Missing millions in tax claims

HARDWORKING Australians are missing out on hundreds of dollars in unclaimed tax refunds out of fear of being audited by the tax office.

“Didn’t keep the receipt”, “concerned the ATO would disallow the claim” or “didn’t think the claim was allowable” are just some of the reasons nervous taxpayers are giving for not making a claim.

Sixty-six per cent of workers do not understand what they can and can’t claim on a tax return, leaving them hundreds of dollars out of pocket.

These are the findings of a national survey of 1500 adult full-timers carried out for H&R Block in May looking into lost tax deductions.

The survey reveals we’re a nation of conservatives when it comes to making a claim, with 40 per cent of Australians saying they would not claim on anything they were not 100 per cent sure should be part of their deductions.

Further to this, 43 per cent said they skipped a claim because they were unsure whether it was compliant.

Only 1 in 20 taxpayers describe themselves as “risk-takers” and are among the younger generation.

More than one in 10 (11 per cent) of 18-34s say they claim on items that you “maybe shouldn’t” compared with only 1 per cent of 55-74s.

Previous research has shown the average Australian misses out on an estimated $426 of unclaimed tax each year – or $1.65 billion nationwide.

ATO figures show about two million taxpayers are audited every year.

As at 26 August, the ATO had received more than 7.2 million lodgements, an increase of 16 per cent on the previous year or more than one million more.

A total of $10 billion has been refunded to Australian taxpayers (as at August 15), a rise of more than $2 billion from this time last year.

More than four million refunds have already been sent out.

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