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myTax 2021 How to personalise your tax return

How to personalise your tax return when using myTax.

Last updated 10 August 2021

Things to know

Complete the Personalise return screen by selecting items that apply to you.

We make some selections for you, based on:

  • pre-fill information
  • data we have on our records, such as    
    • information from your last year's tax return
    • your uploaded data from the ATO app's myDeductions tool.
     

Make other selections that may apply to include them in your tax return.

The selections in the Personalise return screen will tailor your tax return on the Prepare return screen to your situation.

When you progress to the Prepare return screen, you may find that you have missed a selection. Even if you are part way through your return, you can simply return to the Personalise screen and make further selections.

You can't remove any selections we make for you, even if you think the circumstances do not apply to you. For more information, read Can't remove a selection? below.

If you've used myDeductions to keep records, you can upload your data. If you upload your data from myDeductions before you start your return in myTax, your data will pre-fill ready for use.

For a demonstration on how to personalise your tax return, watch our tutorial.

Want to lodge a nil return?

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 tutorial

This video shows you how to personalise your tax return.

Media: How to personalise your myTax return
https://tv.ato.gov.au/ato-tv/media?v=bd1bdiuboiho6fExternal Link (Duration: 3:54)

We also have a range of video tutorialsExternal Link that may assist you using myTax.

Completing this section

Follow the steps below to make selections on the Personalise return screen that apply to you to include them in your tax return.

  1. Check the answer to the question Were you an Australian resident for tax purposes from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021?
    For more information, see Are you an Australian resident for tax purposes?.
    If Yes, go to step 3.
    If No, go to step 2.
  2. If you were a resident for part of the year, enter the dates you were a resident.
    If you were not a resident at any time during the year, leave both date fields blank.
  3. Answer the question Did you have a spouse at any time between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021?
    For more information, see Spouse details
    Note: We may have populated this for you based on information from your 2019–20 tax return.
  4. Make selections that may apply to include them in your tax return.
    If you are unsure which items apply to you, or to read more about those items, select from the links below:      

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.

  1. Select Next to go to the Prepare return screen.

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:

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

  • low income tax offset
  • low and middle income tax offset
  • PAYG instalments
  • Study and training support loans including    
    • Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
    • Vocational and Educational Training Student Loan (VSL)
    • Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS)
    • Trade Support Loan (TSL) debt
    • Student Start-up Loan (SSL)
    • 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?

Where we make a selection for you, it is based on the information:

  • provided to us by various organisations including employers, payers, financial institutions and other government departments
  • we have on our records, such as from    
    • your last year's tax return
    • your uploaded data from the ATO app's myDeductions tool
    • the Depreciation and capital allowances tool or the Personal services income decision tool.
     

You will not be able to remove the selection but can delete any pre-filled information that is not relevant to you from the Prepare return screen.

If we make 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.

Example – Business income statement/payment summary

The Business/Sole trader income or loss may be pre-selected if you received payments made:

  • under a voluntary agreement
  • under a labour-hire arrangement, or
  • that are other specific payments.

Whilst you may think you are not in business or a sole trader, the payment was made as business and personal services income instead of employment income, which is what you might have expected. You should review the pre-filled information on the Prepare return screen and make any necessary adjustments (if required). If you believe the payment was made incorrectly, contact the payer so they can update their records and provide us with correct information.

End of example

Income

Based on the selections on the Personalise return screen, myTax will automatically display the selected income items at the Prepare return screen.

If you are unsure which items apply to you, or to read more about these items, select from the links below.

Income includes:

Salary, wages or other income on an income statement or payment summary

If you received income or payments from one of the following sources, you will need to select:

  • You received salary, wages or other income on an income statement/payment summary, Australian Government payments, or First home super saver (FHSS) scheme payment, and
  • the items that are relevant to you.

If you are unsure which items apply to you, or to read more about these items, select from the links below.

Income from Australian super and annuity funds

If you received income or payments from one of the following sources, you will need to select:

  • You had income from Australian superannuation or annuity funds, and
  • the items that are relevant to you.

If you are unsure which items apply to you, or to read more about these items, select from the links below.

Australian interest, other income or losses from investments or property

For Australian investment and property related items, you will need to select:

  • You had Australian interest, or other Australian income or losses from investments or property, and
  • the items that are relevant to you.

If you are unsure which items apply to you, or to read more about these items, select from the links below.

