Documents and checks to tick off before you lodge your individual tax return in myTax or with a tax agent.
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Use this checklist when you prepare your individual income tax return, whether you lodge through myTax in ATO online services or through a registered tax agent. Ticks are saved in your browser only.
How to use it: work through the income group first, because every income type you leave out can lead to an amended assessment later, and the ATO receives data from employers, banks, share registries, property agents and crypto exchanges. Then gather the evidence for each deduction. The ATO's general rule is that you must have spent the money yourself and not been reimbursed, the expense must relate directly to earning your income, and you need a record to prove it.
Example: if you worked from home for part of the year, you need an hour-by-hour record for the whole year, not a four-week sample, to use the fixed rate method. If you made a personal super contribution you want to deduct, the fund must acknowledge your notice of intent before you lodge, or the deduction can be denied.
Limits: this list covers common items for employees and investors. It does not cover business, partnership or trust returns, and it is not exhaustive. If you have foreign income, changed residency, sold a property or have a complicated capital gain, consider a registered tax agent. See also the documents guide.
Deadlines, Pitfalls and Official Sources
How to amend an individual tax return, the two- and four-year review periods, objecting to an ATO decision, review by the Administrative Review Tribunal and where to complain.
Deadlines, Pitfalls and Official Sources
How the ATO's failure-to-lodge penalty is calculated for individuals, the penalty unit value, interest on late payments, remission requests and payment plans, with examples.
Deadlines, Pitfalls and Official Sources
When your individual tax return is due if you self-lodge, how the tax agent lodgment program extends it, when the tax bill must be paid, and what to do if you miss the date.
Worked Examples and Checklists
A practical list of the documents, statements and records an individual needs for a tax return, grouped by income type, deductions, super and health cover, with tips on pre-fill.
Deadlines, Pitfalls and Official Sources
The individual tax return errors that most often trigger ATO adjustments, what happens if you get it wrong, how to avoid scams, and a directory of official sources.
