How to Check the Progress of Your Tax Return

Posted by Tax Advisor on 18 May, 2012

After lodging with the ATO (Australian Taxation Office), it can feel like you’re left in the dark regarding the status of your return. We’ve all heard the horror stories of people waiting 2, 4, even 7 months for their refund. This wait can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you need the money to pay the bills.

Now the ATO’s Progress of return enquiry tool lets you check the status of the income tax return you lodged for the immediately previous financial year. Instead of waiting on the phone to speak with a live representative, you can get a quick update on the status of your return online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Unfortunately, the tool is not comprehensive. Only individuals can check the status of their returns – it is not available to companies, trusts, and partnerships. Nor can you use it to check the status of an amendment to a tax return.

In order to conduct a search using the Progress of return enquiry tool, you will need your tax file number, which you can find on your income tax notice of assessment, correspondence you have received from the ATO, your payment summary (from your employer), or from your tax agent. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 2011 taxes, ATO, refunds
Category: How To, Tax News, Tax Tips and Hints
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The ATO Annual Report for 2010-2011

Posted by Tax Advisor on 2 November, 2011

First and foremost we at ELodge would like to congratulate all Australians on making it through another tax season. It’s always nice to breath a sigh of relief on November 1st knowing that you won’t have to deal with the ATO again until July of the next year.

We would like to thank everyone who lodged their taxes with us. It means a lot that you trusted ELodge to take care of this unavoidable part of your financial life. And for those of you who didn’t lodge with us, we’d love you to consider ELodge.com when the 2012 season rolls around.

For those of you already suffering from tax withdrawal, here’s a final end-of-season ATO fix. The agency recently released its Annual Report 2010-2011 to parliament on its website and you can check it out to see how they did for the financial year.

The annual report helps keep the ATO accountable to the Australian people and that’s a good thing. It also gives an idea of the direction the agency will be heading in the years to come. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 2011 taxes, ATO
Category: Tax News
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31 October: When Tax Returns 2011 Must Be Lodged in Australia

Posted by Tax Advisor on 8 October, 2011

Don’t forget, the deadline when tax returns must be lodged with the Australian Taxation Office is 31 October 2011. You can lodge after the deadline with a registered tax agent, but you have to remember to register as a client with that tax agent before 31 October in order to lodge after the deadline. Make sure to contact your agent before 31 October to qualify for their later lodgement date.

Another useful tip to remember is that your tax return covers the financial year, NOT the calendar year. The financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June of the following year, and then you have from 1 July to 31 October to lodge your return. So by this upcoming deadline, 31 October 2011, you need to lodge your tax return 2011, which covers the financial year 1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011. Also useful to note is that you can lodge your tax returns before the end of the year, but only if you definitely know your income and are leaving Australia permanently.

In this era of globalization, lodging taxes has become even more complicated, so it’s useful to note who has to report what. For all of you Australian residents with a global business reach, when tax returns are lodged you are required to report your worldwide income to the ATO. And if you are a foreign resident, you only need to lodge a tax return if you have income taxable in Australia. This does not include income from which non-resident withholding tax has been deducted.

If you find that you can’t lodge by 31 October or the lodgement date of your tax agent, don’t panic. Phone the Australian Taxation Office right away at 13 28 61 to see if you can arrange to lodge at a later date. Try to avoid lodging an incomplete tax return, as your tax return is only considered lodged on the date that the ATO gets your completed form. When tax returns are sent in incomplete, the ATO very well may send it back to you to complete, and then it will only be considered lodged when they receive the newly completed form. So don’t rush to turn in an incomplete form before the deadline. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 2011 taxes, tax deadline
Category: How To
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Leaving to work in L.A.? Here’s what you need to know taxwise

Posted by Tax Advisor on 2 September, 2011

You’ve unfolded the large, clumsy map of Los Angeles. Could have just googled it but, hey, there’s something about running your finger over the spaghetti like tangle of freeways and mythical boulevards – Santa Monica, Ventura, San Bernardino, Sunset, Hollywood – that sends a thrill though your bones.

You’ve angled the blinds just so. The Qantas ticket sits snug between the pages of your much thumbed copy of Raymond Chandler’s Collected Stories. Your E-3 visa is all set to go. The old-fashioned glass beams gold with bourbon.

Before you trade the land down under for La La Land and head for that plum job in America, you should consider your tax situation. Here are some important things you should pay attention to.

To be or not to be… an Australian resident

The first question you should ask yourself is the following. Will you remain an Australian resident for tax purposes during your time of your employment in LA or will you become a foreign resident instead? Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: residency issues
Category: How To
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Do you need to lodge a tax return for 2011? 24 Reasons you must

Posted by Tax Advisor on 1 August, 2011

Just over a month deep into tax season and you’re not sure whether you should plunge in and lodge that return? Here are two scores of reasons you need to. We’ve grouped them so you shouldn’t have to wade through the whole list.

