Guide — 2025–26 financial year
Tax Return Checklist 2025–26
Everything you need to gather before lodging. Use the tax return calculator to estimate your refund or bill before you sit down with myTax.
Tip
Personal details
Tax File Number (TFN)
Bank account details for your refund (BSB and account number)
ABN if you have any freelance or sole trader income
Private health insurance details (insurer name, membership level, days covered)
Income — employment
Income statement from all employers (appears in myTax from late July, or on your last payslip)
PAYG withheld amount for the year (pre-filled in myTax from employer income statements)
Any allowances paid by your employer (travel, uniform, tool allowances)
Lump sum payments (redundancy, ETP, unused leave on termination)
Income — investments
Bank account interest statements (pre-filled in myTax for most major banks)
Share dividend statements showing cash dividends and franking credits
ETF distribution statements showing income type breakdown (Australian income, foreign income, franking credits)
Managed fund distribution statements
Rental income records — all rent received across the full year
Income — other
Government payments: Centrelink, Family Tax Benefit, Youth Allowance (pre-filled)
Foreign income (interest, employment income, pensions)
Side hustle or freelance income — all payments received, including cash
Trust distributions (from family trust, estate, or investment trust)
Deductions — work-related
Total work-from-home hours (diary, timesheet, or roster) — claim 67c/hour
Union or professional association fees — receipt or annual statement
Professional subscriptions and licences relevant to your work
Self-education and training costs directly related to your current job
Work uniforms with a logo or protective clothing — receipts
Tools and equipment purchased for work — receipts
Work-related phone calls — percentage of total bill
Home office equipment (desk, chair, webcam) — depreciation schedule or immediate deduction if under $300
Deductions — vehicles and travel
Logbook (must cover 12 weeks and be less than 5 years old) OR odometer readings for work-related kilometres
Total kilometres driven for work purposes if using cents-per-km method (max 5,000km at 88c/km for 2025–26)
Toll receipts and parking costs for work-related travel (not home-to-work)
Deductions — investment property
Total rental income for the year (all rent received)
Council rates, water rates — council notice or annual statement
Landlord insurance premium — invoice
Property management fees — end-of-year statement from property manager
Repairs and maintenance receipts
Loan interest — annual interest summary from lender
Depreciation schedule from quantity surveyor (if applicable)
Strata levies — levy notice
Deductions — investments (shares/ETFs)
Brokerage fees paid during the year (deductible if you have investment income)
Investment adviser or financial planner fees (only if ongoing, not for a new investment plan)
Margin loan interest if applicable
Subscription costs for investment research tools or data services
Capital gains and losses
Records of all asset sales during the year: shares, ETF units, property, cryptocurrency
Original purchase records for any assets sold (date, price, brokerage)
Carry-forward capital losses from prior years (shown on last year's Notice of Assessment)
Date of purchase for all assets sold — must have held 12+ months for 50% CGT discount (until 30 June 2027)
HECS-HELP
HECS debt balance from your myGov account or last Notice of Assessment
Any voluntary HECS payments made during the year
Check whether your employer withheld HECS correctly — especially if you changed jobs or had investment income
Other offsets and levies
Private health insurance certificate (required to avoid Medicare Levy Surcharge if income > $93,000)
Details of any franking credit refund from prior year not yet received
Spouse income if claiming spouse tax offset or Medicare Levy reduction
Important
Common mistakes that cost Australians money
✗ Not claiming WFH deductions
Keep a record of hours worked from home during the year. The 67c/hour fixed rate requires a time record — a timesheet, calendar entry, or diary. At 1,000 hours/year that's $670 in deductions.
✗ Forgetting to include franking credits
Check your broker or share registry for annual dividend statements that show franking credits. These appear pre-filled in myTax but easy to miss if you're using a tax agent — make sure they're included.
✗ Not carrying forward prior year capital losses
Capital losses don't expire. If you had losses in prior years they carry forward and offset future gains. Check your last Notice of Assessment for the carry-forward amount.
✗ Claiming the full phone bill as a work deduction
You can only claim the work-related percentage of your phone bill. Keep a 4-week log of calls showing what proportion is work-related, then apply that percentage to the annual bill.
✗ Claiming home-to-work travel
Travel from home to your regular place of work is private — not deductible. Travel between two workplaces, or from work to a client site, is deductible.
Frequently asked questions
When is the tax return deadline in Australia?
The standard deadline for self-lodging via myTax is 31 October. If you use a registered tax agent, the deadline typically extends to 15 May the following year. You can open myTax from 1 July, but waiting until late July means most employer income statements, bank interest, and dividend data will be pre-filled by the ATO.
What if I miss the October deadline?
Lodge as soon as possible to minimise any failure-to-lodge penalty. The ATO charges a penalty of $313 for every 28 days the return is overdue, capped at $1,565. If you're expecting a refund, there's no penalty — but you can't receive your refund until you lodge. Register with a tax agent before 31 October even if you can't lodge yet — this protects you under the tax agent lodgement program.
Do I need to lodge a tax return if I earned very little?
You may need to lodge even if your income is below the tax-free threshold. You must lodge if you had tax withheld from any income (to get a refund), had HECS repayments due, had a spouse for Medicare levy surcharge purposes, or received government payments. The ATO has a 'Do I need to lodge?' tool on their website.
Can I claim home office expenses if my employer doesn't require me to work from home?
No. To claim work-from-home expenses, you must be required to work from home — not just doing so by choice. You must also keep records of your hours. The ATO fixed rate of 67 cents/hour covers electricity, internet, phone calls, and stationery. You cannot also claim those individual costs separately — they're bundled into the 67c rate.
What records do I need to keep?
Keep records for 5 years from the date you lodge. This includes receipts and invoices for deductions, bank statements, dividend statements, share purchase/sale records (for CGT), and property income and expense records. The ATO's myDeductions app lets you photograph and categorise receipts during the year — much easier than reconstructing records in July.