The 2005-06 financial year was the first year the Australian Tax Office (ATO) received more electronic tax return lodgements than paper ones. This year will see the ATO introduce further enhancements to its e-tax system to make lodging your tax return even simpler.

e-tax allows you to complete your tax return correctly as it has built-in checks and calculation tools. It will also help you claim all your entitlements.
The ATO use strict security methods to prevent unauthorised access and ensure your information remains safe and secure.

In addition, e-tax provides an estimate of your refund and has separate modules for baby bonus, capital gains tax and family tax benefit. You only download the modules if they apply.

If you used e-tax last year, information from your saved return can be copied into your 2007 e-tax return.

From 1 July, you’ll be able to download information on certain Centrelink benefits and medical expenses from Medicare. The ATO will also trial the downloading of bank interest amounts from the major banks.

Over the next two years the government will provide additional funding to accelerate the ATO’s program to provide tax return information electronically, to include additional trials in 2007-08 and 2008-09. The program will allow you to download information such as dividend distributions from share registers directly into your e-tax return.

By providing this service, the ATO aims to reduce the time you need to spend completing your return, reduce the amount of paperwork you need to keep and help you get it right the first time.

Still not computer savvy? Don’t worry, the ATO is also introducing a self-help phone service which will allow you to lodge your tax return over the phone.

For further information and to download the software, visit the Tax Office site through the Links page of this website