Lodge before Christmas closure: you may be due a refund

The festive season is on its way and so is the ATO’s end of year closure. So if you haven’t provided the relevant information to your tax adviser for tax returns and activity statements, now is the time to do it so that we can lodge your return.

For those of you dreading that tax return, don’t delay, there may be a refund on the way. From 1 July 2016, the marginal tax rate of 37% started at $87,000 instead of $80,000. Employers would have reduced the amount of tax withheld from your pay from 1 October 2016, so there are potentially two (or more) months of higher tax withheld from your pay that you could get back, by way of a refund, when you lodge your 2017 tax return. 

Need a little more money for the festive season? ATO urges early lodgment before end of year closure.

November activity statement deadline

For businesses that are required to lodge monthly activity statements, the November statement is due on 21 December. However, if you think you’ll be receiving a refund and you want some extra cash for that Christmas party, make sure you provide the relevant information to your tax adviser as soon as possible and lodge early to avoid delays in processing.

How long do returns take to process?

Electronic returns are normally processed within two weeks and paper returns, which are processed manually, usually take 10 weeks. Once the tax return has been processed, a notice of assessment will be issued by the ATO and any refunds will be paid to your nominated financial institution or into your accountant’s trust account.

Lodgment due date concessions

The ATO has also reminded tax agents that if they think some of their clients may have missed out on the agent’s lodgment concession, the agent should wait until after 21 November 2017 to submit a deferral request on your behalf.

ATO closure and lodging deadline

This year, the ATO will close between noon on Friday 22 December 2017 and 8.00am on Tuesday 2 January 2018.

To ensure that your tax return or activity statement is finalised before the end of the year, it would need to be lodged with the ATO before 7 December. Any returns or activity statements lodged on or after 7 December 2017 may not be finalised until after 2 January 2018.

Speak to us today to ensure that you start 2018 on the right foot!