How to file your tax return and get a faster refund

The average Aussie is due $2600 in tax refunds – but there’s a big mistake you might make which could cause weeks of delays.

With tax season just around the corner as the end of financial year beckons, experts have weighed in on how to get your tax refund back as quickly and painlessly as possible.

And the advice may surprise you.

Andrew Gardiner, senior tax manager at Corporate Seminars Australia, preached patience and preparation.

Even if you’re desperate to get your hands on your tax refund – which is a whopping $2600 for the average ‘Pay As You Go’ Australian – Mr Gardiner advised everyone to “take a big deep breath”.

“People need to give themselves a couple of weeks, to allow for data to be transferred,” he told news.com.au.

“The beauty of that is that it saves the tax payer time.”

If you rush in you’re “far more likely to get a ‘please explain’ from the ATO (Australian Taxation Office)” which will seriously delay when you can get your money.

RELATED: Read all our tax tips here

It’s tax time. Here’s how you can get your money back faster.

HOW CAN I GET MY TAX REFUND FASTER?

Experts advocate for the three Ps – preparation, patience and proof.

Preparation

Preparation is key when it comes to speeding up the tax process, according to Mr Gardiner.

“The tax system is relatively complicated (so) the more prepared you are, the faster the process is, which should ultimately translate into accessing the refund faster," he said.

Although you can lodge your taxes any time from July 1, 2021, he said to spend the first two weeks of the new financial year gathering your documentation – which includes your tax file number, time sheets, pay slips, receipts and usage logs, etc.

To make this easier, he advised keeping a record of everything throughout the financial year, to avoid time-wasting.

Preparation also includes ensuring your accounts on the government’s online portal are up to date.

Anyone planning to lodge their own tax application should get their myGov account sorted out before the new financial year.

They need to log into their myGov account and link to the ATO well before tax time arrives and answer two questions about Centrelink payments and bank account details.

If your account is incomplete, you’ll need to phone the ATO to get a unique linking code to link the two accounts.

The ATO recommends ensuring your accounts are linked in June, to save yourself time.

From July 14, your employer will release your annual Pay As You Go payment summary.

Employers have to disclose employees PAYG information to the ATO no later than August 14.

It’s best to wait for your employer to mark your income statement as ‘tax ready’ before you prepare and lodge your tax return.

Once that’s done, you can lodge your tax application any time.

It takes around 12 business days to receive a tax refund, according to the ATO.

Paper returns are processed manually, taking up to 10 weeks, so it’s advised to do everything online.

RELATED: Six ways to get the most money back from your tax return

The average Aussie is due $2600 in tax refunds.

Patience

On their website, the ATO states that it starts “full processing” of tax returns on July 7, 2021, with refund payouts to begin on July 16.

However, experts have warned not to lodge your tax too early.

Ben Johnston from Sydney accounting firm Johnston Advisory previously told news.com.au that people who lodge early can face head aches later down the track.

“People have got to be really careful that they don’t get in too soon,” Mr Johnston said.

“There is a risk that people who file too early will have to amend their returns or they could end up being audited by the ATO.”

The ATO warned impatient tax payers “if your tax return requires manual checks processing it may take longer”.

To avoid manual checks and audits which will ultimately delay your payout, the ATO recommended not confusing their system if you can help it.

If you lodge your tax return twice, if you make a change while it is being processed or if you lodge tax returns for several years at once, among other things, then you should expect delays.

They also warned tax payers to double check the lodgement, as the incorrect information or out-of-date details will get between you and your payout.

RELATED: Big changes coming to laws from July 1

Don’t fill out your taxes on paper, otherwise you’ll be waiting a lot longer.

Proof

The final step in a speedy tax refund is proof, according to Mr Gardiner, in case you get audited for your tax-deductible claims later on.

You can claim all sorts of things on tax, including purchases of shoes, uniforms and even handbags (just not the Gucci variety).

The biggest difference expected for the 2020-2021 financial year compared to previous years is work from home expenses.

With the entire financial year taking place after Covid-19 hit, time spent working from home is expected to be higher than any other year.

Known as the “short cut” method, tax payers who worked from home can claim back 80 cents per work hour for all their running expenses, instead of calculating costs for specific running expenses as taxpayers would under normal circumstances.

“The biggest item that will be cause for frustration will be the issue of those that work from home,” Mr Gardiner said.

“The numbers now are sky-high.

“People need to have the relevant information on how long they worked, how many days, the important questions, etc.

“(The ATO) will ask for some level of proof to value that amount of time.”

Time sheets are a must-have for situations like this, he said.

Mr Gardiner also warned that people who usually travel to work might not be able to chalk that up to a tax-deductible expense.

“Anyone claiming car expenses will need to consider whether the use of their car for work purposes has changed,” he said.

“The tax payer (might be) entitled to the claim, (but they’ve) got to make sure they have proof.”

You will have to wait at least two weeks for your tax refunds.

How do I file my tax return?

Once you’ve done all your prep, linked your ATO account to your myGov one and received the PAYG slip from your employer, it’s time to hop online and get started on lodging your tax return.

Jump to the myTax website, available on your myGov account, which should by now be linked with the ATO.

You can lodge your tax return on any device – computer, smartphone or tablet.

From the online services home page, select the ‘Prepare’ link.

Next, select the boxes relevant to you including your income, investments and any government payments.

The check boxes should already be pre-filled as your employer and bank should have shared information with the ATO.

You will then be asked to review this information to make sure it’s correct.

You can always save your return and go back to it later.

Before you lodge your return, myTax will estimate how much you owe or are owed based on your information.

You have until November 1 to file your tax return – usually you have until October 31, but this year that falls on a Sunday so you have an extra day.

You then have three weeks to pay the ATO if you owe them money, from the date of lodgement.

If your tax is being organised through a tax agent, you still have to file your return by November 1.

However, the tax agent won’t lodge your claims until May 16 next year.