What is TaxPack?

TaxPack is a print publication designed to help you to complete your individual income tax return. TaxPack is divided into two parts:

• TaxPack 2006 with the 2006 tax return for individuals
• TaxPack 2006 supplement with the 2006 tax return for individuals (supplementary section).

If you are an Australian resident and a retiree, you may be eligible to use Retirees TaxPack 2006.

Your options on completing and lodging your tax return read Guide to lodging your tax return.

Do I need the TaxPack 2006 supplement?

Can I use the Retirees TaxPack 2006?

TaxPack 2006 information

Warning:

This information may not apply to the current year. Check the content carefully to ensure it is applicable to your circumstances.

End of attention

While TaxPack is designed to help individuals complete their income tax returns, many people also use it as a basic reference to the Australian tax system. The information in TaxPack has been rewritten into a series of web pages and published across this site.

You can search or browse the site to find general information about:

• income you must declare
• deductions and tax offsets you are entitled to claim, and
• tax rates and calculations.

If you would prefer to download TaxPack 2006 in Portable Document Format (PDF), refer to the list of download files.

Do I need the TaxPack 2006 supplement?

The majority of taxpayers can lodge their returns using TaxPack 2006 alone. You will also require the TaxPack 2006 supplement if you have:

• income or a loss from  
  • a partnership or trust
  • personal services income
  • a business
  • a deferred non-commercial business loss
  • a net farm management deposit or withdrawal
  • a capital gain
  • a foreign entity
  • rent
  • a bonus from a life insurance company or friendly society
  • foreign sources, or foreign assets or property
  • certain other income, such as scholarships, royalties and benefits from an employee share scheme
   
• deductions for  
  • project pool
  • investment in the Australian film industry
  • undeducted purchase price of a foreign pension or annuity
  • non-employer sponsored superannuation contributions
  • certain other deductions, such as election expenses, sickness and accident insurance premiums, and foreign exchange losses
   
• tax offsets for  
  • superannuation contributions on behalf of your spouse
  • zone or overseas forces
  • net medical expenses over a specified limit
  • parent, spouse's parent or invalid relative
  • landcare and water facility
  • people in the simplified tax system (STS) or people who received a distribution from a partnership or trust that was in the STS
  • heritage conservation work
  • interest from the land transport facilities tax offset scheme or infrastructure borrowings scheme
  • work or services performed in the Joint Petroleum Development Area of the Timor Sea
   
• credit for early payments or overpayments of tax
• adjustments for amounts on which family trust distribution tax has been paid.

Note: If you are using TaxPack 2006 supplement, you must also use TaxPack 2006 to complete all of your tax return.

Can I use Retirees TaxPack 2006?

You are eligible to use Retirees TaxPack 2006 to fill in your tax return if:

• you were an Australian resident for tax purposes from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006, and
• you had no dependants other than a spouse during the period 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006, and
• all of your tax affairs are covered by the questions in Retirees TaxPack 2006 as listed below  
  • income  
    • Commonwealth of Australia government pensions and allowances
    • dividends - not including distributions made by a corporate limited partnership and deemed dividends from a private company
    • foreign source pension or annuity income
    • gross interest
    • other Australian pensions or annuities - including superannuation pensions
    • salary, wages, allowances, earnings etc
    • total reportable fringe benefits amounts
    • capital gains - not including distributions of capital gains by a trust or managed investment fund
     
  • deductions  
    • cost of managing tax affairs
    • deductible amount of undeducted purchase price of an Australian pension or annuity
    • deductible amount of undeducted purchase price of a foreign pension or annuity
    • subscriptions
    • gifts or donations
    • interest and dividend deductions
     
  • tax offsets  
    • senior Australians
    • pensioner
    • spouse - married or de facto
    • superannuation annuity and pension
    • private health insurance
    • net medical expenses over a specified limit
     
  • private health insurance policy details
  • Medicare levy related items
   

If you plan to claim the family tax benefit (FTB) through the tax system, you cannot use Retirees TaxPack; you will need to get TaxPack 2006.

Note:

FTB can be claimed with short tax return too - but only lodged using paper and not phone. 

What if I can't read standard print?

Vision Australia produces free tapes and compact disks of TaxPack  2006, TaxPack 2006 supplement, and Retirees TaxPack 2006 for people with a vision impairment.

To obtain a copy, phone Freecall 1800 644 885. Your tax questions cannot be answered on this number.