$10bn refunded to taxpayers as they rush to lodge

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has sent out over 4 million refunds compared with over 3 million refunds issued this time last year, as taxpayers rushed to lodge their taxes following the introduction of personal income tax cuts, under which low and middle-income earners are eligible for up to a $1,080 offset.

ATO assistant commissioner Karen Foat revealed that $10 billion dollars has been refunded to Australian taxpayers so far this tax time, an increase of over $2 billion on the year, with most returns being processed in under two weeks.

“Of course, the ATO works around the clock to quickly get refunds in peoples’ hands. However, there are some things that taxpayers should take care with to ensure their return is not unnecessarily delayed," Ms Foat said.

She explained that it’s important to check your bank account details are correct, before also making sure to declare all of your income.

“Another big obstacle getting between some people and their return is forgetting to declare some income. Common things people forget to include are rental income, bank interest and government allowances or payments – particularly if they lodged before our pre-fill was available," Ms Foat said.

“If our data shows us that you’ve likely left out income, that can slow down the processing of your return while we make additional checks."

Ms Foat warns that ATO's data analytics also flags instances of people making claims out of the norm for their occupation and income level.

“While we want people to claim what they are entitled to, where claims seem unusual we may do some additional checks, which could mean longer until you get your refund. So make sure you only claim what you are entitled to and keep your receipts so that you’ll have them on hand quickly if we do need to see them”, Ms Foat said.