With the 2020 Financial Year now over, it’s time to start thinking about the information you need to lodge your 2020 Income Tax Return. Every year is different, with its own challenges. We have all faced rapidly changing environments this year which has affected many aspects of our daily lives. For many people, this has been a change in working environment or working conditions. Whether it be working full-time from your home office or on a part-time basis due to the nature of your work, the ATO understands it may be difficult to keep track of all the work-related expenses you may have incurred during this period.

The ATO have released a temporary ‘Shortcut’ method to calculate deductions for additional running expenses with minimum record keeping requirements. This allows taxpayers to calculate the number of hours which they have worked from home and claim a deduction of 80c per hour. Existing methods to calculate working from home expenses, such as the Fixed Rate and Actual Cost methods, are also available.

This year may also be different for many individuals due to the new way of reporting their income. That is, most Employers will now be reporting their Employee’s income through Single Touch Payroll (STP) which reports directly to the ATO every time an Employee is paid. Employers have until the 31st of July (or the 14th of July if you have more than 19 employees) to finalise all Employee’s income statements with the ATO. This has replaced the need for Employers to provide Employees with payment summaries (also known as group certificates).

You will be able to access your income statement from ATO online services via your MyGov account. You will receive a notification via your MyGov account to confirm your Employer has finalised your income statement and it will be showing as ‘tax ready’. We, as Tax Agents, are also able to access this information on your behalf.

At Davidsons, we want to make your tax return experience as convenient and hassle free as possible during these uncertain times. To help with your preparation you can use our tax return checklist and Investment Property checklist which has a list of things you can consider.

Our personal tax return specialist, Delila Krasic, is the go-to person for personal tax advice. She is passionate about building quality relationships with our valued clients and her extensive knowledge provides her with the expertise to help navigate through complex tax issues.

For assistance with gathering the information you need for your 2020 Income Tax Return, please contact our office on 03 5221 6399 or email us at info@davidsons.com.au.

Disclaimer: this information is of a general nature and should not be viewed as representing financial advice. Users of this information are encouraged to seek further advice if they are unclear as to the meaning of anything contained in this article. Davidsons accepts no responsibility for any loss suffered as a result of any party using or relying on this article.