Are you wondering what your current help debt balance is? You’re not alone!
Back in 2013 the Australian Tax Office (ATO) made the decision to stop issuing annual HELP debt statements for Australians with a HELP or Financial Supplement debt.
Apart from making it harder to keep track of your outstanding government debts, it also made it harder for you to estimate your expected compulsory repayment amount on your tax return.
3 Easy ways to get your help debt balance
While the ATO no longer issues a help debt statement, there are still a few of ways to get an updated balance of your HELP debt…
1. Contact your tax agent
(eg. etax.com.au – you’re here)
Your tax agent can get a current balance of your HELP account from the ATO.
At Etax Accountants, acting as your tax agent, we can also work your compulsory HELP repayment on this year’s return. If you’d like our help with this, please simply send us an email on [email protected].
2. View the balance online
If you have a myGov account already linked to the ATO you can log in a view any government loans currently in your name. This includes your Help Debt Balance or any other loan you have deferred for payment via the tax system.
3. Contact the ATO yourself
If you prefer, you can call the ATO on 13 28 61 between 8:00am and 6:00pm, Monday to Friday. They can provide details about your Help Debt account.
What does this mean for my tax return?
Most importantly, you don’t need your HELP debt information directly on hand when you do your tax return this year. If you use Etax Accountants (Etax.com.au), our tax team can access this information for you. If needed, we can also provide an estimate of your compulsory repayment.
When you prepare for this year’s tax return, please remember that the ATO will not send you an updated annual HELP debt balance or a Financial Supplement balance. If you want to know this amount, just ask your tax agent to retrieve this information for you or contact the ATO directly.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us on [email protected] if you have any questions about this change or if you’d like further information on your outstanding balance.
