myTax 2017 How to personalise your tax return

Use the Personalise return screen to select items that apply to you.

Based on pre-fill information, we may have made some selections for you. You cannot remove any selections we made for you, even if you think the circumstances do not apply to you. For more information, read Can't remove a selection? below.

You can delete any relevant pre-filled information from the Prepare return screen.

You can make other selections that may apply to include them in your tax return. This will tailor your tax return to your situation.

If you can't see an item to select, it's because it will already be shown on the Prepare return screen or is not required to be included in your tax return.

Watch our video for a demonstration on how to personalise your tax return.

If you are unsure which items apply to you, or to read more about those items, select from the left hand side table of contents or from the links below:

• Residency
• Did you have a spouse?
• Salary, wages or other income on a payment summary, or Australian Government payments
• Income from Australian super and annuity funds
• Australian interest, or other Australian income or losses from investments or property
• Sole traders or you had business income or losses, partnership or trust distributions (not from a managed fund)
  This includes Personal services income.
• Foreign income
• All other income, including employee share schemes
• Deductions
• Tax losses from earlier income years
• Tax offsets, adjustments or credit for early payment

Want to lodge a nil return?

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

If you don’t need to select any items because you wish to lodge a nil return, then select Next at the bottom of the Personalise return screen, and follow the instructions.

Watch our video

This video shows you how to personalise your tax return.

Can't see an item to select?

Certain items apply to everyone and they are always displayed on the Prepare return screen.

These items are:

• Medicare levy and Medicare levy surcharge
• Private health insurance
• Income tests.

Also, you are not required to make a selection on the Personalise return screen for any of the following:

• low income tax offset
• PAYG instalments
• Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS), Trade Support Loan (TSL) debt, Student Start-up Loan (SSL) or ABSTUDY Student Start-up Loan (ABSTUDY SSL).

We use the information in your tax return and our records to include these in your notice of assessment.

Can't remove a selection?

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

Where we made a selection for you, it is based on the information we have on our records (such as from your last year's tax return) or the information provided to us by various organisations including employers/payers, financial institutions and other government departments. You will not be able to remove the selection but can delete any relevant pre-filled information from the Prepare return screen.

If we made a selection for you but you believe it does not apply to you, it may be because the information was provided to us incorrectly or you may not be aware of how the payment was made to you.

Residency

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

Based on pre-fill information, we have made the selection for you. If your circumstances are different for 2016–17, you may need to change your answer.

If you were an Australian resident for tax purposes from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017, select Yes. Otherwise, select No and enter only the dates when you were a resident.

Generally, we consider you to be an Australian resident for tax purposes if you:

• have always lived in Australia or you have come to Australia and live here permanently
• have been in Australia continuously for six months or more, and for most of that time you worked in the one job and lived at the same place
• have been in Australia for more than six months during 2016–17, unless your usual home is overseas and you do not intend to live in Australia
• go overseas temporarily and you do not set up a permanent home in another country, or
• are an overseas student who has come to Australia to study and are enrolled in a course that is more than six months long.

If you need help in deciding whether or not you are an Australian resident for tax purposes, we have online tools to help you. For more information, see Work out your residency status for tax purposes.

Did you have a spouse?

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

Based on pre-fill information, we have made the selection for you. If your circumstances are different for 2016–17, you must change your answer.

If you had a spouse at any time between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017, select Yes. You will then need to provide your spouse details on the Prepare return screen.

Your spouse includes another person (of any sex) who:

• you were in a relationship with that was registered under a prescribed state or territory law
• although not legally married to you, lived with you on a genuine domestic basis in a relationship as a couple.

Salary, wages or other income on a payment summary, or Australian Government payments

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

If you received income or payments from one of the following sources, shown on a payment summary, you will need to select the items that are relevant to you:

• Employment related income    
  • Salary, wages, allowances, tips, bonuses etc. (including lump sum A, B, D or E payments)
  • Employment termination payments (ETP)
  • Foreign employment income (on a payment summary).
    Show all other foreign income in the Foreign income section.
• Australian Government payments, allowances and pensions, such as    
  • Newstart, Youth Allowance and Austudy
  • pensions and carer payments
  • special payments 
• Other income shown on a payment summary    
  • Attributed personal services income 

Income from Australian super and annuity funds

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

If you received income or payments from one of the following sources, shown on a payment summary, you will need to select the items that are relevant to you:

• Australian super income streams (including lump sum in arrears)
• Australian annuities
• Australian super lump sums

Australian interest or other Australian income or losses from investments or property

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

Australian investment and property related items you will need to select if they are relevant to you:

• Australian interest or Australian dividends - if you had any amount paid or credited to you
• Managed fund distributions - if you received any distributions from a managed fund
• Rent (Australian properties) - if you earned Australian rental income or your property was available for rent

Capital gains tax (CGT) related items

If you:

• had a CGT event and you made a capital gain or capital loss, select Capital gains or losses that are not from a managed fund.
• only had Unapplied net capital losses from earlier years to carry forward but no CGT event this year, only select this item.

