How to Lodge Your 2025-26 Tax Return in Australia: Step-by-Step Guide (July 2026)
myTax opens 1 July 2026. Here's what to prepare, when to actually lodge, the 10 most-missed deductions, and how long your refund takes — for the 2025-26 tax year.
Tax return season opens on 1 July 2026. But if you rush to lodge on the morning of July 1, you'll likely end up with a return full of gaps — and possibly need to amend it later.
This guide covers everything you need for your 2025-26 tax return: when to actually lodge, what to gather beforehand, a step-by-step myTax walkthrough, the 10 deductions most Australians miss, and how long your refund takes.
Heads up: The $1,000 standard work deduction announced in the May 2026 Budget does not apply to this return. It applies to the 2026-27 return, lodged from July 2027. For this year's 2025-26 return, claim actual expenses with receipts as usual.
When can you actually lodge? (The real answer)
myTax opens on 1 July 2026. But the ATO recommends most people wait until late July before lodging, and here's why.
Your employer has until 14 July 2026 to finalise your income statement in Single Touch Payroll (STP). Your bank has until around the same date to report interest income. Share registries, managed funds, and super funds have until late July to submit their data.
If you lodge on 1 July, your return will likely be missing:
- Your final salary and PAYG withholding from your employer
- Bank account interest earned in June
- Dividend income from shares or managed funds held in June
- Private health insurance data
The ATO's pre-fill function can't populate these fields until the data is actually lodged by each organisation. You'll see blank fields or notice the pre-filled amounts are for the first 10–11 months, not the full year.
The practical window: lodge from 21 July 2026 onward. By then, the vast majority of pre-fill data is available. If you have a complex return (investment property, share portfolio, foreign income), waiting until August is even safer.
The deadline for self-lodging is 31 October 2026. If you engage a registered tax agent before 31 October, your deadline extends to 15 May 2027.
Estimate your refund before you lodge with our Income Tax Calculator — enter your salary, any deductions, and see your approximate tax position.
What to gather before you start
Having everything ready before you open myTax turns a 45-minute experience into a 15-minute one. Here's the complete list:
Income:
- Your income statement (visible in myGov under ATO once your employer finalises — no paper payment summary anymore)
- Bank statements showing total interest earned from all accounts
- Dividend statements (Computershare or Link Market Services send these, or check myTax pre-fill)
- Managed fund annual tax statements
- Rental income records (rent received, minus expenses paid during the year)
- Any government payments (JobSeeker, Austudy, parental leave — these are pre-filled from Centrelink data)
- Foreign income (salary, interest, or investment income from overseas)
Deductions (see full list below):
- Receipts or records for all work-related expenses you're claiming
- Working from home log (hours per week if using the fixed rate method, or detailed utility bills if claiming actual costs)
- HECS-HELP annual statement (optional — your compulsory repayment is calculated automatically, but your balance helps you plan)
Personal:
- Your tax file number (TFN)
- Bank BSB and account number for the refund
- Health insurance policy information (pre-fills if you're with a major insurer — bring your membership number as backup)
- Spouse details if applicable (some offsets are income-tested)
Step-by-step: how to lodge via myTax
Step 1 — Log into myGov
Go to my.gov.au and sign in. If you don't have an account, create one — allow 24–72 hours for identity verification to complete.
Step 2 — Link the ATO service
If you haven't already, link the ATO to your myGov account. You'll need your TFN and one piece of identifying information (a tax return from a previous year, a Notice of Assessment, or your bank account details).
Step 3 — Select "Lodge tax return"
Inside the ATO section of myGov, select "Lodge tax return" and confirm you're lodging for the 2025-26 income year (1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026).
Step 4 — Review pre-filled data
myTax pre-fills as much as possible. Work through each section and:
- Confirm your salary and PAYG withholding match your income statement
- Check that bank interest looks right for all your accounts
- Review any dividend or investment pre-fills against your own statements
- Accept pre-filled health insurance data (or enter manually if it's wrong)
Do not assume pre-filled data is complete or correct. Check every figure.
Step 5 — Add income not pre-filled
If anything is missing — rental income, income from a side business, foreign income, cash in hand that is genuinely taxable — add it manually. The ATO cross-references data from third parties, and omissions are a common audit trigger.
Step 6 — Enter your deductions
This is the section where most Australians leave money on the table. Work through each deduction category carefully (see the list below).
Step 7 — Answer the supplementary questions
myTax will ask about private health insurance (do you hold hospital cover?), Medicare levy reduction, offsets for low income, and whether you have a Higher Education Loan debt. Answer accurately — errors here cause incorrect assessments.
