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INFOGRAPHIC: According to the ATO, 82 per cent of Aussie taxpayers lodged their tax returns on time for the financial year 2017-18. This number may even increase as the Tax Office continues to make the process more convenient for both business owners and sole traders alike.

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Five per cent used the money to go on a holiday and another 5 per cent spent for things like parties, clothing, engagement rings and registration.

The remaining 2 per cent decided to improve their homes by purchasing home appliances.

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INFOGRAPHIC: According to the ATO, 82 per cent of Aussie taxpayers lodged their tax returns on time for the financial year 2017-18. This number may even increase as the Tax Office continues to make the process more convenient for both business owners and sole traders alike.

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With tax time nearly over for another year, nestegg can reveal the amount that the Australian Taxation Office aims to collect as “debt” from individuals after last year’s tax period.

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In an appendix to the commissioner of taxation’s annual report for the 2018-19 year, it was reported that the value of debt held by Australian individuals that is collectable by the Australian Taxation Office sits at a whopping $2.9 billion.

A further $0.2 billion has been labelled as debt held by individuals that is subject to objection or appeal by those parties, while another $0.4 billion is not expected to be pursued by the Tax Office due to being labelled as insolvency debt.

This year’s tax deadline is Thursday, 31 October. 

For more information on what you can claim, click here. 

nestegg has also looked at some of the tax deductions that Australians should not attempt to claim as well as what you should do if you have made an incorrect claim this tax time. 

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With tax time nearly over for another year, nestegg can reveal the amount that the Australian Taxation Office aims to collect as “debt” from individuals after last year’s tax period.

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Aussies are being warned that mistakes and mishaps are not an excuse to not lodge a tax return, with this year’s deadline approaching fast.

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Australians must lodge their tax return by Thursday, 31 October, or risk being like one of the 300,000 people who missed out on a refund last year.

And unfortunately, creativity is not an excuse for a late return, according to assistant commissioner Karen Foat.

“We often hear some pretty creative excuses around tax time, ranging from why someone has lost their records, missed the deadline, excluded income, or overclaimed on deductions.”

To avoid future shame, the taxman has kindly provided six of the “weirdest tax-time excuses” as well as some savvy advice to help you lodge on time.

Problem one – Someone stole my pants

One taxpayer tried to claim a thief broke into his car and stole his pants, the pockets of which were allegedly filled with receipts.

Solution – Luckily, records can be kept in digital form, meaning physical receipts and burglary can be avoided, the ATO said.

Problem two – I’ve got holiday brain

Another tax dodger tried to claim his late lodgement was due to having “holiday brain” after returning from an overseas trip.

Solution – The ATO argued that tax time is actually the most exciting time of the year. While nestegg does query such a claim, we do know the value of putting a tax refund towards the next holiday plan. 

Problem three – What’s a tax return? Never heard of it!

The ATO says it has even been told by taxpayers that they’ve never even heard of a tax return.

Solution – Anyone who has a taxable income above $18,200 will need to lodge a tax return. If you’re not sure what a tax return is, nestegg has helpful tools to find out on our website.

Problem four – A mouse ate my receipts

According to the Tax Office, the most common excuse it receives for missing the tax deadline is mouse related. One savvy taxpayer even tried to explain that a mouse had broken into their car and eaten their receipts.

Solution – Keep your car doors locked and windows up. However, if a mouse still finds its way in to your safe receipt storage places and you don’t have a digital copy, check with the seller to see if they have a record of the transaction. Just get your return in! 

Problem five – The car wash did it

Leaving receipts in the car made three appearances on this list, with one taxpayer blaming the car wash for ruining all traces of a work-related purchase, and therefore, their ability to lodge their tax on time.

Solution – Windows up!

Problem six – I’ve got too many to do!

The Tax Office said it often hears that taxpayers have put off their latest return because they have several others still overdue.

