Tax season has opened, with Australians being urged to check that their income information is complete and their deductions are properly documented before lodging their 2025-26 tax returns.
Dr Connie Vitale, from Western Sydney University’s School of Business and Co-Founder and Director of the University’s Tax Clinic, said Australia’s tax system relies on taxpayers taking responsibility for reporting their own income and deductions accurately.
“Australia’s tax system operates on a self-assessment model. That means that you, as the taxpayer, are responsible for keeping your own records and reporting your income and deductions correctly every year,” Dr Vitale said.
She reminded taxpayers that Australia’s financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June, rather than the calendar year, and that people preparing their own returns must lodge them by 31 October.
“The Australian tax year is not the calendar year, it is the financial year 1 July to 30 June, and you must lodge your tax return by 31 October if you are self-preparing,” she said.
To make lodging a return easier, Dr Vitale recommended linking the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) app to a MyGov account before completing an individual tax return.
She said taxpayers who were unsure whether they needed to lodge a return should consider whether they had tax withheld from wages, earned above the tax-free threshold of $18,200 as an Australian resident during the 2025-26 financial year, earned Australian income as a foreign resident, were leaving Australia permanently or for more than one financial year, or held an Australian Business Number (ABN).
“If you do not need to complete a tax return you are still required to advise the ATO that you are not required to lodge, you can do this by completing a non-lodgement advice form,” Dr Vitale said.
She said lodging a return was necessary to ensure taxpayers had paid the correct amount of tax and, where they had paid too much, to receive a refund.
“You need to do a tax return to declare your income and ensure that the correct amount of tax has been paid, in the case where you have been overtaxed you will receive a refund,” she said.
“If you do not do a tax return on time you may receive a ‘failure to lodge on time penalty’ and you will also be charged general interest charges on the amounts that you owe when you eventually lodge.”
Dr Vitale advised taxpayers to wait until income statements and other pre-filled information, including bank interest, dividends and cryptocurrency trading records, had been finalised before submitting their returns to avoid having to amend them later.
She said people claiming work-related deductions should ensure the expenses were paid personally and directly related to earning their employment or business income. Records such as receipts, ATO calculations or logbooks should be retained to support any claims.
Taxpayers working from home should also avoid claiming the same expense twice. Dr Vitale noted that anyone using the ATO’s fixed working from home rate of 70 cents per hour should remember it already includes work-related telephone expenses.
She said one of the main changes affecting the 2025-26 financial year was that general interest and shortfall interest charged by the ATO from 1 July 2025 were no longer tax deductible for affected taxpayers.
“Remember, if you have not paid tax, you cannot receive a tax refund, even if you have lots of tax deductions.”
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