Your Tax Return Is Due 31 October: Five Things It Can Tell You About Your Money

If you lodge your own tax return, the due date is 31 October. If you use a registered tax agent, different dates can apply, but you generally need to be on their books before the deadline rather than after it. Worth checking now rather than in the last week of the month.

Most people treat the return as an errand. Gather the documents, answer the questions, wait for the refund, forget about it until next year.

That is a missed opportunity. Your tax return is the one document each year that shows your whole financial picture in one place. Here are five things worth actually reading in it.

1. What you really earned

Not what you think your salary is—the total, including any second job, side income, bonuses or overtime. People are often surprised, in both directions.

This number is the honest starting point for every other financial decision you make, from how much you can borrow to how much you can realistically save each month.

2. What you actually paid in tax

Sitting on your return is the total amount of tax you paid over the year. For a lot of people, it is one of the largest single expenses of their life, and one they never look at directly.

You do not get to opt out of it. But seeing the number is often what prompts a useful conversation about the structures available to you, including how voluntary super contributions are treated. Whether any of that suits you depends on your income, your goals and how soon you need the money.

3. Whether your money is doing anything

Look for interest, dividends and any other investment income. If those lines are close to empty, it tells you something: your savings are sitting still.

That is not automatically wrong. Money set aside for a house deposit in the next two years probably should be somewhere stable. But if it has been sitting still for years with no plan attached, that is worth a second look.

4. Where your study debt is at

If you have a HECS or HELP debt, your return shows the compulsory repayment made through the year. Combined with your latest ATO statement, it tells you roughly where the balance sits and how the repayments are tracking.

Study debt behaves differently to other debt, so it deserves its own thinking rather than being lumped in with credit cards and car loans.

5. What you are going to do with the refund

A refund is not a bonus. It is your own money coming back because too much was withheld during the year. Which is exactly why it disappears so easily.

Decide before it lands. A simple approach is to split it across three jobs: a buffer for the unexpected, a dent in whatever debt is costing you most, and something towards the goal you actually care about. The proportions matter less than deciding in advance.

What to do next

Lodge on time, or get yourself onto an agent's list before the deadline. Then spend fifteen minutes with the finished return open in front of you and write down two things: the number that surprised you most, and one decision you want to make differently next year.

A tax return is a record of the year that just finished. A plan is what changes the one coming.

If you would like a second set of eyes on what your return is showing you, that is a good conversation to have while it is fresh.

This article contains general information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not personal advice. Before acting on anything in it, consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances and seek advice that takes your situation into account. Where a scheme, rule or threshold is mentioned, check the current position at ato.gov.au or moneysmart.gov.au.