Solution – While we are all busy, services such as “myTax” allow Aussies to lodge their tax returns from 2016 onwards, with a lot of the information pre-filled.

nestegg will give the above dodgers an A for effort and a D for execution, and would like to remind taxpayers of the penalties for late payment:

Penalties for late tax returns

A late tax return can be costly for Australians who have not taken note of the 31 October deadline, with “failure to lodge on time penalties” an expensive addition to the tax process. 

Each penalty unit costs $210, with each unit applicable for each 28-day period that the return is overdue, up to a maximum of five penalty units, which makes for a very expensive excuse in the above scenarios!

In reminding taxpayers about the importance of lodging on time, Ms Foat outlined that a tax return “can be done from the comfort of your own living room, just by going online and logging into myTax (accessed via myGov)”.

“For the majority of taxpayers, this takes less than half an hour.”

“Some taxpayers have even told us that they’ve completed it whilst on the bus, it’s that easy,” the assistant commissioner said. 

nestegg has looked at what you can and can’t claim this tax time.  

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Aussies are being warned that mistakes and mishaps are not an excuse to not lodge a tax return, with this year’s deadline approaching fast.

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Phone tax scammers have taken a bold step forward, having shown up at a man’s Adelaide home dressed as federal police officers with an eftpos machine and demanding he pay his tax debt.

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South Australian Police said they are currently investigating an audacious tax scam involving two men impersonating federal officers who tried to extort money from an Adelaide couple.

On Monday, the Salisbury Downs victim received an automated phone message telling him he had a tax debt and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

The victim suspected a scam, rang the number back and terminated the call without providing any details.

About half an hour later, two men appeared at the door of the victim’s Salisbury Downs home, wearing blue jackets emblazoned with “Federal Police” and identified themselves as police officers.

They told the victim he had a tax debt and produced the eftpos machine.

According to the police, the victim challenged the men to produce identification, which prompted them to flee.

SA Police have described the two men as of Indian subcontinental and Asian appearance, one aged in late 20s, the other in his 40s with an American accent.

“A quick call to the ATO confirmed there was no outstanding tax debt, and the victim immediately reported the matter to police. No money was stolen,” said SA Police in a statement.

“Northern District CIB detectives are investigating and ask anyone who saw the two men at Salisbury Downs yesterday or have experienced any similar incidents to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”

The newest scam attempt comes after a Brisbane man was recently sentenced to five years in jail after he used several aliases to lodge 62 fraudulent income tax returns. 

Tax scams

The Tax Office previously said it commonly sees a spike in scammers during tax time and has seen a particular rise in ATO impersonation scams over the past year.

“We see ATO impersonation scams by phone, email and SMS, with the most commonly reported scam being a phone call claiming that there are outstanding tax debts and threatening people with arrest if the debt is not paid immediately,” an ATO spokesperson told nestegg’s sister site Accountants Daily.

ATO scam reports peaked at 39,025 reports during November 2018, with the total number of scams for 2018 at 114,625.

In the first quarter of 2019, the ATO received 40,225 reports of impersonation scams with just over $1 million in losses.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has noted that it’s confident investors who are being targeted in new scams, and projects scam losses to exceed $532 million by the end of the year, the first time such losses will surpass half a billion dollars.

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Phone tax scammers have taken a bold step forward, having shown up at a man’s Adelaide home dressed as federal police officers with an eftpos machine and demanding he pay his tax debt.

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A Brisbane man who used several aliases to lodge 62 fraudulent income tax returns and attempt to obtain more than $500,000 in tax refunds has been sentenced to five years in jail. 

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The ATO has reported that Micah Robby Elstak used fake names to orchestrate an “elaborate online job scam” through a number of companies, which ultimately saw him stealing 52 taxpayer identities from August 2015 to July 2016. 

After conducting fake interviews over the phone, Mr Elstak would email applicants to confirm they had been successful in applying for the job, requesting a scanned copy of their driver’s licence, bank account details, tax file numbers and shirt size. 

Mr Elstak used this information to fraudulently create myGov accounts, or take over the accounts of people who already had an account. 

