(ATO guidelines)## Who This Guide Is For
TL;DR — Lodging your Australian tax return through ATO myTax is free, takes about 30–60 minutes, and most refunds arrive within two weeks. You'll need a myGov account linked to the ATO, your tax file number, and details of your income and deductions.
This guide is for Australian residents who want to lodge their FY2025–26 tax return themselves using ATO myTax — whether it's your first return or your tenth. It walks through every screen you'll see, the deductions you should and shouldn't claim, and what happens after you click submit.
If you have a complex return — investment property, business income, capital gains, or foreign income — you can still use this guide as a baseline, but you may want to engage a registered tax agent for those parts.
Before You Start: What You'll Need
Gather these before you log in:
- Your tax file number (TFN) — already linked to your myGov ATO account if you've lodged before
- Bank account details for your refund (BSB + account number)
- Income statements from each employer (pre-filled by mid-late July via Single Touch Payroll)
- Bank interest, dividends, distributions (also pre-filled, usually finalised by mid-August)
- Receipts and records for any deductions you plan to claim — work expenses, donations, professional fees, etc.
- Private health insurance statement (if you have hospital cover) — pre-filled by July
- Proof of identity documents (only on first myGov sign-up)
If you've used AusTax AI year-round to upload receipts, you can export your professional deduction summary as a one-page PDF that maps directly to every myTax field.
When to Lodge: ATO Timeline for FY2025–26
According to the ATO, the FY2025–26 financial year runs 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. The lodgement window opens on 1 July 2026.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2026 | ATO myTax opens for FY2025–26 returns |
| Late July 2026 | Most employer income statements pre-filled via Single Touch Payroll |
| Mid-August 2026 | Most bank, dividend, and health insurance data pre-filled |
| 31 October 2026 | Deadline for self-lodgement |
| Various | Extended deadlines if lodging through a registered tax agent |
Don't rush to lodge on 1 July. Pre-fill data is incomplete until late July. Lodging early often means amending later when an employer's STP data finalises or when bank interest data lands.
Step-by-Step: Lodging via myTax
Step 1: Sign in to myGov and link the ATO
Go to my.gov.au and sign in with your myGov username and password. If this is your first time, you'll be guided through identity verification using two ATO-acceptable documents (Medicare card + driver licence is the easiest combo).
Once signed in, scroll to the Linked services section. If "Australian Taxation Office" isn't already there, click Link services and follow the prompts. Linking takes about 5 minutes the first time.
Step 2: Open your tax return for FY2025–26
Click Australian Taxation Office in your myGov dashboard. From the ATO portal, choose Tax → Lodgments → Income tax → Lodge. Select 2025–26 and click Start return.
myTax remembers your last return. If anything looks unfamiliar, the screens follow the same order as last year — just with updated FY2025–26 tax brackets (Stage 3 cuts) baked in.
Step 3: Verify your pre-filled income
myTax pre-fills your income from employers, banks, share registries, and Centrelink — anything reported under Single Touch Payroll or third-party data matching. Your job here is to verify, not retype.
Scroll through each section:
- Salary or wages — check each employer entry matches your final payslip totals
- Interest — verify the bank, account, and amount; missing accounts must be added manually
- Dividends — check franking credits are included if applicable
- Government payments — JobSeeker, Family Tax Benefit, paid parental leave appear here
If something is missing or wrong, click Add and enter the details manually using your records.
Direct answer: If your employer's pre-fill data is missing, contact them — they may have a delayed STP report. Lodging without their data risks an ATO amendment notice later.
Step 4: Add your work-related deductions
This is the section that determines how much extra refund you can claim. The ATO accepts deductions for expenses you paid yourself, that directly relate to earning your income, and that you have records to prove.
Work-from-home (WFH) — For FY2025–26 the ATO fixed rate is 70 cents per hour worked from home. Multiply your hours by 70¢. For 800 hours, that's $560. The fixed rate covers electricity, internet, phone, stationery, and depreciation of small office equipment — you cannot claim those separately if using this method.
Vehicle expenses (cents-per-km method) — Claim 88 cents per kilometre for work-related travel, capped at 5,000 km per year. No receipts required, but you must keep a reasonable record (diary or app) showing how the figure was calculated. Maximum claim: $4,400.
Vehicle expenses (logbook method) — Higher claim potential, but requires a 12-week logbook plus all fuel, servicing, and registration receipts for the year. Use this only if your work-use percentage is high.
Tools and equipment — Items costing $300 or less are immediately deductible in full. Items above $300 must be depreciated over their effective life (typically 3–4 years).
Self-education — Course fees, textbooks, stationery, and travel for courses directly related to your current role. Not deductible if the course leads to a new career.
Uniforms and laundry — Compulsory uniforms, occupation-specific clothing (e.g. nurse scrubs, chef whites), and protective clothing. Up to $150 of laundry without receipts if you self-launder.
Union and professional fees — Fully deductible: union fees, professional registration (AHPRA, ACS, CPA, Engineers Australia, etc.), and association memberships.
For occupation-specific deductions, see our detailed guides — WFH deductions, work-related expenses, or your specific role (nurses, IT, teachers, tradespeople, accountants, real estate, police).
