If your income statement is not tax ready
When your employer finalises your tax and super details it will show the status Tax ready. You can use the information in your income statement when it is Tax ready.
You will see a red box in ATO online services that says Not tax ready if your data hasn't been finalised by your employer. You will need to speak to your employer to find out when they will finalise your statement.
If your employer is unable to make your income statement Tax ready, they will need to provide you with a payment summary. If your employer is no longer in business you will need to estimate your income and withholding details and include this in your return.
Not tax ready and your tax return
We recommend waiting until your income statement is Tax ready before preparing and lodging your tax return. This is because the amounts may change when your employer finalises your income statement.
If you choose to lodge your tax return before your income statement shows tax ready, you will need to review your information and any amounts that are available through pre-fill. You will need to confirm the information is correct before you submit your tax return.
Remember, if you choose to use information from your income statement before it is tax ready to lodge your tax return:
- your employer may finalise your income statement with different amounts
- you may need to amend your tax return and additional tax may be payable.
Receiving both an income statement and a payment summary
If you receive both an income statement and a payment summary from the same employer, you will need to check with them which you should use. They may each contain different income amounts.
If you have more than one employer
If you have more than one employer you may have more than one income statement or payment summary. You might also receive an income statement from one employer and a payment summary from another.
You will need to check that the income from all income statements and payment summaries are in your tax return. If you lodge your tax return with myTax you can pre-fill this information.
You will still need to check that the information is all there and correct. You might need to enter it manually or adjust the details if they are incorrect.
Keeping your records
In order to prepare and lodge an accurate tax return and support the claims you make, you need to keep thorough records.
You need to be able to show how you arrived at the income and tax withheld figures. In some cases, you may need to provide written evidence of how you work out the figures, if we ask you.