Capital gains tax (CGT) related items

Select the CGT related items that apply to you. 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 a capital gain from a managed fund and no other CGT events, and you had no carried forward capital losses from prior years to apply against the current year capital gain, select Managed fund distributions (including where distribution has capital gains and foreign income)
  • had a capital gain from a managed fund and a separate CGT event, select Managed fund distributions (including where distribution has capital gains and foreign income) and Capital gains or losses that are not from a managed fund
  • had a capital gain from a managed fund, no other CGT event during the year but have a carried forward capital loss from a prior year, select Managed fund distributions (including where distribution has capital gains and foreign income) and Unapplied net capital losses from earlier years to carry forward but no CGT event this year
  • only had Unapplied net capital losses from earlier years to carry forward but no CGT event this year, only select this item.

Sole trader and business income or losses and partnership or trust distributions

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

  • You were a sole trader or had business income or losses, partnership or trust distributions (not from a managed fund), and
  • the items that are relevant to you.

If you are unsure which items apply to you, or to read more about these items, select from the links below.

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

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

  • You had foreign income, and
  • the items that are relevant to you.

If you are unsure which items apply to you, or to read more about these items, select from the links below.

All other income, including employee share schemes

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

  • You had other income not listed above (including employee share schemes).

If you are unsure if this applies to you, read more about the items this will display from the links below.

Deductions

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

Deductions automatically displayed

If you have salary or wage income:

Always displayed:

If you have a foreign pension or annuity, no selection is necessary on the Personalise return screen, and following item will display on the Prepare return screen:

Deductions you need to select if they are relevant to you

To claim deductions, you will need to select:

  • You had deductions you want to claim, and
  • the items that are relevant to you.

If you are unsure which items apply to you, or to read more about these items, select from the links below.

Other deductions

Other deductions include:

Tax losses of earlier income years

If you wish to claim tax losses of earlier income years, you will need to select:

  • You had tax losses of earlier income years.

If you are unsure if this item applies to you, read tax losses of earlier income years.

Tax offsets, adjustments or credit for early payments

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

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

Tax offsets automatically displayed

No selections are necessary on the Personalise return screen for the following items, but they will display on the Prepare return screen:

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

If you are entitled to claim tax offsets, you will need to select:

  • You are claiming tax offsets, adjustments or a credit for early payment, and
  • the items that are relevant to you.

If you are unsure which items apply to you, or to read more about these items, select from the links below.

Other tax offsets

Other tax offsets include:

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, 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

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

Adjustments automatically displayed

No selections are necessary on the Personalise return screen for the following items, but they will display on the Prepare return screen:

Adjustments you need to select if they are relevant to you

To complete adjustments items, you will need to select:

  • You are claiming tax offsets, adjustments or a credit for early payment, and
  • the items that are relevant to you.

If you are unsure which items apply to you, or to read more about these items, select from the links below.

Income earned through the sharing economy or other marketplaces

The sharing economy is economic activity through a digital platform (such as a website or an app) where people share assets or services (labour) for a fee. The income you earn through the sharing economy is assessable which means you:

  • must declare all of your sharing economy income in your tax return
  • can claim deductions for associated expenses.

For more information, go to Sharing economy and tax.

Use the Personalise return screen to select items that are relevant to you.

Ride-sourcing and food delivery

If you received income for 'ride-sourcing' or food delivery services, select:

  • You were a sole trader or had business income or losses, partnership or trust distribution (not from a managed fund)
  • Business/Sole trader income or loss    
    • Business income or loss
     

Renting out all or part of your home

If you received income from renting out a room or whole house or unit for a short-term basis, select:

  • You had Australian interest, or other Australian income or losses from investments or property    
    • Rent (Australian properties)
     

Sharing assets (excluding accommodation)

If you received income from sharing assets (you own or lease) where you were:

  • not carrying on a business, select    
    • You had other income not listed above (including employee share schemes)
     
  • carrying on a business, select    
    • You were a sole trader or had business income or losses, partnership or trust distribution (not from a managed fund)    
      • Business/Sole trader income or loss, then
      • Business income or loss
       
     

Providing services or completing tasks

Your selection will depend on your relationship with the platform and other parties to the agreement.

