Rushing in with tax not worth it

EAGER Australians rushing to do their tax return have been urged to take their time so they don’t miss out on getting cash back.

There’s been a surge in Australians lodging their 2019 tax returns — already 1.3 million have filed, up by 600,000 filed at the same time last year — since Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s tax cuts of up to $1080 passed parliament this month.

But the Australian Taxation Office urged Australians “to wait a few weeks before lodging”.

“That provides more time for employment income and other information like bank interest and private health insurance details to be prefilled too, making lodging easier,” an ATO spokeswoman said.

“Taxpayers can lodge earlier but we know from previous years that the early birds who lodge in the first weeks of July are far more likely to make mistakes or submit incomplete data.”

The ATO’S online portal Mytax, which has made it easier than ever for Australians to lodge their return, continues to receive new information each year.

This means the person lodging has the data automatically uploaded into their tax return.

New pre-fill data this year includes the First Home Super Saver offset, deductions for personal superannuation contributions and business transactions through payment systems for individuals and sole traders.

H&R Block’s director of tax communications Mark Chapman said if Australians lodged their returns quickly they needed to be thorough.

“If they have checked the info that is on the ATO (Mytax) system or the accountant has done that on their behalf and they are confident everything is there,

WE KNOW ... EARLY BIRDS WHO LODGE IN THE FIRST WEEKS OF JULY ARE FAR MORE LIKELY TO MAKE MISTAKES ATO SPOKESWOMAN

they’re shouldn’t be any reason why they don’t lodge,” he said.

“For most people the prefill information relates to their job, bank interest and private health insurance and if all three of those elements are there, then there’s no reason why people should wait.”

But Mr Chapman said rushing to file a return could result in errors.

“Do take the time to check everything that should be there is there,” he said.

“Be confident all your income has been declared because if you’ve missed something you will get a ‘please explain’ from the ATO somewhere down the line.”