Eternity Group

Accounting & tax — Individual

Individual Tax Return Accountant

A chartered accountant and registered tax agent prepares your individual tax return — PAYG salary, sole-trader income, rental properties, capital gains, investment income, foreign income and ATO substantiation, handled in one engagement.

Book Your Tax ReturnSee Our Process
  • PAYG employees
  • Sole traders
  • Rental landlords
  • CGT events
  • Foreign income

Prepared and reviewed by Rohan Manokaran, Chartered Accountant (CA ANZ 266544) and registered tax agent (TPB 25523469). Page last reviewed 16 July 2026.
Eternity Group Accountants is a registered tax agent (TPB 25523469). Information on this page is general in nature and does not constitute personal tax advice. Before acting, consider whether the information is appropriate to your circumstances and seek advice from a qualified tax professional.

What is an individual tax return?

An individual tax return is the annual income tax return you lodge with the ATO, reporting your income for the year — salary and wages, interest, dividends, rental income, managed-fund distributions, capital gains and any other income that applies — together with the deductions and offsets you are entitled to claim. The return reconciles the tax already withheld or paid during the year against the tax payable on your taxable income, which is why the result can be a refund or an amount owing depending on your facts. A tax return does not always produce a refund. The right treatment depends on your circumstances and the rules for the relevant income year — this is general information only, not personal tax advice.

How the numbers fit together

What an individual tax return reconciles.

A return is more than a single figure. It pulls together the income reported to the ATO, the income you can document, the deductions you can substantiate and the offsets and levies that apply — so the final position is supported rather than estimated.

  • Salary and wages, and the tax already withheld through the year
  • Bank interest, dividends and the franking credits attached to them
  • Rental income and the deductions against it, where you hold property
  • Managed-fund and trust distributions, with their tax components
  • Capital gains or losses on assets sold during the year
  • Foreign income and any foreign income tax offset that may apply
  • Work-related and other deductions, each needing substantiation
  • Offsets and levies — Medicare levy, the surcharge, HELP/HECS, private health
  • The ATO pre-fill, checked against your own documents so nothing is missed or double-counted

These figures rarely sit in one place, so the return reconciles them until your income, your deductions and the tax already paid all agree — what is assessable and what is deductible depends on your circumstances and the relevant rules.

Scope of work

What's included in your individual tax return.

Everything an ATO-compliant individual return needs, prepared by a Chartered Accountant and lodged through a registered tax agent.

Income

PAYG · sole trader · rental · investments

We reconcile income against your ATO pre-fill and your supporting documents — payment summaries, bank statements, rental statements, broker reports, distribution statements — so nothing is missed and nothing is double-counted.

Deductions

Work, investment, motor vehicle, WFH, self-education

We claim deductions you are entitled to under current ATO rules and substantiation requirements. Where a deduction is borderline we tell you and document the position taken. From the 2026-27 income year the rules changed: the former $300 no-written-evidence concession is repealed, and the new standard deduction for work-related expenses operates as a floor that is reduced by the work claims you make rather than added on top of them.

Capital gains

Property · shares · crypto · managed funds

CGT calculations under current law including cost-base adjustments, the 12-month discount where eligible, main-residence exemption, partial exemptions, and rollover relief where it applies — confirmed for the relevant income year.

Offsets & levies

LITO · SAPTO · franking credits · Medicare Levy · MLS · HECS

Tax offsets calculated correctly: LITO, SAPTO, franking credit refunds, FITO, private health rebate. Medicare Levy and Medicare Levy Surcharge tested against your income tier. HECS-HELP and SFSS repayments where applicable.

What to gather

Documents usually needed for an individual tax return.

Having these ready up front keeps the return accurate and the fixed fee tight. Not every item applies to everyone — we confirm the list for your situation at the scoping stage.

Records checklist

  • PAYG income statements or payment summaries from each employer
  • Bank interest, and dividend statements showing any franking credits
  • Managed-fund and trust annual tax statements
  • Rental income and expense records, and any depreciation schedule
  • Buy and sell records for shares, crypto or property sold during the year
  • Private health insurance statement, relevant to the Medicare levy surcharge
  • Work-related expense records and receipts for any deductions claimed
  • A logbook or work kilometres for motor-vehicle claims, and work-from-home hours
  • Details of HELP/HECS balances, foreign income, or government payments received
  • Your prior-year notice of assessment, where you are a new client

Send through whatever you already have — we will confirm which records apply and request anything still outstanding. Deductions generally need to relate to earning your income and be supported by records.