Step 8 — Review and submit
The final screen shows your estimated refund or tax owing before you submit. Check the number looks reasonable compared to your estimate. If it looks wildly different from what you expected, don't rush to submit — review your entries first.
Step 9 — Wait for your Notice of Assessment
After submitting, you'll receive a Notice of Assessment (usually by email/myGov message) within 2–4 weeks for electronic lodgements. This confirms whether you're getting a refund or owe more.
The 10 most-missed deductions in a 2025-26 return
1. Working from home — 70c per hour (fixed rate)
The revised fixed rate for 2025-26 is 70c per hour for every hour you work from home. You must keep a log of hours (a calendar note, diary entry, or timesheet is fine — the ATO doesn't require one specific format).
The fixed rate covers electricity, internet, phone, and minor stationery. You can still separately claim the decline in value of equipment like laptops or monitors.
Alternative: Actual cost method. Calculate the exact work proportion of electricity, internet, phone, and other running costs. More complex but potentially higher if your bills are large.
2. Work-related phone and internet use
If your employer doesn't reimburse your phone or internet costs and you use them for work, you can claim the work-use proportion. The ATO accepts a reasonable estimate — for example, "I use my phone for work purposes 40% of the time" — supported by a 4-week representative period log.
If you're using the fixed rate for WFH, internet and phone costs are already included. Don't double-claim.
3. Car expenses for work travel
The cents per kilometre rate for 2025-26 is 88c per km, up to 5,000 km per car. You can claim this for genuine work travel: visiting clients, travelling between two workplaces, or collecting work supplies. You cannot claim for ordinary home-to-work commuting.
The logbook method applies if your work travel exceeds 5,000 km or your vehicle use is high — it captures actual costs pro-rated by the work-use percentage.
4. Professional memberships and subscriptions
Union fees, professional association memberships, and work-related subscriptions (to industry journals, software, or databases used at work) are fully deductible. These are commonly skipped because they feel small — but $600 in union fees saves around $192 in tax for someone in the 32% rate band.
5. Tools and equipment under $300
Any single item costing less than $300 used primarily for work can be deducted in full in the year of purchase. Items $300 or more must be depreciated over their effective life. Common items: work bag, headset, keyboard, safety equipment.
6. Self-education and professional development
Courses, conferences, books, and training directly related to your current job are deductible. The key test is whether the education maintains or improves skills you use in your current role — training for a new career is not deductible.
7. Income protection insurance premiums
If you hold income protection insurance personally (not through super), the premiums are fully tax deductible. Life insurance and trauma insurance are not. This deduction can be worth hundreds of dollars for policies that cost $1,000–$3,000 annually.
8. Laundry of work uniforms
If you wear a distinctive uniform, work clothing with your employer's logo, or protective clothing required by your job (including safety boots, high-vis vests, or non-slip shoes required by your employer), you can claim laundry costs. The ATO allows $1 per load for work clothing only, or 50c per load for mixed loads. Receipts not required for claims under $150.
9. Tax agent fees from last year
The fee you paid a registered tax agent to prepare your 2024-25 tax return is deductible in your 2025-26 return. This is a genuine deduction but frequently overlooked because people think it's somehow circular.
10. Interest on investment loans
If you borrowed money to buy shares, ETFs, or investment property, the interest on that loan is deductible against your investment income. This is one of the most valuable deductions for investors and the most commonly under-claimed.
Working from home in 2025-26: fixed rate vs actual costs
For 2025-26, the two methods are:
| Fixed rate method | Actual cost method | |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | 70c per hour | Actual proportional cost |
| What's covered | Electricity, gas, internet, phone, stationery | Each cost item separately calculated |
| Records required | Hour log (diary, calendar, timesheet) | Bills, receipts, usage logs |
| Equipment depreciation | Claimed separately | Claimed separately |
| Best for | Most employees working from home part-time | High bills or full-time home office workers |
The ATO has confirmed the fixed rate method for 2025-26. You cannot use an old shortcut method (the temporary 80c rate was removed after COVID).
Investment property holders: key items to include
If you own a rental property, the complexity goes up significantly. Key items:
Income to declare: Total rent received during the year, including any late payments for 2024-25 income received in 2025-26.
