Tax Return 2020: Here’s the easiest way to do your 2020 tax return

Your 2020 tax return is for income that you earn between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020.

You can start your 2020 tax return with Etax now by clicking here to get started.

For income you earned before 1 July 2019, you should do a 2019 tax return. You can do a 2019 (or earlier) tax return right now.

Your 2020 tax return is easier than ever

The team at Etax works non-stop to make the online tax return service easier and nicer for you. When people tell us, “this part was hard for me”, we get down to work to improve it.

For 2020, your tax return at Etax will be better than ever. Some people even tell us that it’s fun (but, they might be accountants).

How to get a bigger tax refund in 2020

At Etax your tax return shows an accurate tax refund estimate and it helps you find deductions to increase your tax refund.

How can you get a bigger tax refund? Here are 3 important tips:

1. Keep track of tax deductions year-round.
   Work-related tax deductions are an important way to improve your tax refund. Etax makes it easier for you, with these convenient tools:
   • Use Etax to save receipts and deductions all year round. Just snap a receipt with your phone and it is saved and ready for your 2020 tax return.
   • Inside your 2020 tax return, Etax will show you deduction tips based on your occupation. This helps you see common deductions for people in your job and it’s a good reminder about your work-related expenses.
   • Etax Accountants will check your tax return and look for ways to boost your refund. Trained tax accountants who’re on your side will help spot valuable deductions that you forgot.
2. Enter all of your income. This includes everything earned from your job, Centrelink, bank interest, rental property income and investment income. If you don’t add all of your income at the start, the ATO will find it later and you might get a lower refund than you hoped.
3. The Etax Blog is a treasure-chest full of tips to boost your tax refund.
   A good place to start is the “increase your tax refund” category.

Should I do my tax return online?

Thanks to Etax, doing your taxes online is incredibly easy. You get the same level of support as an old-fashioned tax agent, without having to make appointments and go out. And you don’t have to go it alone with the ATO.

Etax improves its service every year based on your feedback. Over 20 years of upgrades means, Etax is a snazzy, user-friendly way to do your 2020 tax return. Etax gives you deduction tips based on your history and your occupation, helping you get a better refund. It lets you save receipts and documents using your smartphone; just snap an image of a receipt and save it to your tax return.

And you can save those receipts and tax deductions year-round. At tax time, you won’t forget those valuable deductions that can boost your ATO tax refund.

All of that is wrapped-up together with phone and online chat support and a full-featured tax agent service. Here is a quick tour of the online tax return.

Should I use Etax as my tax agent?

For most Australians, the answer is “yes”.

According to the ATO, Over 70 per cent of Australians use a tax agent, and that’s because…

• A tax agent is on your side.
• Tax agents like Etax have excellent online systems that save you time (with no appointments).
• You get friendly, expert help when you need it (at Etax that means you get help right now, by phone and live chat).
• You get the confidence it’s been checked and lodged correctly, by qualified people. (At Etax your return is reviewed two times before it is lodged electronically at the ATO.)
• We will try to increase your refund AND help you avoid ATO troubles.
• Etax fees are incredibly cheap, the fees are tax-deductible, plus most taxpayers’s refunds are higher when they use a trusted tax agent.

Should I use myTax at the ATO?

The ATO has spent millions of taxpayer’s dollars on advertising, PR, media, consultants and marketing – trying to convince more people to use myTax.

Why? That’s not clear. Although there’s no direct fee, taxpayers really do pay for it. Tens, possibly hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars are poured into ATO “self-preparer” programs.

If you have extremely simple tax affairs, nothing to deduct and you are comfortable with the tax return and assessment process, myTax might be okay for you, however if you have any common ATO problems like a revised return or deleted deductions that drops your refund, with myTax you won’t get any help from anyone who’s on your side.

Remember, the ATO’s job is to collect more taxes, not to give you get a better refund.

• If you want help to boost your refund and avoid ATO trouble, you’re better off with a tax agent service like Etax.
• For friendly support from a trained accountant who’s on your side, Etax is who you should talk to.
• If you have ATO problems later, and you used a tax agent like Etax, then your accountants will help you (but with myTax, you’re on your own if the ATO demands a tax repayment, penalty or reassessment).