The ATO said the fraudster would then link the myGov accounts to ATO online services and lodge fake income tax returns in their name, with resulting refunds credited to one of 63 bank accounts in Mr Elstak’s control. 

Many of the taxpayers had reported the scam to the Tax Office when they discovered that the job didn’t exist. 

Internal bank anti-fraud measures and efforts from the ATO and Queensland Police meant $378,099 of the $565,895 that Mr Elsak had claimed could be stopped before reaching his bank accounts. 

The investigation ultimately led to Mr Elsak being charged with 106 offences in relation to the scam, and saw him sentenced to five years in prison at Brisbane District Court. 

ATO assistant commissioner Ian Read welcomed the sentence that was handed down, saying: “As demonstrated today, people who try to cheat the tax system will get caught, and we will take firm action, including penalties and criminal prosecution.” 

Timely reminder to ‘Stay Smart Online’

The sentencing of Mr Elsak coincides with “Stay Smart Online” week, with Mr Read reminding taxpayers to “never give out your personal identifying information unless you are certain of who you are speaking to”.

“Remember, your employer will only need details like your TFN and bank account through a TFN declaration form once you commence your employment.”

“To protect taxpayers’ information, we are also encouraging myGov users linked to the ATO to update their myGov scams sign-in options and opt to receive a security code by SMS,” the assistant commissioner offered. 

“It’s a quick and secure way to sign in to access ATO online services.”

“You can help stop refund fraud,” Mr Read continued. 

“If you suspect someone of being involved in tax fraud, you should report it,” he urged.

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A Brisbane man who used several aliases to lodge 62 fraudulent income tax returns and attempt to obtain more than $500,000 in tax refunds has been sentenced to five years in jail. 

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The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has warned it’s paying close attention to every tax return lodged and is on the hunt for incorrect claims this tax time.

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Despite the threat, assistant commissioner Karen Foat wants to assure taxpayers doing the right thing that they have nothing to fear from a potential audit.

But for those people who have done the wrong thing, the assistant commissioner’s advice is to fess up sooner rather than later, even if they have only overclaimed by a little bit.

With the ATO contacting around 2 million people about their returns each year, Ms Foat flagged that, “in most cases, audits are not our first action”.

She said, sometimes, concerns can be raised purely thanks to third-party data that indicates reported income and deductions that appear high compared to people with a similar job and income level.

“If we do decide to look a little closer through an audit, you can expect that we will contact you or your tax agent to make further inquiries,” Ms Foat said.

“The sort of information we may need from you or your agent will vary depending on the circumstances.

The assistant commissioner noted that, oftentimes, the ATO is “just looking for an explanation and documentation on a deduction”.

“For example, if you’ve claimed deductions for clothing but you work in a job where a compulsory uniform is unlikely, we may just want to know a little more about why you’ve claimed that deduction.”

Other times, Ms Foat said the ATO may need to undertake a more detailed review.

“Though, again, this generally involves us asking you or your agent for more information or evidence to support your claims,” she continued.

“We will always let you know what issues have attracted our attention and what information we will need from you.

“Our biggest tip is to ensure you work with us from the beginning and provide the information required to help us resolve any concerns and finalise the audit.”

The assistant commissioner flagged that anyone who thinks they’ve made a mistake or an error in filing their return, “the best thing you can do is to ‘fess up’ as soon as possible”.

“If we haven’t been in touch with you yet, you can amend your return yourself on myTax, or if you use an agent to ask them to lodge an amendment for you,” she explained.

If the ATO has been in contact, it’s important to be honest and get the matter resolved quickly, Ms Foat noted, with taxpayers “more likely to face penalties if they aren’t honest with us once we come knocking”.

“We understand it can be frustrating to dig up old receipts and information, but it is necessary,” she said.

“A small amount of overclaiming by a large number of people adds up to $8.7 billion less each year for essential services; we can’t turn a blind eye to that.”

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The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has warned it’s paying close attention to every tax return lodged and is on the hunt for incorrect claims this tax time.

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