It’s tax time, and it couldn’t come soon enough with multiple states now in lockdown many people now have more time on their hands to take care of ‘life admin’ as they’re working now from home.
So how much can you expect to get back?
The average Australian receive nearly $3000 in refunds, with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) having given $30.53 billion in tax refunds in the current 2020-2021 financial year as of June 17.
That’s an average of $2,820 per Australian, however, Barefoot Investor, Scott Pape, has warned that 74% of Australians are due to lose $400 for using a tax agent, who are known to typically charge $400.
However, individuals with a fairly simply and straight forward tax return should lodge their return themselves online.
“Now if you’re a business owner, an accountant can be invaluable” Pape said and “same if you have complicated tax structures like family trusts.”
However, the average wage earner should kick those accountant agencies to the curb and lodge their own return, and the best part? It’s fast, free and safe.
And it’s called eTax.
The eTax website is available with a MyGov account. Simply open an account, connect your tax account to MyGov and you’re all set.
It’ll prompt you with the information it needs, the flow is easy to follow and at the end you’re given an estimate on how much you can expect to receive based on the information you’ve provided.
There’s also a “short cut” method for tax payers who have worked from home where you can claim back 80 cents per work hour for all their running expenses instead of calculating specific costs, if you want.
Tax returns can take up to 10 business days to be deposited into your nominated account and you’re able to file your tax returns as of the 1st of July 2021.