Suited to

Individual returns we prepare.

PAYG salary earners

One income source through to multi-employer, with work-related deductions, investments, salary-sacrifice arrangements and reportable fringe benefits.

Sole traders and consultants

ABN income, business expenses, depreciation, home-office, motor vehicle (cents-per-km or logbook), BAS reconciliation, PAYG instalments and net business income reporting.

Investors and landlords

Australian and foreign shares, rental properties (including depreciation schedules), managed funds, dividend reinvestment plans, distribution income and capital gains events.

Complex multi-source returns

Multiple income streams, foreign income with FITO, trust and partnership distributions, deceased-estate first or final returns, HECS-HELP repayments and Medicare Levy Surcharge review.

Worked example

Why taxable income is not the same as cash received.

A simple illustration of how income and deductions combine into taxable income. The figures are general and for explanation only — they are not a promised refund, and your result depends on your facts and the rules for the income year.

Salary and wages
$92,000
Bank interest
$450
Franked dividends
$1,400
Franking credits (gross-up)Added to assessable income, then generally available as an offset against tax
$600
Assessable income
$94,450
Less work-related deductionsSubject to substantiation and a connection to earning income
$2,100
Taxable income
$92,350

Illustration only — figures are general and not personal tax advice.

Here the franking credits are first added to assessable income (the “gross-up”) and are then generally available as an offset against the tax calculated — one reason the cash received and the taxable income differ. Whether a refund or an amount owing results depends on the tax already withheld through the year, the offsets and levies that apply, and your circumstances.

This is general information only and not personal tax advice. Your assessable income, the deductions you can substantiate and the rules for the relevant income year all affect the outcome, which we review inside an engagement.

Process

From engagement to lodgement — typically 5 working days.

The work happens in a predictable, document-driven sequence. You always know what is next.

Scoping and document request

A short call sets the engagement, the fee and a tailored document checklist. We email a secure upload link and confirm the timeline in writing.

Preparation and review

We reconcile your documents against the ATO pre-fill, calculate deductions and offsets, prepare the return, and review every line item against ATO substantiation rules.

Sign-off and lodgement

We send a draft with a clear summary of your tax position. You review, ask questions, sign — we lodge through the registered-agent portal and send you the lodgement confirmation.

Before we lodge

Common risk areas before lodgement.

Individual returns draw closer ATO attention mostly around deductions and undeclared income. The notes below flag where claims most often need supporting records — general information, not advice on your situation.

Work-related deductions

Records and a work connection

Work-related claims generally need records and a genuine connection to earning your income. Over-claiming, or claiming the private portion of an expense, is a common area of ATO attention, so we test each claim against your circumstances rather than assuming it is available. From the 2026-27 income year the former $300 no-written-evidence concession no longer exists, so an undocumented work claim is exposed in a way it was not for 2025-26 and earlier years.

Work-from-home claims

Method and a record of hours

A work-from-home deduction can be claimed under a fixed-rate or an actual-cost method, each with its own record-keeping. The rate can change between income years, so we apply the method and rate current for the relevant year and confirm the hours are recorded.

Income reported to the ATO

Interest, dividends, crypto, gig income

Bank interest, dividends, managed-fund distributions, crypto disposals and platform or gig income are increasingly reported to the ATO. We reconcile your documents against the pre-fill so income is complete, because undeclared amounts are a frequent trigger for review.

Private health & the Medicare levy surcharge

Income-tested for the year

The Medicare levy surcharge can apply where income is above the relevant threshold for the year and appropriate private hospital cover is not held. We check this against your private health statement and income rather than assuming it does not apply.

Other areas — rental interest apportionment, HELP/HECS repayment thresholds and capital gains on assets sold — may also need review depending on your circumstances and the rules for the relevant income year.

Frequently asked questions

Individual tax return — common questions.

Common questions

How much does an individual tax return cost at Eternity Group?

Fees depend on complexity. A salary-only return with a couple of straightforward work-related deductions is at the lower end; a return with a rental property, share trading, capital gains events or sole-trader income takes longer and is priced accordingly. We confirm a fixed fee in writing before any work starts. See the Fees page for the published ranges, and the engagement letter for your specific quote.

