If you still haven’t lodged your 2018 tax return, don’t despair – you still have options available.
The government’s MyTax service is still operational if you wish to self prepare your return. But you are officially late if you use this service. The ATO suggests that you contact them to discuss your reasons for being late.
If, however, you have used a registered tax agent to lodge your return in the past, you might not be late for 2018 provided you are all up to date with the previous year’s lodgements.
You do not have to return to the same registered agent to access the extended lodgement deadlines.
Transferring to any registered agent with a good lodgement history should enable you to access the extensions.
A professional registered tax agent will help you liaise with the ATO, prepare and lodge the returns, and help you navigate any problems there might be with your lodgements. You’ll be back on track as soon as possible.
If you are avoiding visiting your accountant because you believe you may owe the ATO some money, the best strategy is to get the return prepared and know what sort of debt you are facing. You can then use the extended deadlines to delay the lodgement and have the money ready to pay the ATO.
In other words, if you have a 15 May lodgement deadline, best to have the return done by December and then have 6 months to save/plan how you are going to pay the debt.
This is a much better strategy than waiting until early May to prepare the return and discover the debt is more than you expected, with no time to prepare for the payment.
And if you get more than one year behind, do not put your head in the sand.
Make sure you get yourself up to date as soon as possible.
This is where an experienced tax accounting firm can help you with backdated lodgements. We will guide you through the process and take the weight off your shoulders.
At Affinitas Accounting we have had more then 20 years of experience helping clients with late and backdated tax return lodgements. Some result in tax debts to pay – but others can result in unexpected windfalls.
And if you cannot get to the office for an appointment, contact us on 07 3510 1500 or at service@affinitasaccountants.com.au about using our postal or email service.
