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Cost of tax compliance

Last updated 30 March 2021

Data in this section is taken from processed tax returns based on income year reporting.

Cost of tax compliance summary charts

Chart 19: Average time to complete tax return, 2013–14 to 2017–18 income years

Chart 19 shows the average time taken to complete the income tax return form for individuals, companies, super funds, partnerships and trusts for the last 5 income years. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data back to the 2009–10 income year.

In this chart Individuals only includes those who completed the business and professional items section.

To access the data for this chart and similar data dating back to the 2009–10 income year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

Chart 20: Cost of managing tax affairs for individuals, 2013–14 to 2017–18 income years

Chart 20 shows the total cost of managing tax affairs reported by individuals for the last 5 income years. The chart also shows the new cost of managing tax affairs labels in the 2017-18 income year. The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data back to the 2005–06 income year.

In this chart the item Cost of managing tax affairs up until 2016–17 includes:

  • expenses people incurred in managing their tax affairs
  • any interest charge we imposed
  • and other costs.

It does not include any amounts individuals may have claimed for the cost of managing tax affairs under a different label.

From 2017–18 these deductions are reported at three labels rather than one. For more information, see Individual tax return instructions.

To access this data in Excel format and similar data dating back to the 2005–06 income year, download Snapshot table 5External Link from data.gov.au.

Cost of tax compliance detailed tables

Table 1External Link: Cost of taxation compliance data, by form type, 1998–99 to 2018–19 years

Table 2External Link: Tax return form time-box data, by entity type, lodgment method and total business income, 2017–18 income year

Table 3External Link: Fringe benefits tax (FBT) and business activity statement (BAS) forms time-box data, by market segment, 2015–16 to 2018–19 FBT and financial years

See also  

QC63189