How prefill works
The pre-fill function is designed to be a part of normal business processes when lodging an individual tax return.
Not all labels subject to pre-filling are locked. But they do provide an accurate, easier and quicker way to lodge.
The pre-fill function can be used for either:
- one client in a single request
- multiple clients in a batch transaction.
Pre-fill within the PLS will return the same data, as both the Online services for agents (OSfA) and myTax pre-fill services, with some exceptions. The PLS includes myDeductions data uploaded to us by your clients.
Depending on when you use the pre-fill service, some third-party data may be unavailable. This is because:
- the provider has not yet sent their data to us
- the data has failed identity matching and data integrity checks.
Pre-fill data provided to us by third parties may be amended by the third party if a correction or other change needs to be made. Therefore, pre-fill data may be different at different points in time.
The corrected data provided by a third party will overwrite the previous-stored data in our systems.
You should not rely on pre-fill data alone. It must be verified before lodgment.
Any discrepancy in the amounts that appear must be resolved between the taxpayer and the information provider.
High-certainty data
Our pre-fill service now provides greater certainty for your client’s bank interest (including joint accounts) as well as Australian Government benefits. When you access your client's pre-fill information, you'll see an indicator when the record is considered high-certainty data.
This indicator will appear in both the Online services for agents pre-filling report and the PLS/SBR pre-fill service.
If you want to change any pre-fill information where there is a high-certainty indicator, you'll need to provide a reason for the change. If the reasons we provide don't apply to your client’s situation, select ‘Other’ and provide details.
The high-certainty indicator won't be included on records for clients or situations, where we know there's a likely reason for exclusion – such as a client who has a record of bankruptcy. In these situations, you can still alter the record without providing a reason.
Find out what data is available and when it becomes available with:
- Pre-fill availability to check when data is available online
- Pre-filling reports to check what data is available for pre-filling a particular year
- Pre-fill 2024 on high-certainty data.