Sole traders or business income/losses, partnership or trust distributions (not from a managed fund)

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

If you were a sole trader or had business income or losses, or you received partnership or trust distributions, you will need to select the items that are relevant to you:

• You had Business/Sole trader income or loss, select    
  • Personal services income
  • Business income or loss
• You received distributions from    
  • Partnerships
  • Trusts 

You will be able to enter loss details relating to all of the above except trusts. Loss details section will be automatically displayed in the Business/sole trader, partnership and trust income (including loss details) section.

If you made farm management deposits or had repayments, you will also need to select this item.

If you select any of the above items (except Personal services income), the Small business income tax offset will automatically be displayed in the Offsets section that you can complete if you qualify for the offset.

Foreign income

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

If you received income or payments from one of the following foreign sources, you will need to select the items that are relevant to you:

• Foreign pensions or annuities
• Foreign employment income (not on a payment summary)
• Other foreign income
  You will be able to enter loss details relating to carrying on a business overseas. Loss details section will be automatically displayed.
  If you select this item, the Small business income tax offset will automatically be displayed in the Offsets section that you can complete if you qualify for the offset.
• Foreign entities

All other income, including employee share schemes

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

If you received any other income or payments not listed elsewhere, you will need to select this item.

Other income includes:

• Employee share schemes
• Bonuses from life insurance companies and friendly societies
• Forestry managed investment scheme income
• Any other income

Deductions

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

Based on the selections on the Personalise return screen, myTax will automatically display some deductions.

The following deductions are automatically displayed

If you have salary or wage income:

• Work-related car expenses
• Work-related travel expenses
• Work-related uniform, occupation specific or protective clothing, laundry and dry-cleaning expenses
• Work-related self-education expenses
• Other work-related expenses

If you have a foreign pension or annuity:

• Undeducted purchase price (UPP) of a foreign pension or annuity

Always displayed:

• Interest deductions
• Dividend deductions
• Gifts or donations
• Cost of managing tax affairs

Deductions you will need to select if they are relevant to you

• Work-related expenses
• Income protection, sickness and accident insurance premiums
• other deductions which includes    
  • Personal super contributions
  • Deduction for project pool
  • Forestry managed investment scheme deductions
  • Low value pool deduction
  • Any other deductions

myDeductions tool

If you have used our ATO app's myDeductions tool during the year, you can upload your data to the ATO and we can then pre-fill your tax return.

To upload your data to the ATO:

1. Open myDeductions in the ATO app
2. Go to 'Settings'
3. Select 'Upload to tax return' and complete the process.

If you have completed the upload process after starting your myTax return, select Get myDeductions on the Personalise screen to pre-fill your return with your data.

For more information, see myDeductions - FAQs.

Tax losses from earlier income years

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

If you wish to claim tax losses from earlier income years, you will need to select this item.

Tax offsets, adjustments or credit for early payments

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

Based on the information available in your return, myTax will automatically display some tax offsets and adjustments.

To work out whether you need to select additional items on the Personalise return screen, see:

• Tax offsets
• Adjustments

If you wish to claim a credit for interest on early payments, you will need to select this item.

Tax offsets

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

Based on the information available in your return, myTax will automatically display some tax offsets.

The following tax offsets are automatically displayed

Tax offsets you will need to select if they are relevant to you

• Zone or overseas forces
• Small business income tax offset
• Other tax offsets

Other tax offsets

Other tax offsets include:

• Super contributions on behalf of your spouse – if you had a spouse
• Total net medical expenses for disability aids, attendant care or aged care – if you are an Australian resident for tax purposes
• Invalid and invalid carer
• Landcare and water facility
• Early stage venture capital limited partnership
• Early stage investor, and
• any other non-refundable or refundable offsets.

National rental affordability scheme tax offset

If you wish to claim the national rental affordability scheme tax offset, you will need to select Partnerships or Trusts item, even if you have not received any partnership or trust distributions. While the myTax section is specific to partnerships and trusts, all individuals making a claim for this offset must use this section.

Adjustments

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

Based on the information available in your return, myTax will automatically display some adjustments.

The following adjustments are automatically displayed

Adjustments you will need to select if they are relevant to you

• Government super contributions
• Working holiday maker net income
• Amount on which family trust distribution tax has been paid