Step 5: Add other deductions and offsets
Often missed but legitimate:
- Charitable donations — to Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) charities only. Keep the receipt; school building funds and many religious organisations are not DGRs
- Income protection insurance — premiums you pay personally (not through super)
- Personal super contributions — if you've made deductible contributions, lodge a notice of intent with your super fund first
- Tax agent fees from last year — fully deductible this year
- Cost of managing tax affairs — bank fees on a tax-related account, ATO interest, etc.
Step 6: Review the summary and lodge
myTax shows a final summary: total income, total deductions, taxable income, tax payable (or refund). Check the bottom line carefully:
- Refund estimate appears with a green tick
- Tax owed appears with a payable amount and due date
- HECS/HELP repayment is calculated automatically based on your repayment income (FY2025–26 threshold starts at $67,000)
For a quick second-opinion check before lodging, run the AusTax AI free FY2025–26 calculator with the same numbers — if myTax and the calculator agree to within $50–100, you're almost certainly correct.
Click Lodge. You'll get an instant on-screen confirmation and an email receipt. Keep both.
Step 7: Wait for your refund
According to the ATO, most myTax refunds are processed within 2 weeks if there are no issues. Refunds are paid by direct deposit to the bank account you nominated.
If your return is selected for review, processing can take 4–8 weeks. The ATO will contact you only if they need additional information.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
| Mistake | Why It's Wrong | What to Do Instead |
|---|---|---|
| Lodging on 1 July before pre-fill is ready | You'll miss income items and may need to amend | Wait until at least 25 July; for full pre-fill, wait until mid-August |
| Claiming WFH fixed rate AND separate phone/internet bills | The 70¢/hr fixed rate already includes those — double-claiming is a red flag | Choose ONE method: fixed rate OR actual cost |
| Estimating deductions without records | The ATO can request proof up to 5 years later | Keep receipts, logbooks, and digital records for every claim |
| Forgetting bank interest from a small account | Pre-fill misses term deposits and joint accounts sometimes | Manually add any account that paid you interest, no matter how small |
| Claiming personal expenses as work-related | Coffee runs, regular work clothes, and commuting are not deductible | Only claim costs that directly relate to earning your income |
| Skipping private health insurance details | If you held hospital cover, omitting it can wrongly trigger Medicare Levy Surcharge | Pre-fill usually catches this; verify the entry exists |
What Happens After You Lodge
Within minutes you'll receive a lodgement confirmation email. Within 2 weeks (typically) you'll receive a Notice of Assessment showing:
- Your final taxable income and tax payable
- Any HECS/HELP repayment
- Refund amount and the date it was paid (or amount owing and due date)
If the ATO disagrees with anything you claimed, you'll get a request for further information first — they don't immediately reject claims. Respond promptly with your records.
If you discover an error after lodging, you can amend through myTax for up to 2 years (4 years for some items).
Records to Keep
The ATO requires you to keep records for 5 years from the date you lodged. That means receipts for FY2025–26 should be kept until 31 October 2031.
Acceptable formats:
- Original paper receipts
- Photos or scans of receipts (the ATO accepts digital copies)
- Bank or credit card statements showing the transaction
- Logbooks (vehicle, hours of WFH)
- Invoices and tax invoices (for claims over $82.50)
If you upload your receipts to AusTax AI year-round, they're stored securely and timestamped — meeting the ATO's record-keeping requirement automatically.
When You Should Use a Tax Agent Instead
Self-lodging via myTax is the right choice for most people, but consider a registered tax agent if:
- You have rental property with multiple expenses or capital works
- You're a sole trader or contractor with business income
- You sold investments and have capital gains tax (CGT) to calculate
- You earned foreign income or moved between Australia and another country during the year
- You inherited a business or received a deceased estate distribution
- Your return was previously selected for audit
Tax agents charge $150–$500+ depending on complexity. Their fee is fully deductible the next financial year. They also get an extended lodgement deadline (often into the following year) compared to the 31 October self-lodgement cut-off.
Quick Checklist — Before You Click Lodge
- Pre-filled income matches your payslips and bank statements
- All deductions have a receipt or record backing them
- WFH hours don't double-count phone/internet (fixed rate vs actual)
- Vehicle km records support the cents-per-km claim (5,000 km cap)
- Private health insurance details verified (hospital cover only)
- HECS/HELP indicator correct
- Bank account for refund is current and correct
- Final refund/owing figure matches your own calculation within $50–100
Need Help With Your Tax Return?
Complex situation? a registered tax agent (see the directory) Our partner agents review every detail for accuracy and compliance.
Stuck on a specific myTax question?
These short guides each answer one screen or one question inside myTax — jump straight to the one blocking you:
- Income statement "not tax ready" — can you still lodge?
- Which private health tax claim code (A–F) to pick
- Pre-fill data missing (wages / bank interest)
- D1 work-related car expenses — cents/km vs logbook
- The Medicare levy questions, answered
- How your HECS/HELP debt shows up and is calculated
- Why the myTax estimate differs from your final NOA
- "Under review" — how long it takes and what triggers it
- How to read every line of your Notice of Assessment
- Filling in the capital gains section
- Which occupation code to enter and why it matters
- Two jobs — how income statements and the tax-free threshold combine
*Disclaimer: This is general information only and does not constitute personal tax advice. Consult a registered tax agent for advice tailored to your specific situation. Always verify against the latest ATO guidelines at ato.gov.au.*
*Disclaimer: This guide provides general information about lodging a tax return in Australia. It is not personal tax advice. Your individual circumstances may require advice from a registered tax agent. AusTax AI is not a registered tax agent.*