If you are not in business

If you received income for your services or completing tasks through a digital platform where you were:

  • an employee of the platform, select    
    • You received salary, wages or other income on an income statement/payment summary, Australian Government payments, or First home super saver (FHSS) scheme payment    
      • Salary, wages, allowances, tips, bonuses etc. (including lump sum A, B, D or E payments)
       
     
  • not an employee or the platform or carrying on a business, select    
    • You had other income not listed above (including employee share schemes).
     

Additionally, if you want to claim deductions for expenses incurred related to your income, where you were:

  • an employee of the platform, select    
    • You had deductions you want to claim    
      • Work-related expenses (including working from home claims) – You must have salary or wages income
       
     
  • not an employee of the platform or carrying on a business, select    
    • You had deductions you want to claim    
      • Other deductions.
       
     

If you are in business

If you received income for your services or completing tasks through a digital platform where you were carrying on a business, select:

  • You were a sole trader or had business income or losses, partnership or trust distribution (not from a managed fund)    
    • Business/Sole trader income or loss, then select either
      • Personal services income
      • Business income or loss.
       
     

This selection will enable you to show both your business income and expenses.

Further information that may assist your choice

When earning income for services as a business, you need to consider whether personal services income (PSI) applies to you.

Income you earn mainly from your personal skills, efforts or expertise is classified as PSI. If the income is PSI, you will need to work out if special tax rules (the PSI rules) apply. If the PSI rules apply, they will affect how you report your income to us and the deductions you can claim.

You can use our tool to work our whether PSI was received and if the PSI rules apply.

Cash income

If you are being paid cash, you must declare the cash as income when you lodge your tax return.

We use a range of tools to identify and take action against people and businesses that may not be correctly meeting their obligations.

Use the Personalise return screen to select items that are relevant to you.

If you are not in business

If you receive cash for work you do as an employee, select:

  • You received salary, wages or other income on an income statement/payment summary, Australian Government payments, or First home super saver (FHSS) scheme payment    
    • Salary, wages, allowances, tips, bonuses etc. (including lump sum A, B, D or E payments).
     

If you want to claim deductions for expenses incurred related to your cash income as an employee, select:

  • You had deductions you want to claim    
    • Work-related expenses (including working from home claims) – You must have salary or wages income.
     

If you are in business

If you receive cash payments carrying on a business for goods or services, select:

  • You were a sole trader or had business income or losses, partnership or trust distribution (not from a managed fund)    
    • Business/Sole trader income or loss    
      • Business income or loss.
       
     

COVID-19 measures and support

Specific measures and support are available for individuals impacted by COVID-19.

COVID-19 early release of superannuation

Individuals financially affected by COVID-19 could access some of their superannuation early. You will not need to pay tax on these released amounts and will not need to include it in your tax return.

See also:

Eligible citizens and permanent residents of Australia and New Zealand could submit one application between 1 July and 31 December 2020.

To learn more, see Early access to your super.

Working from home

We understand that due to COVID-19 your working arrangements may have changed. If you have worked from home, you may have expenses you can claim a deduction for at Tax Time.

Tracking these expenses can be challenging, so we have introduced a temporary shortcut method. It's a simple way to calculate these expenses with minimal record keeping requirements. The shortcut method can be applied from 1 July 2020 until 30 June 2021.

Using the shortcut method, at Other work-related expenses, you can claim a deduction of 80 cents per hour for each hour you work from home during the period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021. Anyone working from home in this period can use this shortcut method. The shortcut method can be used by multiple people working from home in the same house.

You can choose this rate if you:

  • worked from home to fulfil your employment duties, not just carrying out minimal tasks such as occasionally checking emails or taking calls
  • incurred additional running expenses as a result of working from home.

If you use the shortcut method, you can't claim any other expenses for working from home.

You must keep a record of the number of hours you have worked from home. This could be a timesheet, roster, diary or documents that set out the hours you worked from home.

To learn more about claiming a deduction for working from home in your myTax return, see Other work-related expenses.

To learn more, see Working from home during COVID-19.

JobKeeper Payment

The JobKeeper payment supported businesses affected by coronavirus. It is a wage subsidy, which means it was paid to your employer to help cover the cost of wages they had already paid to some employees.

If you want to know if your employer was participating in the JobKeeper scheme, you need to ask your employer. Only your employer can give you this information.

For JobKeeper fortnights ending before 28 September 2020, the JobKeeper amount was $1,500.

From 28 September 2020, there were two payment rates for the JobKeeper payment. The payment rates reduced from 4 January 2021.

