If you or someone you know prepares their own tax return, it is timely to warn them that time is quickly running out. Tax returns must be lodged before 31 October for the taxpayer to avoid a late lodgement penalty issued by the ATO. Deadline for self-preparers looms large
The penalty is currently set at $180, increasing by a further $180 for each successive 28 day period that the return remains outstanding, up to a maximum of $900. Note also that interest can be applied to this if it remains outstanding.
However that deadline is also important for another reason.
If a taxpayer wants to enjoy the extended May 2018 deadline for lodging their tax return (which is the case if this is done via a tax practitioner), they must be registered with that tax agent before that same 31 October cut-off date.
And it’s also prudent to not leave approaching a tax agent until the last minute, especially if the taxpayer is using an agent for the first time or is switching to a different tax practitioner, as they must be “on the books” of the agent before the deadline.
Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson urges taxpayers not to put off doing a tax return if they expect to have a debt. “We know some people put off lodging because they think they’ll owe money, and they don’t realise that the payment will be due on 21 November regardless of when they lodge,” she says.
Excuses excuses For a bit of light relief, Anderson also shares some of the excuses ATO officers have heard from taxpayers on why they lodged late.
“My paperwork flew out the car window when I was on my way to see the accountant.”“I have a condition that only allows me to work 30 minutes each week, so I couldn’t lodge.”“My accountant has gone to prison. He is working on it, but it’s taking longer than normal because he can’t access a computer.”“My ex-wife burnt everything belonging to me, including all of my tax records.”
She also shares the story of a taxpayer who was asked why he hadn’t lodged returns for years between 2008 to 2015, and he said it was because he suffered a back injury in 2016.
Another taxpayer said he hadn’t lodged his return on time because his father had died recently. “The ATO officer was sympathetic until case notes revealed that he had used the same excuse more than a year before.”
Statistics to chew on The latest tax time data update from the ATO has some interesting trends.
Compared to the same time last year (October 2), there have been 192,133 more self-preparers using myTax.Lodgments through the practitioner lodgement service (PLS) is up by 1,243,704 returns.Lodgments through the ELS is down by a similar amount (1,256,736 returns).Paper returns are still being lodged. So far 129,462 taxpayers have lodged on paper (mainly individuals), but this is down by 38,130.The average refund is sitting at $2,893.The ATO’s telephony service for practitioner calls showed an average wait time of 33 seconds, and an average handle time of 13 minutes.
Deadline for self-preparers looms large Deadline for self-preparers looms large Deadline for self-preparers looms large Deadline for self-preparers looms large Deadline for self-preparers looms large Deadline for self-preparers looms large
# [ATO], [deadline], [late penalty], [tax retuns], [tax time]
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