if you lodge too early.
Common Mistakes Made by Early Lodgers
The ATO has identified that mistakes made by early July lodgers often involve missing or incorrect reporting of:
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Bank interest
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Dividend income
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Income from government agencies
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Private health insurance details
Waiting for pre-fill data significantly reduces the likelihood of these errors.
How to Prepare Before Lodging Your Tax Return
The ATO recommends taking time to prepare your tax return while waiting for pre-fill data to become available.
Check Your Details
Ensure your contact details and bank account information are correct before lodging. Updating these details after lodging can cause delays in processing your return or refund.
Gather Your Records
Collect all necessary records, including receipts, diaries, and private health insurance statements, so you are ready once your pre-fill data is complete.
Review Occupation Guides
Review the ATO’s occupation guides to ensure you are claiming deductions you are entitled to and avoiding claims you are not eligible for.
Check Pre-Fill Availability
You should check the “Pre-fill availability” information on the ATO website for the 2023–24 income year. This includes details from government agencies, health funds, financial institutions and companies.
You should also confirm that your employer has marked your income statement as “tax ready”, which confirms that your salary, PAYG withholding and employer super contributions are finalised.
Before lodging, check that all pre-filled information in myTax is present, complete and accurate.
Changes to Pre-Filled Government Benefit Data From 1 July 2024
From 1 July 2024, taxpayers can no longer delete or remove pre-filled government benefit data for allowance or pension payments such as JobSeeker, Age Pension and Disability Support Pension.
The ATO’s pre-fill service now includes a “high certainty data” marker, providing greater confidence that this information is correct.
What to Do If Information Is Missing or Incorrect
Gaps in pre-fill data can occur where:
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Organisations are delayed in providing information
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The ATO cannot match the data to your record
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Data has not passed quality checks
If you identify incorrect information, you should contact the relevant provider and ensure corrected data is submitted to the ATO.
Fixing Mistakes After Lodgment
Whether you lodge early or wait until later, the ATO recognises that mistakes can happen. If you realise you have made an error or omission after lodging, you can amend your tax return once it has been processed.
Amendments can be made through ATO online services via myGov or by speaking with your registered tax agent.
Taking a little extra time before lodging can help ensure your return is accurate, complete and processed smoothly.
Speak to one of our accountants if you have any questions about the changes in tax for 2024.
