Self-assessment means the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) uses the information you give in your tax return to work out your refund or tax bill. You are required by law to make sure you have shown all your assessable income and claimed only the deductions and tax offsets you are entitled to.
What are your responsibilities?
Even if someone else-including a tax agent-helps you to prepare your tax return, you are still legally responsible for the accuracy of the information.
What if you lodge an incorrect tax return?
Our computers continually check for missing or wrong information. We have audit programs designed to detect where taxpayers have not declared all of their assessable income or where they have incorrectly claimed deductions or tax offsets. If you become aware that your tax return is incorrect, you must contact us straightaway.
Initiatives to complement self-assessment
There are a number of initiatives administered by the ATO which complement self-assessment. Examples include:
- a change in penalty provisions so that if you take reasonable care with your tax affairs, you will not receive a penalty for honest mistakes-but please note that interest on omitted income or overclaimed deductions and tax offsets could still be payable
- the process for applying for a private ruling
- your entitlement to interest on early payment or overpayment of a tax debt
- the process for applying for an amendment if you find you have left something out of your tax return.