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'Nothing to fear' in self-lodgement, says ATO

Regulation

The ATO has called upon those taxpayers who are yet to lodge their return to “jump onto myTax” and act now in the countdown to the tax deadline.

By Mitchell Turner 8 minute read

ATO assistant commissioner Graham Whyte stressed that the deadline for self-lodgement is strictly 31 October.

“While the deadline coincides with Halloween there’s absolutely nothing to fear when it comes to lodging your own return,” Mr Whyte said.

“myTax is free, online, available via the ATO app on most smart devices, and automatically pre-filled with information we have received from third parties, such as your employer, bank and other government agencies,” he added.

The tax office revealed that of the 8.5 million people who have already lodged their tax return for the year, 1.5 million undertook the process via myTax, representing a 70 per cent increase on the same time last year.

According to Mr Whyte, those taxpayers with “really straightforward” tax affairs are able to lodge their returns in as little as five minutes.

“All you need to do is add in your deductions, check the information and hit Submit,” he said.

Mr Whyte stressed that while those taxpayers who are using a registered tax agent had longer than the 31 October deadline to submit their lodgements, it is still important to contact the agent to ensure that they remain on their books.

“It’s particularly important to get in contact if 2015 is the first year you are planning to use an agent or you were planning on switching to a different one,” Mr Whyte said.

Mitchell Turner

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