However, according to tax agents H&R Block, the average size of refunds this year was only a $420 increase: From $2,380 to $2,800.
H&R Block’s director of tax communications, Mark Chapman, said that the low- and middle-income tax offset gives taxpayers earning between $37,001 and $126,000 an additional tax offset of between $255 and $1,080.
But returns this year have been smaller than people expect due to Australia’s complex tax rules leaving taxpayers unsure what they can and can’t claim.
The Prime Minister’s offset announcement did result in a spike of people lodging with myTax, which was up 11 per cent on last year.
As a result, low- and middle-income earners looking to secure a tax return encountered problems, with phone calls rising by 35 per cent this year compared with 25 per cent the year before.
This left many myTax lodgers missing out on valuable tax deductions for things like work-related expenses that they were entitled to, as myTax pre-fills income information but does not pre-fill deductions, which taxpayers need to complete themselves, Mr Chapman said.
He advocated for taxpayers to use tax agents, as they are guided through all the potential deductions they can claim and are less likely to miss out on benefits.
“In short, people who lodged their own tax returns appear to have claimed the tax offset but lost some of the extra refund because they didn’t claim all the deductions they were entitled to,” Mr Chapman concluded.
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