The following community information is brought to you by the Australian Taxation Office. Interview with ATO Officer Jagjit Singh.
Do you know that October 31 is the due date for either lodging your own tax return or contacting a registered tax agent?
Scammers are known to increase activity around tax time so make sure you know the status of your tax affairs. They’ve two main objectives - to get people to either pay money, or divulge personal identifying information, or sometimes both!
Jagjit Singh, Community Relations Officer, ATO said that people should be highly vigilant during this tax time.
“Be aware of what you share – don’t give out personal details such as your tax file number, date of birth, credit card or bank details, unless you know you can trust that the person you are dealing with is who they say they are, and they genuinely need those details,” he said.
“Scammers are becoming more sophisticated so sometimes it can be hard to know whether a communication is really from the ATO or a scam.
“If you are ever unsure about a request for information or the validity of an ATO interaction, call the ATO Scam Hotline on 1800 008 540.
“Remember, the ATO will never visit residential premises without an appointment or threaten you with arrest if you don’t pay a debt immediately.
Go to www.ato.gov.au/scamalerts to learn more about the latest tax scams.
Lodging tax returns
You can lodge your personal income tax return online via myTax, or you can lodge through a registered tax agent. If you lodge your own return, keep an eye on your myGov inbox for your Notice of Assessment.
There are a number of ways you can lodge an income tax return for your business, and the choice you make may impact when it is due.
If you choose to lodge yourself, your tax return is due by 31 October.
If your business lodges its business activity statement, or BAS, quarterly, it’s nearly due. The due date for lodging and paying is displayed on your BAS. But if this falls on a weekend or public holiday, you can lodge and pay on the next business day.
For more information on how and when to lodge an income tax return as an individual or for your business go to www.ato.gov.au and search for ‘tax returns’.
If you need some help, you can speak with a tax officer in your native language by phoning the Translating and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50 and ask to be connected to 13 28 66.