If you’re an employee who has received JobKeeper payments, they will be included in your income statement or payment summary as either salary and wages or as an allowance, depending on your circumstances.

We treat your JobKeeper payments the same as your usual payments from your employer. This means:

  • we will pre-fill your return with available income statement or payment summary information reported to us by your employer
  • you must check them and add any payments from your employer you received that have not pre-filled
  • you pay tax on them at your normal marginal tax rate.

To learn more about showing these payments in your myTax return, see Salary, wages, allowances, tips, bonuses.

JobKeeper wage subsidy

If you’re a sole trader who has received JobKeeper wage subsidy payments as an eligible business participant, these payments are assessable income. This means:

  • we will pre-fill (as information only) your JobKeeper wage subsidy amounts
  • you must check it and show the amount you received (and haven’t repaid or are repaying) in Assessable government industry payments as Net non-primary production or Net primary production.

To learn more about showing these payments in your myTax return, see Assessable government industry payments in Net income or loss from business.

To learn more, see JobKeeper: information for employees.

Tax on employment payments

If you took leave, were stood down or lost your job because of COVID-19, there are different tax consequences for payments you may have received from your employer.

Leave or temporary stand down

If you took leave or were temporarily stood down, your employer may have paid you regular payments or made a one-off payment. To learn more, see Leave or temporary stand down.

We treat them the same as your usual payments from your employer. This means:

  • we will pre-fill your return with available information reported to us by your employer
  • you must check them and add any payments from your employer you received that have not pre-filled
  • you pay tax on them at your normal marginal tax rate.

This treatment applies regardless of whether the payments are funded by the JobKeeper Payment scheme.

To learn more about showing these payments in your myTax return, see Salary, wages, allowances, tips, bonuses.

If your employment has been terminated

If your employment was terminated, you may receive payments from your employer. The tax rate depends on the type of the payment.

To learn more, see:

See also:

We will pre-fill your return with available information reported to us by your employer. Check them and add any payments you received that have not pre-filled.

To learn more about showing:

Services Australia payments

You may have received additional financial help from Services Australia due to COVID-19.

Pandemic leave disaster payment

You may have received a Pandemic leave disaster paymentExternal Link. These payments are taxable.

You need to manually enter any pandemic leave disaster payment you received at Australian Government special payments.

You will receive advice from Services Australia confirming the amount you received during the income year.

To learn more about showing this payment in your myTax return, see Australian Government special payments.

See also:

COVID-19 Disaster Payment

You may have received a COVID-19 Disaster Payment. As a result of a law change, this payment is not subject to income tax.

You don't need to include this payment as income in your tax return.

See also:

Economic Support Payment

You may have received an Economic Support PaymentExternal Link. These payments are not taxable. You don't need to include this payment as income in your tax return.

See also:

Coronavirus Supplement

You may have received a Coronavirus SupplementExternal Link. These payments are taxable, and we treat them the same as your usual income support payments from Services Australia. This means:

  • we will pre-fill your return with available information reported to us by Services Australia
  • you must check them and add any taxable payments from Services Australia you received that have not pre-filled
  • in myTax, the Taxable amount field should include the total of your income support payment plus the Coronavirus Supplement
  • you may be entitled to a tax offset on this income. Tax offsets reduce the amount of tax you have to pay.

To learn more about showing these payments in your myTax return, see:

COVID-19 and residential rental properties

Due to COVID-19, some circumstances may affect tax outcomes for residential rental properties, including:

  • when tenants can't pay
  • back-paid rent
  • insurance from lost income
  • reduced demand for your short-term rental accommodation.

To learn more, see Residential rental property.

To learn more about showing rental income and expenses in your myTax return, see Rent.

Support for eligible businesses

JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme

The JobMaker Hiring Credit scheme is an incentive for businesses to employ additional young job seekers aged 16–35 years.

Eligible employers can access the JobMaker Hiring Credit for each eligible additional employee they hire between 7 October 2020 and 6 October 2021.

See also:

Changes to depreciation incentives

In 2020 the government introduced measures to help businesses recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). There have been a number of changes made to how you can depreciate assets. Eligible business entities may be looking at which tax depreciation incentive is right for them.

Only one incentive can apply for an asset. If more than one incentive could apply to an asset the order of application is (subject to opt out choices):

See also:

QC65718