How to Lodge Your Tax Return Online in Australia with myTax: A Step-by-Step Guide

Every year, millions of Australians lodge their tax return online instead of paying an agent or filling in a paper form. The Australian Taxation Office's free service is called myTax, and it lives inside your myGov account. If your tax affairs are fairly straightforward, salary, bank interest and a few deductions, it can take under an hour once your information is ready.

Before you start: what you need

You need three things before you open myTax: a myGov account, that account linked to the Australian Taxation Office, and your tax file number. If you have never linked the ATO to myGov, sign in to myGov, go to the link a service section and choose the Australian Taxation Office. The ATO will ask for details from a notice of assessment or a payment summary from a previous year, so have one handy.

You also need your income details for the year. The Australian tax year runs from 1 July to 30 June. Your employer sends your income information to the ATO, and banks report interest, but none of this appears instantly. Pre-fill data is generally ready from late July, and the ATO recommends waiting until it is complete before lodging. Lodging too early is the most common mistake, because income can be missed and the return may need to be amended later.

Gather your records before you begin: payment summaries if your employer still issues them, bank interest and dividend statements, and receipts for anything you plan to claim. You need to keep tax records for five years from the date you lodge.

Step 1: Sign in to myGov and open myTax

Sign in to your myGov account and select the Australian Taxation Office from your linked services. Once inside ATO online services, choose the option to prepare and lodge a tax return, then select myTax for the relevant tax year. The system will ask you to confirm your personal details and whether you were an Australian resident for tax purposes for the whole year. Answer carefully, because residency affects your tax-free threshold and your Medicare levy. The service walks through each section in order, and you can save your progress and come back later. Nothing is lodged until you reach the final step and confirm it.

Step 2: Check the pre-filled income

MyTax fills in much of your income for you. Salary and wages, bank interest, dividends, government payments and private health insurance details usually appear automatically once the organisations involved have reported them. Your job is to check every line, not to trust it blindly.

Go through each income section one at a time. Check that your salary matches your final payslip for the year, and that every bank account that paid interest is listed. If you had a second job, freelance work, gig income or rent from a property, that income may not be pre-filled at all, and it is your responsibility to add it.

Step 3: Claim your deductions

This is the part where most people either leave money on the table or claim things they should not. You can claim work-related expenses, which are costs you paid to earn your income, such as tools, uniforms with a logo, work-related travel and the work-related portion of your phone and internet. You generally need receipts or other records for each claim, though if your total work-related expenses are $300 or less you do not need receipts, you still need to be able to show how you worked the amount out.

MyTax includes a deductions section with separate fields for common categories. A few rules catch people out. You cannot claim the cost of travelling between home and your normal workplace. You cannot claim private expenses, you can only claim the work-related portion. If you worked from home, you can claim running expenses, and in most recent versions of the rules the ATO offers a fixed-rate method for home office costs, which is simpler than adding up every bill.

Step 4: Offsets, Medicare and private health

After income and deductions, myTax asks about tax offsets and the Medicare levy. The low income tax offset, where it applies, is usually calculated for you. If you have private hospital cover, your insurer's details should be pre-filled, and this matters because it can affect the Medicare levy surcharge. If you did not have private hospital cover and your income is above the surcharge threshold, the surcharge may apply, and myTax will work it out.

Step 5: Review, declare and lodge

Before you lodge, myTax shows a summary of the whole return: total income, total deductions, taxable income, tax payable, offsets and the final result, either a refund or an amount owed. Read it slowly. Check the income total against your own records, check the deductions total, and check that your bank details for the refund are correct. If the ATO owes you money, the refund goes to the bank account listed in your ATO record, so an old closed account will cause delays. When you are satisfied, read the declaration and submit.

Deadlines and refund timing

If you lodge your own return, the deadline is 31 October following the end of the tax year. If you use a registered tax agent, a later deadline can apply under the agent's lodgement program, but you need to be on their books before 31 October. Missing the deadline can attract penalties and interest.

After lodgement, the ATO issues a notice of assessment, which confirms the final result. In most cases, refunds from returns lodged online are issued within two weeks, though more complex returns can take longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I lodge my tax return with myTax?

Wait until your pre-fill information is ready, which is generally from late July. Lodging earlier risks missing income that has not been reported yet. If you lodge your own return, the deadline is 31 October following the end of the tax year.

Do I need receipts for my deductions?

You generally need records for work-related expenses. If your total work-related expenses are $300 or less, you do not need receipts, but you still need to be able to show how you calculated the amount. Keep all tax records for five years from the date you lodge.

How long does a myTax refund take?

In most cases, refunds from tax returns lodged online are issued within two weeks. More complex returns can take longer. You can check the progress of your return and your notice of assessment in ATO online services through myGov.