Australian Taxation Office warns early lodgements will trigger amendments

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) cautioned taxpayers that lodging tax returns as soon as the financial year begins markedly raises the risk of errors and subsequent amendments. Data for the 2024‑25 financial year show that taxpayers who lodged before the ATO’s pre‑fill information was available were more than twice as likely to have their returns amended. The ATO’s data‑matching program corrected over 140,000 individual returns for discrepancies in employment income, interest, dividends, welfare payments, Medicare levy exemptions and private health insurance, and adjusted more than 595,000 returns for missing income, overstated deductions and other errors.

Assistant Commissioner Anita Challen advised Australians to wait until late July, when most pre‑fill data—such as wages, bank interest, government payments and health‑insurance details—are populated, to avoid delays and extra work. She said, "While the ATO welcomes taxpayers’ enthusiasm at the start of tax time, the numbers don’t lie – early lodgement creates more work for taxpayers." Waiting until the full pre‑fill is available helps ensure returns are accurate the first time.