myTax, Etax or an old-school tax agent?
With so many options, how do you know what’s right for you?
Chasing your hard earned dollars
Deciding how to lodge your tax return, and get the best refund, can be confusing.
The wrong choice could mean you don’t get all the money back that you deserve.
The ATO puts pressure on taxpayers to use myTax. However, it’s your choice. Let’s look at the other options, so you can choose what’s best for YOU“
Compare the options
Will the ATO’s myTax tax give you the best tax refund? What if you make a mistake? What’s the difference between an old-school tax agent and a modern online tax agent like Etax? How much do they cost, and how long do they take?
Let’s look at the differences:
Etax
- Easy, fast, online
- System prefills your details for you
- Deduction helper to boost your refund
- Help from friendly accountants, on Live Chat or phone
- Low, tax-deductible fees
- Every return is checked by tax experts
- Fast, friendly service
myTax (ATO)
- You MUST have myGov account linked to myTax online account
- Online submission with no pre-lodgement error checks
- Mistakes are your responsibility
- No help claiming deductions to boost your refund
- No Live Chat – just a complicated database you can search
- No fees
- Nobody to talk to if you get stuck
Old-School Tax Agent
- Face-to-face service
- You have to travel to their office
- Appointments required, usually during business hours only
- Processing can be slow
- Fees are commonly higher
- Secure document transfer isn’t always available
- Tax time backlog is common, with wait times
And the winner is… Etax!
Tax Agent Office
Most Australians do their ATO tax return with a tax agent, because they want help to make the whole process quick and painless. Going to an agent’s office, the main down-side is, you need an appointment and you go there with all of your papers and details. If you forget to take something, ugh.
Do you want to go sit in an old-school tax agent office? Etax makes it all happen online.
myTax
myTax is the ATO’s “self-preparation” tax return. It’s free to use, mainly because you get no service or advice and that means smaller refunds. You need to understand the tax items that apply to you (plus refund-boosting sections you might miss out on). If you need help from an accountant, sorry, you’re on your own, because that’s not the ATO’s job. The ATO’s job is to collect more taxes, and that’s basically what myTax is built for.
Using the ATO’s myTax tax return may be free, but how much do you lose in refunds? Also, the hours you spend trying to figure out myTax is time wasted.
Etax
Etax gives you the best of both worlds. It’s fast, interactive and online. You can get support and advice from friendly accountants who are on your side, whenever you need them. Plus, it’s an easy-to-use online system that pre-fills a lot of your tax return and calculates your ATO tax refund. Etax also gives you interactive tips on tax deductions that can boost your refund. After you’re done, your tax return is checked by trained accountants, so you know it was lodged correctly.
It’s easy to see why Etax is a clear winner over myTax and old-school tax agent offices.
Etax, trusted by thousands of Australians each year.
“ Better than MyGov – Easy to use and when I did have a question the live chat person was very helpful. Tried to use MyGov but that site is a disgrace and I didn’t have time for that.
– William, Darling Downs via ProductReview
3 easy steps to your easiest tax return ever
Complete your tax return
with handy tips about what
you can claim.
Sign your return and
our accountants will
take care of the rest!
Do I need to find my income statement?
No! There’s no need to waste time trying to get your Income Statement from the ATO. Etax will get that info directly from the ATO and add it to your tax return, for you!
Plus, you can find a copy of of your income statement right inside your Etax account, if you ever need it.