Australian Residents

If you were an Australian resident during 2010-11 here are 5 reasons you must lodge:

You earned more than $6000 and you were a resident for the full year. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 2011 taxes, why to lodge
Category: Tax Tips and Hints
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What’s New for the 2010-11 Tax Lodgment Season?

Posted by Tax Advisor on 1 July, 2011

Another tax season is about to begin, and even though the major changes outlined in the 2011 budget have yet to become law there are a few exemptions and deductions in effect for the 2010-11 income year that you should take note of as you prepare to lodge your tax return.

We provide a summary below. Once again, we’ve made sure to integrate these developments in our ELodge system to ensure your lodgment with us goes as smoothly as possible.

ATO updates for 2011

Tax exemptions for payments made following natural disasters in 2010-11.

The Government has introduced legislation under which the following payments would be free of tax: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 2011 taxes, ATO
Category: Tax News, Tax Tips and Hints
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Lodge Your Tax Return and Beat the Deadline

Posted by Tax Advisor on 31 October, 2010

Sunday, the 31st of October is the official deadline for lodging your 2009-2010 tax return. This is true whether you plan on lodging electronically, or if you decide to paper lodge. All individual 2009-2010 returns lodged after the 31st of October may be subject to FTL (Failing to Lodge) penalties and interest on tax owed, so if you owe any tax to the ATO you should lodge as quickly as possible. Lodge your tax return prior to midnight through ELodge.com.au to avoid these complications.

Tags: 2010 taxes, ATO, tax deadline
Category: Tax Tips and Hints
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8-10 Day Refunds NOT Guaranteed as ATO Experiences Delays

Posted by Tax Advisor on 22 July, 2010

UPDATE: The ATO has announced in July 2010 that many taxpayers’ refunds will take up to 30 days from the date of electronic lodgement.
We regret the inconvenience this has caused for many of our customers, and we are sorry to say that we are unable to influence the ATO to provide your refunds more promptly. Unfortunately, while some taxpayers are still receiving timely refunds, these ATO delays may affect any particular tax return and we are unable to reliably predict whether any individual’s refund will be delayed.

Are you experiencing financial hardship, and need a quicker refund?
You should fill out the financial hardship income tax refund request form on the ATO’s website. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 2010 taxes, ATO, refunds
Category: Tax News, Tax Tips and Hints
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What’s New for the 2009-2010 Tax Lodgment Season?

Posted by Tax Advisor on 30 June, 2010

What you need to know before you lodge online.

The tax season is upon us, and it’s time to lodge your 2009-2010 tax return. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has made some major changes to the tax code, which you need to be aware of in order to get the most out of your tax return. ELodge has provided the following breakdown of the biggest changed to keep you informed – and we’ve incorporated all these developments into our own system, so you can lodge your tax return online worry-free, even if you’re unsure how these updates affect you.

All the major ATO updates for 2010:

Baby Bonus removed: The Baby Bonus will NOT be offered on 2009-2010 returns. However, if you did not claim the Baby Bonus for a previous year in which you were eligible, you may still claim the Baby Bonus on a prior year tax return, in some cases, until 30 June 2014. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 2010 taxes, ATO
Category: Tax News, Tax Tips and Hints
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Lodgment Deadline 2009 – Beat the Deadline and Avoid Penalties

Posted by Tax Advisor on 28 October, 2009

Saturday, October 31st is the official deadline for lodging your 2009 tax return. This is true whether you plan on lodging electronically, or if you decide to paper lodge. Although people using agents to lodge their returns may have a longer submission period; all individual 2009 returns lodged after the 31st of October may be subject to FTL (Failing to Lodge) penalties.

As of this time, the FTL penalties are calculated at the rate of one penalty unit every 28 days or part thereof that your return is overdue. Each penalty unit is currently valued at $110. The penalty unit value can be offset by a multiple of 2 or 5 depending on size tests for higher income taxpayers. This means that if you make more money and you do not lodge on time, your penalties may be either 2 or 5 times higher than that of others. For more details regarding FTL penalties, you can also refer to Chapter 98 of the ATO Receivables Policy.

The period of time that the return is overdue will be calculated from the day the return is due (The October 31st deadline in this case) to the day BEFORE the return is received. The amount will be increased until it has reached the maximum penalty allowable by law. The maximum penalty will be reached if the return is lodged more than 112 days after the lodgment deadline. This means that there can be four penalty units applied to any taxpayer.

Tags: 2009 taxes, tax deadline
Category: Tax Tips and Hints
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