When does my individual tax return need to be lodged?

If you lodge yourself, the standard deadline is 31 October following the financial year. Clients lodging through us as a registered tax agent generally have until 15 May the following year, provided you are not on the ATO's "lodgement compliance" list and you engage us before 31 October. We confirm your exact due date in the engagement.

Can I deduct home-office expenses if I work from home some days?

Yes, where you genuinely work from home and the expense relates to that work. The ATO fixed-rate method applies a set cents-per-hour rate — 70 cents per hour for both the 2024–25 and 2025–26 income years — covering electricity, internet, phone and stationery, provided you keep a record of hours worked. The ATO sets the rate each income year, so we confirm the figure current for the year of your return before anything is claimed. Alternatively, the actual-cost method may give a larger deduction where home-running costs are higher and fully substantiated. We work out which method best fits your records.

Can I still claim up to $300 of work expenses without receipts?

Not from the 2026-27 income year. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 (Act No. 49 of 2026, Royal Assent 26 June 2026) repealed the $300 total work-expenses substantiation exception (former section 900-35) and the $150 laundry exception (former section 900-40). The repeal applies to assessments for the 2026-27 income year and later; both concessions still applied for 2025-26 and earlier years, so a 2025-26 return is not affected. Concessions tied to allowances — domestic and overseas travel allowances, and reasonable overtime meal allowances — were not repealed. The practical point is that from 1 July 2026 you need written evidence for each work expense you intend to claim. Verified against the Act as at 13 July 2026. Our standard deduction 2026-27 technical resource, linked below the FAQs, covers the repeal and the replacement deduction in detail.

What is the $1,000 standard deduction for work-related expenses?

It is a new deduction under section 25-130 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, applying to assessments for the 2026-27 income year and later. It is not an automatic $1,000: the amount is the lesser of $1,000 and your assessable labour income, reduced dollar for dollar (not below zero) by the work-related deductions you claim — a floor, not a bonus, so if those claims already total $1,000 or more the standard deduction is nil. Only individuals who are Australian residents at some time in the year and derive PAYG-type labour income qualify. The full mechanics, carve-outs and eligibility tests are set out in our standard deduction 2026-27 technical resource, linked below the FAQs. General information only, not personal tax advice.

Do I need to report cryptocurrency on my tax return?

Yes. The ATO treats most crypto disposals as CGT events — including selling crypto for AUD, swapping one coin for another, paying for goods or services with crypto, and most DeFi interactions. Income from staking, mining and airdrops is generally ordinary income at the time of receipt. We can prepare the CGT calculations from your exchange CSVs or a crypto-tax tool export.

What happens if I forgot to include income from a previous year?

We lodge an amended return through the registered-agent portal. Voluntary disclosure to the ATO before they ask reduces penalties considerably. Tell us what was missed, when it was earned and how you came to know — we handle the rest.

Do I have to lodge if my income was below the tax-free threshold?

Not always — but you still need to either lodge a return or submit an ATO "non-lodgement advice" form. There are also cases where lodgement is required even below the threshold (for example, if tax was withheld from your pay, if you received Centrelink payments, if you ran a business through an ABN, or if you had CGT events). We confirm which path applies in your scoping call.

Can I claim a deduction for my accountant's fees next year?

Yes. Tax-agent fees paid for managing your tax affairs are deductible in the year you pay them. Your invoice from us will line-item the deductible amount so it is straightforward to claim in next year's return.

What is the difference between using a registered tax agent and lodging through myTax myself?

A registered tax agent is bound by the Tax Practitioners Board Code of Professional Conduct, holds professional indemnity insurance, and is required to apply current law and ATO substantiation rules. You also get an extended lodgement deadline. myTax is fine for very simple returns; once a return touches rental, CGT, sole-trader income, foreign income, share trading or trust distributions, the cost of getting it wrong typically exceeds the cost of engaging an agent.

For the statutory detail behind the two 2026-27 questions above — the section 25-130 reduction mechanics, the labour-income eligibility list and the repealed substantiation exceptions — see our standard deduction and work expenses 2026-27 technical resource.

Related

Where this fits in the bigger picture

An individual return is one part of a broader picture. If you also need forward-looking tax planning, a company return alongside, or are curious how the one-roof engagement runs, the same practitioner can scope it.