Cost of tax compliance statistics for Taxation statistics 2023–24

Key cost of tax compliance statistics from income tax returns, FBT returns and activity statements.

Published 17 June 2026

Cost of tax compliance summary charts

Key statistics relating to the cost of tax compliance summarised in the ATO's Taxation statistics 2023–24 follow.

Chart 21: Average time to complete tax return – over 5 years
Chart 22: Cost of managing tax affairs for individuals – over 5 years

Chart 21: Average time to complete tax return, 2019–20 to 2023–24 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 Chart 21, Individuals includes only those who completed the business and professional items section of the tax return.

Download data from the 2009–10 income year onward at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Chart 22: Cost of managing tax affairs for individuals, 2019–20 to 2023–24 income years

The link below will take you to the data behind this chart as well as similar data back to the 2005–06 income year. Download data from the 2005–06 income year onward at Snapshot table 5External Link.

Cost of tax compliance detailed tables

Detailed statistics relating to the cost of tax compliance follow:

Table 1External Link: Cost of taxation compliance data, by form type, 1998–99 to 2024–25 years.
Table 2External Link: Tax return form time-box data, by entity type, lodgment method and total business income, 2023–24 income year.
Table 3External Link: Fringe benefits tax (FBT) and business activity statement (BAS) forms time-box data, by market segment, 2015–16 to 2024–25 FBT and financial years.

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