Tax Accountants: directory of firms

Self-lodgers have one date: 31 October. Clients of a registered agent sit on the agent's lodgment program instead, and the ATO publishes those dates by client type. For individuals and trusts, returns are due on 31 October where a prior year return was outstanding at 30 June, on 31 March for clients whose latest return produced a tax liability of 20,000 AUD or more, and on 15 May for everyone remaining, with a concessional 5 June date available in defined cases.

Early July is not automatically the best time to lodge. Employers have until 14 July to make their Single Touch Payroll finalisation declaration, and the ATO advises employees to wait until their income statement shows as tax ready. Bank interest, dividends and health insurance details also pre-fill over the first weeks of the new income year.

The agent confirms your identity and links you to their practice, then pulls the ATO pre-fill data. You supply what pre-fill cannot see: work-related expenses with their evidence, rental statements, contract notes for anything sold, private health details if they have not loaded, and any foreign income.

The agent prepares the return, sends it for your review, and lodges only after you have approved it. You should see the figures before lodgement, and the declaration you sign is yours. The ATO's myDeductions tool in the ATO app is a reasonable way to keep receipts through the year and hand them over in one go.

Unlodged returns compound. Having a prior year return outstanding at 30 June pushes the current return back to the 31 October date even on an agent's program, and failure to lodge attracts penalties and interest on any amount owing.

The right move is to get the oldest year lodged first and to talk to the ATO or your agent about the debt separately from the lodgement. Lodging is what stops the problem growing; a payment arrangement deals with what has already accrued. Leaving both alone is the only approach that reliably makes things worse.

Only a registered tax agent may charge a fee to prepare and lodge your return. The ATO points taxpayers to the TPB register to find one or to check one, and notes that registration means the Board has tested the practitioner's qualifications and experience and holds them to the profession's code of conduct.

Registration pathways differ by background: an accounting degree plus board approved courses and a year of full-time relevant experience in the past five years, a diploma plus two years, a law qualification with relevant experience, or eight years of experience in the past ten for the work experience and association pathways. Whichever route, the register shows the result and any conditions attached to it.