The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is warning taxpayers not to lodge their tax returns until their income statement is marked as ‘tax ready’ and data has been pre-filled by the ATO.
Assistant Commissioner Rob Thomson reminds taxpayers to wait to lodge their income tax return in the audio grabs. More information is available in the media release: ATO warns taxpayers: Don’t lodge yet!
Audio grab 1:
Tax time isn’t a race! If you wait to lodge until late July, the ATO has done some of the work for you by pre-filling data about your income, interest from your bank, your health insurance details and any payments from government agencies to make sure you get it right the first time.
Rob Thomson: wait to lodge audio grab 1External Link
Audio grab 2:
Lodging before the ATO completes pre-fill of your information means there’s a much higher chance of you having to submit an amendment. This takes more time and may delay any refund you receive. Wait until late July to allow the ATO to prefill essential information from your bank, employer, health insurer and any payments from government agencies.
Rob Thomson: wait to lodge audio grab 2External Link
Audio grab 3:
Last year 142,000 people who lodged in the first 2 weeks of July had to lodge amendments, or had their returns investigated and amended by the ATO to fix inaccuracies in their return.
Rob Thomson: wait to lodge audio grab 3External Link
Audio grab 4:
We know people like to get their tax return out of the way, but in this case, we're actually encouraging procrastination! Waiting until late July to lodge means the ATO's done a bit of the work for you and pre-filled information into your tax return. You just need to check the info, add any deductions and make sure it's good to go!
Rob Thomson: wait to lodge audio grab 4External Link
Audio grab 5:
The great news is the ATO is telling taxpayers to do nothing – spend your weekend at the footy, with the fam, getting a pie. If you wait a couple of weeks, by late July the ATO will have prefilled a lot of data into your tax return making it easier to do your taxes and helping to make sure you get it right!
Rob Thomson: wait to lodge audio grab 5External Link
Audio grab 6:
Get prepared for tax time by grabbing any receipts or records you’ve collected throughout the year and checking the ATO’s occupation guides to see what you can and cannot claim. Then once the ATO has finished pre-filling in late July, you can lodge with confidence!
Rob Thomson: wait to lodge audio grab 6External Link
Audio grab 7:
Tax time isn't a race! If you wait until late July, we will have pre-filled a bunch of data into your return for you, like wage income, bank interest and your private health insurance data. This will make it easier for you to get it right the first time you lodge.
Rob Thomson: wait to lodge audio grab 7External Link
Notes to journalists
- A high-resolution headshot of ATO Assistant Commissioner Rob ThomsonThis link will download a file is available for download from our media centre.
- ATO stock footage and images are available for use in news bulletins from our media centre.