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  • Pre-filling of returns

    How prefill works and what you need to do if you want to change the prefilled high-certainty interest data.

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    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 pre-filling is compulsory, but it provides a more 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 because the provider has not yet sent their data to us or 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 previously 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 interest data

    Our pre-fill service now provides greater certainty for your client’s bank interest. When you access your client's pre-fill information, you'll see an indicator when the interest record is high-certainty data. This indicator will appear in both the OSFA pre-filling report and the SBR pre-fill service.

    If you want to change any bank interest 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 bank interest 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 interest income without providing a reason.

    Find out what data is available and when it becomes available with:

      Last modified: 26 May 2023QC 49409