Expenses to claim:
- Loan interest (the largest deduction for most investors)
- Council rates, water rates, land tax
- Property manager fees
- Insurance premiums
- Repairs and maintenance (revenue in nature — not capital improvements)
- Depreciation on building structure (years 1–40) and plant and equipment (schedules vary)
- Advertising for tenants
- Travel to the property was removed as a deduction — this change applied from 2017-18 and still applies
Common audit triggers for rental properties:
- Claiming the full year of interest on a loan used partly for private purposes
- Claiming capital improvements as immediate repairs
- Not declaring the full rent received
- Claiming expenses for periods the property was available but occupied by the owner
The ATO's rental income data matching is sophisticated — it cross-references bond lodgement data, state land title records, and real estate agency receipts.
HECS-HELP holders: what happens in 2025-26
If you have a Higher Education Loan Program (HECS-HELP) debt, compulsory repayments are based on your 2025-26 taxable income. The minimum repayment threshold for 2025-26 is $54,435.
Your repayment is calculated automatically when you lodge your return — you don't need to enter your HECS balance. The ATO calculates the amount owed and it's included in your tax assessment.
If your income is below $54,435 for 2025-26, no compulsory repayment is required. You can still make voluntary repayments at any time through the ATO.
Note: the repayment threshold increases to $69,528 for 2026-27 — a significant jump.
How long does a 2025-26 tax refund take?
| Lodgement method | Typical refund time |
|---|---|
| myTax (electronic, via myGov) | 2–4 weeks |
| myTax with complex return (rental, investments) | 4–6 weeks |
| Paper return | 10+ weeks |
| Return selected for review or audit | Much longer |
The refund goes directly to the bank account you nominated. You don't need to call the ATO to check — log into myGov to see your return status and whether a Notice of Assessment has been issued.
Lodging early in July or August typically means faster processing than October, when the ATO handles much higher volumes.
Key dates for the 2025-26 tax return
| Date | |
|---|---|
| myTax opens | 1 July 2026 |
| Recommended start date | 21 July 2026 (pre-fill data mostly complete) |
| Employer income statements finalised | 14 July 2026 |
| Self-lodge deadline | 31 October 2026 |
| Tax agent deadline (if registered before 31 Oct) | 15 May 2027 |
| First ATO penalty for late lodgement | After 31 October 2026 |
What NOT to do
Don't lodge before your employer finalises your income statement. The most common self-amendment is because salary or PAYG withholding figures were wrong.
Don't overclaim. The ATO runs data matching across employer data, bank records, share registries, and rental income databases. Inflated deductions are one of the most common audit triggers.
Don't skip investment income. Dividends, interest, and capital gains are reported to the ATO by the paying entities. Leaving them out doesn't make them invisible.
Don't assume pre-filled data is complete. Check every figure. Pre-fill is a starting point, not a guarantee.
Don't confuse this year's return with next year's standard deduction. The $1,000 standard work deduction announced in the May 2026 Budget applies to the 2026-27 return (lodged from July 2027), not this one.
Frequently asked questions
When can I lodge my 2025-26 tax return in Australia?
myTax opens on 1 July 2026. However, the ATO recommends waiting until late July — your employer has until 14 July to finalise your income statement in STP, and bank interest and dividend data may not be fully pre-filled until then. Lodging on 1 July risks an incomplete or inaccurate return.
How long does a 2026 tax refund take?
If you lodge electronically via myTax, refunds typically arrive in 2–4 weeks. Paper lodgements take 10 weeks or more. Complex returns or those selected for review may take longer. Check your return status in myGov.
What is the tax return deadline for 2025-26?
If you lodge yourself via myTax, the deadline is 31 October 2026. If you use a registered tax agent and are on their client list before 31 October, the deadline extends to 15 May 2027.
Can I claim working from home expenses in my 2025-26 return?
Yes. The fixed rate method allows 70c per hour for every hour worked at home, covering electricity, internet, and phone. You need a record of hours worked (diary, calendar, or timesheet). Items like a laptop or monitor are claimed separately via depreciation.
What is the cents per km rate for 2025-26?
The ATO cents per kilometre rate for the 2025-26 financial year is 88c per km, applicable for up to 5,000 km of genuine work-related travel. You don't need a logbook for this method, but you do need to substantiate that the kilometres were for work purposes (not home-to-work commuting).
What happens if I lodge my tax return too early?
If you lodge before your employer finalises your income statement or before your bank data is pre-filled, your return may contain incorrect income figures. You may need to amend your return later, which delays your refund. The ATO may also adjust your assessment automatically if data received after you lodge doesn't match what you declared.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. Consult a registered tax agent or licensed financial adviser before making decisions based on this information.
Written by
Mahi PatilSoftware engineer & personal finance enthusiast · Melbourne, Australia
Built Dolaro.com.au to create accurate, free Australian finance tools. Invests in Australian and global ETFs and writes about the topics researched firsthand. More about Mahi →